Dear members of our Julian community,

Our sincere greetings as we reach out from our homes while we’re sheltering in place. We hope you are well. We were so looking forward to being together this fall in Santa Cruz, though we’ve had to give serious thought about how to proceed in the midst of a pandemic.

The course of the COVID-19 pandemic is still uncertain. Although some of the shelter-in-place restrictions might be lifted over the summer, it is highly unlikely that moderately-sized aggregations of people will be encouraged by this fall.

To ensure everyone’s safety and health, we have made the difficult decision to release our obligation to the Villa Maria Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, CA for September 18-20, 2020. Instead, we plan to turn this disaster into an opportunity that will enable Julian students from all over the world to attend The Gathering virtually from their own home or with a couple of close friends using a smartphone, a tablet, a computer, or any other device that connects to the Internet.

There will be no charge to attend this virtual Gathering; however, we will gladly accept freewill donations. Even if you can’t attend all the sessions online, they will be recorded and available shortly after The Gathering.

We are working right now to determine the best dates and times, and we would very much like everyone to fill out this very short survey to let us know which options will ensure the best attendance.

Thanks so much. We hope to hear from you soon and we hope to see you online in September.

Sincerely,
The 22nd Gathering Committee