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As congregations work to shift services online, common digital problems have occurred. The Rev. Ann Keeler Evans, minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of the Susquehanna Valley in Northumberland, Pennsylvania, has experienced problems with hackers interrupting online meetings. “I think Zoom is going to have to step up its game and figure out how to stop hackers—because it seems that hackers have nothing to do but spew racist violence if they can get into your meetings,” she said. (The Daily Item, April 5)
Along with hackers, scammers have also been very active. Marcia Hackett, a member of Orange Coast UU Church in Costa Mesa, California, was taken in by a scheme to aid those affected by COVID-19. “I cannot believe I had this stupid lapse of judgment,” Hackett said. “We need to be even more watchful than ever during these scary times.” (The Orange County Register, April 3)
The Rev. María McCabe of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Harford County in Churchville, Maryland, pointed out a positive aspect of online services. “We are finding that using a virtual platform gives folks who are ill or have different kinds of accessibility issues an opportunity to participate,” she said. (Capital Gazette, April 2)
Need some good news? Read about two young legislators from Iowa, one from each side of the aisle, who are working together to combat climate change. One of the legislators is UU Zach Wahls, who said, “We were both freshmen coming in and that was really helpful for both of us. So many legislators are there for a couple years and feel like they’ve been betrayed by the other side. For me, I said, you know what, we’re coming in at the same time, we both like and trust each other, this seems like a good place to start.” (Grist, April 1)