This year has been … different. But the energy, kindness, and generosity of UPC has remained constant.
Explore this page to see what your UPC family has been up to during 2020!
Send us your update!
Email social@upcch.org with an image (or two) and a quick blurb telling us how you’re filling your time in quarantine and what the church has meant to you over the past few months.
We’ll post your update to this page!
Pro Tip: Click on the pictures to view them individually. And to make them larger!
We’ve been doing lots of cooking and walking. We’re really enjoying the online services and the Zoom men’s meetings. But we miss John Rogers cooking for us!
-Gillian and Gene Rogers
We’re still here, and Tom hasn’t broken any bones lately.
-Tom & Sonda Oppewal
We’ve been taking walks every day, and Kevin thinks about Duke basketball every day.
We’ve also been taking lots of walks in the woods.
-Robin & Kevin Thomas
We had a great summer in our unusually mosquito free backyard and patio.
We’ve enjoyed our small group meetings. Go Group 5!!!
-Rob & Nancy Verboon
We have been taking advantage of the outdoors during Covid – at home, in the mountains and at the beach.
-John and Leigh Anderson
Our son, who grew up at UPC, just got engaged!
-Ken and Marsha Krzyzewski
We got married!
We got a two person kayak and our marriage has survived both the kayak trips to Jordan Lake and the quarantine.
-Chris & Chelsey Wommack
I really miss singing in the choir, but am so enjoying my small group discussions.
-Dede Corvinus
We miss Sunday School, choir, preschool, and coffee on the landing. And especially climbing in the magnolia tree.
We miss the people most of all!
-Adam, Tracy, Andrew, Ben, & Carter Lovelady
Sam says he likes watching online church!
-Anna Rose & Sam Medley
John and Ashley are holding down the fort in Chapel Hill. Wade is a senior at Washington University in St. Louis. Eleanor is a first year student at the United World College – USA campus in Montezuma, New Mexico.
-John, Ashley, Wade, & Eleanor Wilson
Jack and I have discovered the fun of taking daily walks together around the neighborhood, replacing trips to the gym, where we do separate things.
Exercise over, I love having more time to read and write a poem or a few sentences in my journal. Jack is never far from his camera, taking photos of the rising moon, of our grandsons after a soccer game, and of the new IFC community building as it has risen through stages of construction.
Days meld into one another except for Sunday, when we do not miss our beautiful service of music and Scripture and words of Meg and Jarrett and so many others, before we join our Small Group of new friends. Sunday gives structure and meaning to our week.
-Nancy and Jack Benjamin
During the pandemic, we’ve done our best to spend lots of time outdoors. Whether we’re hiking the trails of Montreat, walking along Morgan Creek here in Chapel Hill, or simply playing ball with our new puppy in the backyard, we have enjoyed these months together as a family while spending time around all of God’s natural gifts.
But we also miss our UPC family so much! It has been wonderful to see many of you in our small group meet-ups, as well as occasionally around town at the grocery store or in the office. We look forward to the day when we can all be together again for worship and other UPC events!
— Brian, Karen, Rachel, Caroline, & Sarah Vandersea
We are “locked down” at Carolina Meadows hiding from the virus while reviewing our previous travels thru the years. We have 42 countries to revisit. YouTube helps a lot.
Bill meets with his students at UNC via Zoom, and I am reading my previous novels while our children visit regularly in person or by video phone.
-Bitty & Bill Holton
2020 has brought lots of good family bonding time. We have enjoyed a variety of fun family activities including puzzles, bike rides, front porch reading sessions, movie and popcorn nights. We even tried a few new things…mud mask anyone?
We miss our UPC family, but are grateful for our weekly online service and small group!
-Ella, Patrick, Shaun and Laura Horrigan
The pandemic has been full of unexpected hardships and unexpected joys. The hardest part has been not seeing our extended families. But the best part, by far, has been adding a new member to ours.
-Ben Urick & Katie Owen (and Caroline!)
We’ve been very active on Sundays – Sunday school, small group, and the church service! We look forward to the services every Sunday. Especially the variety of people – and children – who are involved. A special thanks to John Wilson for all of his hard work on those services!
-Nancy and Ed Preston
The power of prayer.
After two expected livers that did not pass the test for transplant at the very last minute, my cousin received the 3rd liver with an extremely successful transplant so far.
I am so appreciative of all my prayer warriors at UPC.
-Winnie Morgan
One thing I’ve been doing over quarantine is spending a lot of time with my family. It’s kept me happy and sane and it’s something I can always count on.
-Bella Moshier
Quarantine has been challenging and reflective and lonely to an extent – especially for us huggers!
-Hank & Judie Waters
We’ve been spending lots of time outside, eating lots of ice cream, learning and working from home, and playing with our pandemic puppy Ollie.
Our internet service is cranky and we’re all feeling Zoom fatigue, so we have been especially grateful for some chances to connect with UPC in physical and in-person ways, including delivering yard signs and participating in small groups. We miss church and all of you!
– Ed, Jenni, Owen, Ruthie, and Milly Soccorso
We miss our spot at church!
-Chris Shore, Hannah Starr, & Emily Damone
I’ve been shifting my time away from paid work and more toward the critically important social justice issues where my heart is.
-Nancy Oates
We’ve started a new Sunday tradition: breakfast & church in bed. We’ve also taken a lot (a LOT) of walks.
-Naomi & Matt Sherry
