I tell you this
to break your heart,
by which I mean only
that it break open and never close again
to the rest of the world.

                        – Mary Oliver

On January 19, “Open Hearts: A COVID Memorial” was dedicated along Green Street on the north side of the UUCUC building. Conceived by Julie Laut and Rev. Florence Caplow, with support from the UUCUC Board and the Carolyn McMahon Fund, this public memorial consists of simple heart-shaped markers representing the deaths of all those lost in Champaign County (92 lost as of 1/11/2021).

This space provides a visual remembrance of our losses and a physical location for area residents to contemplate and mourn.

Nearly 375,000 people in the U.S. have died from the COVID-19 virus to date. With hospitalizations and deaths at an all-time high, that number will continue to grow. By the time vaccines allow us to return to some normalcy, each of us will have been touched personally in some way by this unimaginable loss of life. Our grieving has been compounded by the lack of compassionate leadership at the federal level and the inability to mourn our losses together. The Open Hearts memorial will provide a unique opportunity to draw our community together in a time when we feel too often disconnected.

Remarks included those from Champaign County Public Health Administrator Julie Pryde, Urbana Mayor Diane Marlin, UIUC Chancellor Robert Jones, Champaign Mayor Deb Feinen, and UUCUC member Julie Laut. Reverend Caplow and Reverend Sally Fritsche offered blessings.

In addition to the dedication of the memorial, the UUCUC church bell rang at 4:30 p.m. on January 19 to coincide with the National Day of Mourning called for by the incoming Biden-Harris administration.

If you have lost someone to COVID in Champaign County, you are invited to email covid-memorial@uucuc.org and a heart will be personalized in their honor.

The dedication of a memorial area near the south entrance of the building for friends and members of UUCUC who have lost a loved one during the pandemic will take place at a later date.

Edit: read the News-Gazette article covering the memorial here.

Edit 2: Our plans are to host the hearts until at least March 1, and then we will invite other churches to continue hosting.