Putney Friends Meeting

For the health and protection of our Meeting community and to support the public health of the wider community in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic, Putney Friends Meeting has suspended in-person Meeting for Worship. We are experimenting with using online worship as an alternative, using the Zoom conferencing service. Please be patient, we are all new to this. Many in our community are familiar with Zoom; some are not. For those who are not, instructions for how to set up and join a Zoom conference follow at the end. 

Many have participated in meetings of various kinds on Zoom; few have participated in a meeting for worship on Zoom. To help establish and sustain the quality of worship, we have prepared some advices below. First, for ease of reference, here is the Meeting for Worship information, with details on setup further below:

Online Meeting for Worship

Topic: Putney Friends Meeting – Meeting for Worship

Time: First Day, Sunday, You may go on-line to join the Meeting beginning at 9:00 AM Eastern Time (if you are new to Zoom, begin your sign in between 9 and 9:15 to become familiar with the screen environment). 

The “Meeting for Worship” begins at 9:30 AM; settling into worship early is always helpful. 

To join the Meeting for Worship email the Clerk for the link: clerk@putneyfriendsmeeting.org

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Advices for Participating in Online Worship 

 We have three Friends hosting the meeting:

Clerk (Hosting the Meeting for Worship)

Greeter (Welcoming you to Meeting via “Chat”)

Tech-host  (Answering technical related questions via“Chat”) 

– Enter the meeting in silence as you would for an in-person meeting for worship. Do not introduce yourself when you enter. 

– Keep your device on mute unless you are speaking. Everyone will be muted by default upon entering, and the clerk as host has the ability to mute and unmute any participant. Background noise  such as dogs barking or cell phones ringing can be very disruptive to the spirit of worship and make it hard to hear. 

– If you are led to speak 

=As always, allow some silence after any preceding message to allow it to settle in our hearts. 

= Unmute your device. (see instructions)

=Pause briefly in case someone else has also started to speak. If so, wait for the clerk to recognize you. Otherwise, start speaking. 

=Mute your device when you are done. (The tech-host may do so if you forget.) 

– Continuing in worship, the clerk will close the meeting at the appropriate time and invite afterthoughts, joys and concerns and announcements as usual. Continue to follow the same advices for speaking. 

– If you need to get the attention of the tech-host for any reason, use the chat feature to address your message (Be sure to select “tech-host” and not “everyone”)

–Respect the privacy of the Meeting. Do not share photos or screen shots of attendees.

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Tips for using Zoom and Joining a Zoom Meeting 

– Set up Zoom a day in advance of the meeting time. Allow more time if you think you may need assistance. If you need assistance ahead of time, call Michelle Wright at: 802-689-0716. 

Here is a link to learn how to join a meeting: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/201362193-How-Do-I-Join-A-Meeting-

– Familiarize yourself with the Zoom features you will use during the meeting, such as muting and unmuting, starting and stopping your video, controlling what you see, and the chat feature. 

Here is a link to learn the controls: https://westernfriend.org/media/how-use-zoom-videoconferencing

-Use only one audio connection per room, ensuring all other microphones and speakers are muted. (For example, you might have more than one person in a room and might be tempted to each use your own device to connect.) 

-Before the Meeting begins  log in at least 15 minutes early. 

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Instructions for Setting Up Zoom and Joining a Zoom Meeting 

Download and Install to your Computer or Mobile Device 

-Get the latest software for your device at Download Zoom

-New to Zoom? You can test Zoom here: Test Zoom