Dear Members of Faith Lutheran Church,
As some of you may have known, my installation into the office of the public ministry here at Faith was scheduled to take place this Sunday, April 5th. Our circuit counselor, Pastor Boshoven, our district president Rev. Dr. Dan Brege, and other members of the clergy in our area and district were to be in attendance to celebrate the start of a new season of ministry here at our church.
So I thought I’d briefly share a bit of information about installation. There are a number of different terms that get thrown around here.
CALL – This is the call into the office of the public ministry in the congregation or to another assignment in that ministry. It should also be used for auxiliary offices that are directly supportive of the teaching and preaching function of the pastoral ministry, the areas of such responsibility being carefully defined.
ORDINATION – This is done for those FIRST called into the office of the public ministry.
COMMISSIONING – This places a person into an office clearly auxiliary to the central functions of the pastoral ministry. This would include teachers, deaconesses, directors of Christian education, etc. Sometimes churches also use this for volunteer lay officers and workers in a congregation.
INSTALLATION – This is used for induction of a person into a specific post in the pastoral ministry or one of its auxiliary offices as indicated above.
Typically, when a candidate for the office accepts his first call, he receives an ordination. This is an official acknowledgment by the BROADER church that a man has been properly trained and duly called to serve in the church. It is a rite that effectively PLACES a person into that office and what we might call the “ministerium”, which is just a fancy word for a collection of all the clergy within a particular church body.
Ordination is for pastors … commissioning is similar but for what we call “auxiliary offices” like deaconesses, DCEs, teachers, etc.
The rite of installation is done for any person assuming a specific post within the church. In the case of pastors, it’s kind of a fun moment because it starts with one minister presiding over worship, but after the rite of installation, the new pastor takes over leading right in the middle of service. 🙂
But MORE than that, the rite installation is a formal recognition of the divine call that has been extended by a congregation and accepted by the pastor. It is also an opportunity for the body of Christ in a given place to come together around that pastor to inaugurate and celebrate their ministry among them.
Ideally speaking, an installation would take place BEFORE he ever leads a worship service. However, that is not always possible given that pastors often have other responsibilities and timing challenges, etc. It is a bit more common for an installation to take place in a special service near the day he actually assumes the office in that place. Typically, that is done within two weeks. We were planning on doing it the same day, just later.
That is how things are USUALLY done … but as you all know, these are unusual times. And unusual times cause us to challenge some of those usual practices a bit. For example, we recognize that a baptism in the sanctuary with a pastor and a candle and a cloth and a gown, etc. isn’t essential, though it is beneficial. So in emergency situations, we have ways to perform a baptism that strips it down to just the essentials.
The same is true for an installation. A formal installation is a GREAT thing for the pastor and the church, but much of it is just that … a formality. The essential component for a pastor to assume an office in the church is the divine call. Faith Lutheran Church, through prayer and guidance of the Spirit through the means common to this place, has extended a divine call; I, in turn, have accepted it, and that is all that is necessary. As such, I have assumed that office here at Faith, and the Indiana District, through recognition of those proper realities, also recognizes that ministry. A formal installation is not needed.
That being said, an installation service is STILL beneficial, but only for the sake of the congregation and her pastor, as they establish this new relationship of walking together in faith, learning from and following our Lord, Jesus as He directs. To that end, we are still planning on holding an installation service with all the “pomp,” so that the congregation and other pastors as well as myself and my family can come together to celebrate what God has done in bringing a new pastor here and what we hope He will do in and through us in ministry in the years to come. As soon as we can resume regular on-site worship, we will look to schedule that service and enthusiastically invite the entire congregation to come and be a part of it together.
If you have any questions or concerns about any of that, feel free to reach out to me. I am now the pastor of Faith Lutheran Church, and I look forward to experiencing all that means for us in the days and years to come. And I will join you in looking forward to that day when we can gather together again in this place and celebrate these and all our many blessings.
Peace,
Pastor Brett Satkowiak