Communion at Home: 10:45 a.m. during our regular online worship service (bring your own elements)

Drive Through Communion: 12:15-12:30 p.m. OR 1:00-1:15 p.m.

• ​Enter parking lot from the Poyntz Entrance, but do not park.
• Turn right at the end of the parking lot onto the alley behind the church building.
• Receive prepackaged communion from your car from our pastors.
• Continue on to Juliette (turn right if you’d like to pass the small groups gathered on the lawn. Feel free to honk and wave at those gathered as you go past.)
• Those who are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, are awaiting a test result for COVID-19, have been exposed to anyone who has COVID-19 or is awaiting a COVID-19 test result, or fall into any other category that should be quarantined according to our health department may not attend.    
• Those attending Drive Through Communion may not get out of their vehicles.

Communion on the Lawn: ***advance sign up required***
Group A

• Staggered arrival between 11:45 a.m. -12:00 p.m.
• Park and wait in your car until the greeter asks you to visit the check in table
• 12:00-12:30 p.m. - Communion and Fellowship on the the Lawn

Group B

• Staggered arrival between 12:30 - 12:45 p.m.
• Park and wait in your car until the greeter asks you to visit the check in table
• 12:45 - 1:15 p.m. - Communion and Fellowship on the the Lawn​

In case of inclement weather, an announcement will be made on our website, e-mail list, and social media on Sunday morning. 

For Communion on the Lawn: please bring a face mask and lawn chairs/blanket for your family. When you arrive, please stay in or right next to your car until the parking lot greeter invites you to proceed to the sign in table. At the sign in table you will sanitize your hands, pick up prepackaged communion elements, and the usher will assist you in finding your assigned spot (marked by a cone). We will have two “seatings” - Lawn Group A  at 12:00 p.m. and Lawn Group B at 12:45 p.m. See detailed schedule above. 

As we continue to learn more about the coronavirus, we are learning more about how we can safely be together. Our congregational leadership has carefully planned traffic flow and requirements for Communion on the Lawn with community health in mind. We ask that everyone carefully read the health guidelines when you sign up. When you reserve your spot, you are agreeing to care for the health of others by following the guidelines. If you have any questions, please reach out to the church office. 
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Sign up for Communion on the Lawn at uccmanhattan.org/sign-ups OR by calling the church office. We've made a short video tutorial to help you with the online sign up process. 

1. Those who are experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19, are awaiting a test result for COVID-19, have been exposed to anyone who has COVID-19 or is awaiting a COVID-19 test result, or fall into any other category that should be quarantined according to our health department may not attend.    
2. Masks will be worn for the entirety of the event (except to be removed very briefly while receiving the Communion elements). If you do not have a mask, one will be provided to you at the check in table. 
3. When you arrive: please put on your mask before exiting your vehicle. We ask that you wait in or right next to your car. A greeter will let you know when it’s time to proceed to the check in table. 
4. At the check in table, sanitize hands using the provided sanitizer before you pick up your prepackaged Communion elements. 
5. The greeter at the table will assign you a designated space. An usher will show you to your assigned space. Please place your chair or blanket right next to the cone. 
6. Everyone must stay in their designated space and maintain at least 8 feet distance from those they don’t live with. We know it’s hard to see each other and not hug or shake hands. But we also know that we can do hard things! 
7. The usher will dismiss you at the end of our fellowship time and we ask that you proceed to your car and depart. Please be sure to leave at least 8 feet of space between you and other people as you get into your vehicles. If you need to leave earlier, please just catch the usher’s attention to do so. 
8. Note that the building will not be open at all during this event. 

You are invited to join a conversation to inform action around race and mass incarceration in America. A new book study of The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander is beginning July 1st via Zoom.

This group will meet every other week on Wednesdays at 7 pm. The study will be facilitated by Cassidy Moreau and will be open to the community.

​The group will involve reading the book, discussing questions, and action steps to help us all--together--chip away at the systematic racism in our country. The book can be found digitally through Kindle, and similar apps. It is also available via Hoopla through the public library. If you have any questions, please contact Cassidy directly or email the church office to get in touch with her. 

