Candidating Week at First Parish Church
Monday, October 12 through Sunday, October 18
The Minister Search Committee is excited to preview the events of “Candidating Week”, to be held October 12th through 18th, during which the congregation will have opportunities to meet our minister candidate. The week’s events will culminate in a virtual worship service on Sunday, October 18th, at 10:30am. That will be that evening followed by a congregational meeting 7:30pm, during which the members in attendance will vote. Note that these times are changed from those originally published due to the rain date for the Westford Special Town Meeting being moved to Sunday morning. For those who cannot attend the morning’s worship service, a video of the service will be made available immediately following.
Below you will find a list of the Candidating Week events, along with a brief description of each. Watch your inbox next week for web links where parishioners can sign up to attend an event. In order to permit as much personal interaction as possible, we will be limiting the number of participants at these events, and we ask each parishioner to only sign up for one event. The exceptions will be the Meditation and Calm event, and, of course, the worship service and congregational meeting on October 18th. Many of the events center around breaking bread together; please bring whatever food items—if any—you would like to those virtual events. Please note that due to COVID-19, all of the Candidating Week activities will be virtual and accessible via Zoom.
All are welcome at the Candidating Week events, but only members of First Parish Church United can take part in the congregational vote on the 18th. For those interested in learning more about the church and possibly becoming members, Rev. Kathleen and the Membership Committee will be offering a “New Members Explorations” class in the coming two weeks. Please contact Rev. Kathleen at [email protected] to sign up or learn more.
CANDIDATING WEEK EVENTS
Mon., Oct. 12th, all day:
Indigenous Peoples’ Day Sermon (recorded video). Watch this video of a sermon crafted just for First Parish and recorded in the FPCU Sanctuary.
Tue., Oct. 13th, 10am
Coffee with the Minister. Grab your coffee and your bagel and join the minister candidate for some morning conversation.
Tue., Oct. 13th, 7pm
Minister Meet and Eat. Dinner with the candidate—you decide what’s on the menu!
Wed., Oct. 14th., 12pm
Potluck with the Pastor. Spend your lunch break with the minister candidate.
Wed., Oct. 14th, 4pm
Meditation and Calm during COVID. Take a break from thoughts of work, remote schooling, COVID, and election news as the minister candidate guides you through a time of meditative calm.
Thu., Oct. 15th, 7pm
Quarantini Cocktails & Mocktails. Bring your favorite drink and share some time with your fellow parishioners and the minister candidate!
Fri., Oct. 16th, 10am
Coffee with the Minister. Haven’t had a chance to chat with the minister candidate yet? No worries…this is the perfect time!
Fri., Oct. 16th, 7:30pm
Pizza with the Pastor (tweens/teens). Order in from your favorite local pizza place and join the minister candidate for this virtual pizza party.
Sat., Oct. 17th, 10:30am
Harry, Hagrid, & Hogwarts with the Candidate. Did you know our new minister candidate is a Harry Potter fanatic?!? Bring your wands and share with your favorite moments from the books and movies.
Sun., Oct. 18th, 10:30am
Family Worship Service. All are welcome to attend this very special virtual worship service.
Sun., Oct. 18th, 7:30pm
Congregational Meeting. The members of FPCU are invited to this virtual congregational meeting to vote on calling our next settled minister.