Sad but unsurprising announcement from the Star Island Corporation

[edschweppe]

The 2020 Star Island conference season is cancelled, courtesy of the COVID-19 pandemic.

I just received the following email from Joe Watts (the SIC CEO) and the Board:

Dear Star Island Family,

It is with heavy hearts, and also with deep compassion, that we announce today that we cannot safely open Star Island this season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We, along with Star Island’s senior staff and many volunteers, have been working over the past two months in a thoughtful and collaborative way, with the safety and well-being of our community as the top priority. Our assessment that Star Island cannot safely open this season is based on the best information we have at this time, including input from our Health Committee, other medical professionals, and government agencies. While our hope throughout has been to find a way to open safely in 2020, we cannot envision a scenario in which this would be possible. We share the hope that the effects of this pandemic will take a turn for the better at some point in the months ahead, however, we do not foresee safely convening large groups of people on the island at any point this summer. Considering the potential risks to individuals, our island community, the organization, and our greater human community, of which we are all a part, we believe the responsible course is to act with caution to ensure our ability to safely reopen in the future.

We realize this is heavy news to deliver at a time of great challenge for the world, and for many of us personally. Like you, we have been looking forward to our time on Star Island this summer as a source of hope and rejuvenation; knowing this won’t happen is incredibly difficult and sad. We also know that many people are hurting right now, affected by unemployment, illness, grief, and the struggles of isolation. We are fortunate to be part of an exceptionally supportive community. We are here for each other, and we are buoyed by the memories of our time on Star, by the lasting connections we have formed there, and by our shared hope that we may safely reunite on our precious island in future summers.

You may also be wondering if Star is going to get through this crisis – will the island and the Star Island Corporation survive? The answer is yes, and this is because of the strength of our community. While the COVID-19 pandemic is dealing a major financial blow, we have held strong for over one hundred years. Through many significant challenges, including the 1918 influenza pandemic, two World Wars, and the island opening late in 2007, we have risen together as a community. We will rise together again.

This moment of historic challenge presents an opportunity for those among us who are in a position to give, to do so on behalf of those in our community who want to help right now but can’t. Getting through this crisis will take extraordinary support from our community. Generous stewardship this year from our Star Island family will carry Star Island through until we can all safely gather there again. While being mindful of the current challenges, our vision is focused on a strong long-term future for Star Island. Please consider supporting us now. You will hear more from up on this in the coming days and weeks.

Our Star Island values call upon us to serve a greater purpose. We are inspired by the kindness, drive, and generosity demonstrated by so many in our Star Island family over the recent weeks. We see you volunteering by sewing masks, ensuring that school children are fed, providing homes to foster animals, working in hospitals, offering pastoral care, securing food for older neighbors – the list goes on. Now, more than ever, we must be guided by the Star Spirit of caring for others.

[ ... ]

We are all part of the Star Island family, and we are in this together. We will gather again on Star Island, when we can do so safely. We will, indeed, come back!

I cannot say I'm surprised. While there's plenty of nice empty rock on Star for a few hundred conferees to spread out, the same cannot be said of the ferry, the conference halls, or the dining room. And evacuating people off the island once they fall ill is a challenge at the best of times, which this year will not be.

This doesn't make me any less sad or disappointed. Just because this is clearly the right decision doesn't mean I have to like it. And, frankly, this sucks.

But I will be back. Next year, or the year after, or the year after that.