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/71411719856?pwd=QWRTZTEwbE16MldwTElORGVoM1NzQT09
Meeting ID: 714 1171 9856 / Password: 66502

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The first Wednesday of the month means Lunch Bunch!

We hope you'll bring your own lunch to a comfy spot in your home and join us via Zoom for conversation and laughter. It will be fun to see each other's homes and perhaps meet each other's pets! Physical distancing is what we're after and that doesn't have to mean social distancing. It will be so good to talk with one another.

Join us Wednesday, May 6th at 11:30 a.m.
Click to Zoom: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88932482375
OR
Dial 1-669-900-6833 from your phone. When you hear the recorded voice say, “Welcome to Zoom. Please enter your meeting ID followed by pound” you should dial 889 3248 2375#. That’s it!

Got questions? Let us know. Otherwise, we'll see you Wednesday for lunch!

​New Session of the Midweek “Bible Book Club” starting on Tuesday, May 5th, 11:30 to 1:00: “The Meaning of Mary Magdalene”
 
Please consider joining us for the new sessions of our midweek ZOOM class. Beginning of Tuesday, 5 May, we will be reading Cynthia Bourgeault’s book The Meaning of Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene is probably the most famous character in the Bible about whom the least is known. Bourgeault’s book seeks to address that, starting by look at what the Bible does say about her and how church tradition, art, and legend have added – and frequently distorted - the picture we have of Mary. In addition, Bourgeault introduces her readers to the The Gospel of Mary Magdalene and other lost gospels and demonstrates how these lost writings have altered our perspective of her. What has emerged in recent years is a serious re-evaluation of Mary Magdalene’s place among Christ’s followers and Bourgeault thoroughly examines that new perspective. 
 
If you are new to our midweek class, please feel free to drop in this coming Tuesday, 28 April, when the group will meet just to drink coffee and eat chocolate together. The book is available at Amazon in either paperback or Kindle form. If you have trouble obtaining a book, please text or call Pastor Sue. You can e-mail the church office (office@uccmanhattan.org) if you need Sue's phone number. Please join us!

The Board of Christian Education wants to provide some weekly online opportunities for people to continue learning/connecting/sharing during the summer months. These don't necessarily have to be content-centered classes, but we're envisioning a time for people to gather, check in, talk about God in their lives, and enjoy activities together. Gatherings will be held via Zoom or other online platforms

Please let us know about your interest here so we can set up the best schedule possible. We will be accepting feedback through the end of April. 

​A note from the Deacons:
In an effort to help people in our congregation stay connected to one another during COVID-19, we have assigned everyone in our congregation to a Neighborhood Group. These groups were primarily created based on geographic proximity.  We believe this will be a rich time of creating and deepening connections with other people in our congregation, even as we are physically separated from one another. 
Each group will create their own ways of staying connected. Some groups might want to do a regular group check in via e-mail or Zoom. Other groups might find that a group text or small Facebook group works well. There will most certainly be folks in your group who prefer to connect via phone or snail mail. It is critically important that everyone follows the stay at home order....so these groups will not be getting together in person at all. Your Neighborhood Captain will make sure everyone in your group stays connected. 

Adult Sunday School continues. We all need a time to check in and spend time in conversation and prayer these days. Join us Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. All are welcome. We meet via Zoom | click here for login information
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April 5 Taking time to talk. We will begin with 10-15 minutes of sharing our fears and frustrations, followed by guided breathing and awareness. We will end with talking about the blessings in our life. Deane Lehmann, facilitator. 

April 12 Easter breakfast. Just because we can't physically eat together doesn't mean we can't virtually eat together. Let's get to see the kiddos again, show off our cooking skills (or lack thereof) and learn how to use the chat function. Yes, you can chat with individuals! Deane Lehmann, mute minder.

April 19 (TBA)

April 26, May3, May 10. We are looking for volunteers to lead a class. We have access to Work of the People videos. We have a group of people who can easily fill an hour with conversation and insights. Is there a topic you have wanted to explore but didn't want to commit to weeks of facilitating? Well, this is your opportunity!

Please contact Sue Zschoche or Deane Lehmann.