Candidating Week: Schedule & Information
(Click this link above for PDF)
Sunday Services
Rev. Bruce Beisner will be leading two services on Sunday May 2, and one service at 11:00am on Sunday, May 9. All three of Rev. Bruce’s Sunday services will be open for in-person attendance. In addition, the 11:00 services on both Sundays will also be available via Zoom. Link can be found on our tjuc.org website. If you wish to reserve a seat by email, please follow instructions in the email already sent to you this week. If you do not use email, please call the office to reserve your seat.
Question time Following Services
Rev. Bruce will stay after three of the Sunday Services to answer questions from the congregation. Forums will follow the 9:00 and 11:00 services on May 2. Each period will only last 10 minutes so that the room can be cleared long enough for fresh air to circulate before the following service. The zoom link for the 11:00 services will be the same as the Sunday Service zoom noted on our website.
Informal Conversations with Rev. Bruce
Everyone in the congregation will have three other opportunities to talk with our candidate:
- At the Zoom coffee chat on Wednesday, May 5 at 9:00 (Link on web site.)
- At a Zoom meeting with the congregation on Wednesday, May 5 from 7:00-8:30 The link is:
- At an outdoor reception under the tent in the parking oval, on Friday, May 7 from 4:30-6:30 pm. Please drop by for as long as you like, whenever you are free to visit. Light snacks and soft drinks/water will be
Committee Meetings
Unless alternative arrangements are made by your Chair, committee meetings with the candidate will be held in person in the Gathering Space. Please enter by the labyrinth door. You should have received a special mailing from your committee chair this week outlining details with the attached color-coded chart. All Zoom committee meetings will be hosted by Rev. Bruce. The link for all committee meetings is:
The purpose of these meetings is to get to know Rev. Bruce, to share the committee’s purpose, to recall some recent accomplishments, and to talk about the group’s plans for the coming year. Please remember that all the candidates for ministry have already been through a rigorous multi-stage interview process. Now is our chance to take the next step: to see if Rev. Bruce and our members can begin to imagine a shared future.
Voting Information
At the end of Candidating Week, the congregation will vote whether to accepting Rev. Bruce as our called minister. This important vote (open only to those who have been members of the church at least two months) will take place in the Sanctuary, and by Zoom, on Sunday, May 9 at 12:30 pm. The zoom link for the congregational meeting will be separate from the Sunday Service link and will be published on the church website.
Paper ballots will be handed out to church members attending the 11:00 service in person just prior to the service in the gathering space. (Let us know if you need special assistance to attend the service or to vote.) Members attending by Zoom will vote online. The 12:30 congregational meeting will begin with a short explanation by the chair of the Search Committee on the meaning of this vote. Following the vote, results will be announced to all participants. Provided Rev. Bruce is accepted as our minister, a short celebration with him will follow.
Updated April 30, 2021