We're Now Living In A Virtual Reality

Let's be real. We are living in a moment none of us could have anticipated a couple of weeks ago. An enormous amount has changed in all of our daily lives, and as far as I can tell, we should be prepared for this new reality to be with us for quite a while. None of us can do this alone. The hour-by-hour life-changing developments: they are just too much. So let's be in it together. This week the Haven leadership has been expeditiously working to put together new ways of doing community, all of which are virtual. Take a look at all of what we're doing and working on now, and please join us for all that can help you feel connected and know that you are cared for in such a difficult time. 

Virtual Sunday Services: Now WEEKLY

In this new rhythm of virtual only gatherings, we will move to having some kind of service every week. Some will include a sermon; some will be more conversational. Each will give folks an opportunity for spiritual encouragement and connection. Get the info here.

Weekly Virtual Sunday Kids Class

Grownups aren't the only ones who need connection in an uncertain time. After our main Sunday service each week, Connections Pastor Jeanne Wong will also host a 30 minute Haven Kids class. Info you need to join is here.

Intercessory Prayer Gatherings: Every Thursday Night

We could all use more prayer these days. Join Connie Barker and others each Thursday night to pray for one another and the world around us. Info here.

Virtual Community Groups Coming

We are in the process of converting all of our groups to virtual groups. If you are in a small group, or meal group, your facilitator will reach out to coordinate. If you're not in one and would like to be, contact Leah.

For Day to Day Communication: Slack

We have recently started using Slack for day-to-day communication. If you've signed up, we encourage you to check it regularly to stay up-to-date. If you'd like to be added to our Slack, contact Jeanne.

Creating A Community Directory

During our community conversation last Sunday, folks were hoping we could create a Haven directory, so folks in Haven can reach out to one another with phone calls, texts, letters through the mail, and so on. Fill out this form and let us know what to include in the directory.

Videos on YouTube

Haven has now started a YouTube channel where we are now uploading musical videos and other hopefully encouraging content. We will also broadcast a livestream of our Sunday services here for those who may not want to participate in them through Zoom. Check it out and subscribe to be regularly notified of new content.

Financial Giving to Haven

While our operations have changed, Haven still relies on financial support to manage our changing operations, as well as to support the financial needs in our community that are arising as a result of the pandemic.  We encourage all who are able to give to do so online or by sending your checks (made out to Haven Berkeley) through the mail to our treasurer Don Wong (5251 Carriage Dr., Richmond, CA 94803). And if you have a financial need that our community can support you with in this time, please let Leah know.

Rapid Response Team

In this coronavirus season, we will be focusing our efforts at serving away from in-person service opportunities, to more virtual ones. Our Haven Rapid Response Team is available to do grocery runs, pick up prescriptions, check on folks through letters, phone calls, emails, and more. If you would like to serve on this team, fill out this form. And if you have a need you could use help with, let us know here.

Virtual Pastoral Office Hours

In an effort to provide pastoral care in a timely manner to all who could use support at this time, Leah has created this signup sheet for "virtual office hours". Would you appreciate a time to process and/or pray with Leah through Zoom, FaceTime, on the phone, or through another virtual medium? Sign up for a half-hour slot and Leah would be honored to support you in whatever way you need.

COVID-19 UPDATE: It's Time to Go Fully Virtual

Join the Zoom Conversation this morning: Sunday, March 15th at 10:30 am as we worship, pray, and process the week and where we go from here. Link to the Zoom call, as well as phone numbers to call in if you prefer, can be found here. Or just watch the livestream on Facebook Live.

Haven friends, the time has come to clearly say it. We need to take a break from meeting in person. Beginning this week, we’re going to suspend in-person Haven Sunday gatherings, in an effort to help slow the spread of COVID-19 which is continuing across the globe and is certainly quite active in the Bay Area.

This isn’t something our leadership does lightly. As you saw just a couple of days ago, throughout the week we had been making plans to try to gather as safely as possible. But a lot has changed in even 24 hours (let alone in the last week), and all of us need to be ready to change and adapt to the hour-by-hour developments. To me, this week has felt like an escalating communal awareness of the growing gravity of our collective situation. It’s a lot to take in. It’s a lot to process. As a pastor, the thing I long to do when I feel unstable and uncertain and like the world might blow apart is to gather with other people of faith - with you, my Haven family whom I love - and worship. But that’s also the thing that we are learning is the most risky to do right now, even with all of the careful preparations we could make.

Our new Haven Zoom reality.

So it’s time for a new plan. Berkeley Unified Schools are closing into early April at least, and they have also cancelled all rental agreements indefinitely. I don’t know when it will be safe for us to gather again at Washington Elementary, but to be real: it could be awhile. Last night a number of Haven leaders took time to talk (virtually) and discern a strategy for going forward. Though this is all new territory, I feel hopeful that we can navigate the change. In uncertain times like this, we know we need spiritual community more than ever, so let’s find a way to adapt.

Thankfully, as much as technology can be problematic, at this moment it is also really helpful, and many of us will likely be leaning on tech and adapting to new ways of virtually connecting in all kinds of spheres. Here at Haven, we’re envisioning beginning a virtual Sunday service that takes place twice a month (for as long as these measures are necessary) and includes a version of the major elements of our in-person service: some musical worship, a sermon, and a time for conversation. Using Zoom meeting technology, there is even space for breakout conversation groups, not too different than the conversation clusters we have on Sundays.

All of this is doable, but to be real, it’s also a lot of logistics to figure out on our end. And so we’re choosing to take a breath and give ourselves permission to take the time we need and make the adjustments we need to. We will not have a full virtual service up and running this Sunday. However, I would like to make time to have an informal virtual community conversation for all who are able to join us this Sunday, 3/15, at the regular Haven time (10:30 am). We will do this through a Zoom meeting (log-in or call in information is here). During the meeting, we’ll have a chance to talk together about what the vision for this season might look like. We’ll also have a chance for folks to process how heavy the week has been, what we’re concerned about, and what we need right now. No doubt we’ll spend a bit of time worshiping and praying for one another and the world around us, too. I encourage you all to join us from wherever you are at this Sunday morning for this important conversation.

The following Sunday, 3/22, we will hold our first virtual Haven Sunday Service. More details on that will be coming soon, but you can be planning for it now. And because March is a 5-Sunday month, we’ll still have a week off between that and our next service on April 5.

Assuming that this new reality of virtual gathering will be with us for the foreseeable future, there is some interest amongst Haven leadership in eventually organizing sites across the Bay Area where small groups (ideally 10 healthy people or less) could gather in homes to watch the live stream of the service together. People could then discuss amongst themselves at the discussion portion of the morning, and enjoy some in-person connection in ways that are less risky to public health. We are open to potentially starting something like this as early as April, but want to hold off on planning these kind of gatherings until we have a better sense of what kind of actions are needed now.

It is also possible that small groups or our new community meal groups could still function in some way (perhaps a hike or picnic in the park). But it might be wise to err on the side of caution and pause for a couple of weeks, at least, or become a fully virtual group, while we all figure this out. I leave it up to your groups to consider what makes sense to you.

What we DO know is important in this time is finding all kinds of ways to take care of one another, even with little physical contact. Jeanne and Phoebe have taken the lead on organizing a Haven Rapid Response Team. During this time of uncertainty, we remember that some members of our community are more physically vulnerable than others and have to take more precautions in public spaces or may need to stay away altogether. This is a time we can show up for each other in meaningful ways. If you might be open to helping do a grocery run, pick up a prescription, call or e-mail to check up on others, or be available for other practical needs, please sign up on this form. And if you have a need for any of those things or anything else a team could support, let us know here.

Finally, as we look for new ways to stay connected to each other, we are going to try using a communication platform called Slack. Jeanne is setting it up and you will get an invite soon (reach out to her if you don’t). You can learn more about Slack and how Jeanne hopes it will help us connect here.

I know this is a lot. The paradigm shifts we are all being asked to navigate are so huge. But I am inviting all of us to take a deep breath, to acknowledge all of our real fear and uncertainty, and also to look to Jesus for grounding and hope. Jesus is the one who encountered contagious illness in his day with care, compassion, and courage. He showed this each time he reached out and touched a person with leprosy, breaking not only the power of their physical ailment, but just as importantly, the social isolation they endured because of it. I believe he is still with us, inviting each of us to bring connection, inclusion, and care to one another. May we find hope and connection with the Divine as we tend to ourselves, our families, and each other in new ways, and may we hold onto the truth that none of us are meant to be alone.

With deep care, Leah

Haven's Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic

March 13 UPDATE: Things have changed since this post was created. Learn about the latest here.

Image credit: nursingschoolsnearme.com/

As I’m sure you’re all aware, the novel coronavirus is upending communal life around the globe in unprecedented ways. Here at Haven, our staff and lay leaders have been monitoring recommendations from public health officials, connecting with staff at Berkeley Unified School District, and consulting with friends and colleagues in other faith communities. We have done all of this with the hope of discerning a wise plan for how to proceed in a way that honors the needs in our spiritual community, as well as serves to slow down the impact of COVID-19 on the community we inhabit.

Currently (as of Wednesday, March 11), Alameda County Public Health recommendations do not include the cancellation of gatherings for communities of our size. Because we are relatively small and meet in a relatively large space, the risk to public health is lower for Haven to gather than it would be for other communities of faith, in which significant numbers of people are congregating close together. The fact that we only meet twice a month as a full group is also helpful. We currently only have one service scheduled in the next three weeks (this Sunday, March 15th). Still, at a time when the spread of this disease is not under control, there are risks to any social gathering. When we gather in person, we will regularly be assessing ways in which we can do this as safely as possible. Specifics on what we currently are planning are listed below. We will also be prepared to cancel in-person gatherings or transition them to virtual-only options if it becomes clear that this action is needed.

While we take seriously the threat of COVID-19 on our community, we also acknowledge that in a time of fear and uncertainty like we are in the midst of, social isolation can carry its own costs and risks. At Haven, we take seriously the need to provide spaces for folks to experience care and support from their spiritual community. We affirm that the Jesus we follow calls us not into fear and self-protection, but into hope, cooperative care and love that is demonstrated in tangible ways to our neighbors. Even in the uncertain times we find ourselves in, we will seek to embody that truth in all that we do.

With all of this in mind, here are the practical strategies we are currently putting into place at Haven.

Community Interactions: For the time being, we will continue holding services, small groups, meal groups, and other in-person gatherings, but we ask folks who are exhibiting cold or flu symptoms to remain at home, so as not to expose others to illness. We also encourage those in high-risk categories (those over 60 or who are immunocompromised) to consider staying home in order to remain safe.

At all in-person gatherings, we will encourage one another to wash hands regularly, particularly around the handling of food. We will be engaging in disinfecting the space before the service, and the school staff is doing the same. We will also encourage a friendly but less-touch oriented way of greeting one another (so perhaps elbow-bumps over handshakes or hugs). At our services, we will have tissue available throughout the space in case folks need them, and if members of Haven have hand sanitizer they want to bring for themselves, or to share with others in the community, we encourage them to bring it.

Because public health professionals are recommending that for “social distancing” people in public remain at least an arm’s length apart, we will arrange our seating accordingly, with more space placed between all of the chairs. We also welcome you to inhabit the room in whatever way feels safe for you, including moving your chair farther away from the group, if preferred.

Sunday Hospitality: For the time being, and out of an abundance of caution, we will temporarily suspend our Sunday bagel service. Instead, we will supply a variety of single-serving, pre-wrapped snacks such as granola bars. We will also have one of our hospitality team members present to serve cups of coffee or hot water (with gloves on), so as to minimize the risk of people spreading germs through our beverage station. You may also consider bringing your own hot beverage in a reusable cup to minimize your risk. If you’d like to have lunch with other Haven-ites after service, we recommend bringing your own lunch from home and enjoying a picnic on the yard (though probably best to refrain from sharing food, if possible).

Communion Service: In the coming Sundays we will serve communion in individual, recyclable plastic cups. We will also have a communion server wearing gloves distribute a gluten-free cracker to each person who would like to take communion. 

Virtual Services: For those who are not able to join us in person we will begin live-streaming our services via Zoom, Facebook Live and Youtube, beginning this Sunday. (Look for links for these to be posted here soon.) We are also working on adding capability for these Sunday webinars to allow for interaction, so that conversations around the sermon topics can still take place. Tech-savvy folks: we are looking for a few volunteers to help manage these virtual webinars on Sundays. If you would consider being a part of this effort, let me know. We can also add Zoom capability to any small group or meal group that would like to have a virtual component to give access to those who are unable to gather in person.

Coronavirus Rapid Response Support: Our connections pastor Jeanne Wong will be taking the lead on launching a rapid response team to attend to needs in the community as they arise. Need someone to take your kids somewhere while you self-isolate? Need help acquiring groceries, or prescription medications? Contact Jeanne and let her know what you need. Please also connect with her if you are open to being a part of this rapid response team that helps meet these needs, as they arise.

Of course much has changed in the past couple of weeks regarding coronavirus, and the leadership of Haven expects that this will continue to be the case. Check this blog for more updates as things unfold. Let me know if you have questions or concerns about anything communicated here. And please, stay safe, stay connected, and join us in praying for one another and our broader community in the days and weeks to come.

- Leah