The drama of the moment could have been easily lost from
where I was sitting in the back of the room.
The pastor was kneeling on the floor in front of the altar. No kneeler.
No cushion. My knees would have
been complaining if not screaming.
The installation of the Rev. Amy Fallon as pastor of Grace
Place Campus Ministry at Northern Illinois University was last Wednesday
evening. As an accommodation to the
“older” people who might attend, the service time was set for 7:00 p.m. The normal worship time for Grace Place is
Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. In spite of it
being Lent, there was a good attendance, although few clergy could be present.
Grace Place is a joint ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church in America and the Episcopal Church.
The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey Lee, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago was
the officiant for the installation, or induction in Episcopal terminology. Our bishop, the Rev. Dr. Gary Wollersheim,
presided over the Eucharist. The Rev.
David Hedges, rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Sycamore and chair of
the Grace Place board, preached the sermon.
Following the renewal of baptism and Bishop Lee’s
questioning of Amy, symbols and tools of the office were presented to her by
representatives of the community. She
received a Bible, water, her stole, a book of prayers, anointing oil, the keys
to the building, a charter, the Canons of the Diocese, and bread and wine.
It was then that the pastor knelt down on the floor to
pray. I am guessing that this prayer is a
prescribed part of the induction rite which is copyrighted so I will not
reprint it here in its entirety. From my
seat in the back, purposely chosen since I had volunteered to distribute
bulletins prior to the service, I could not see Amy, but I could hear her
words. The image was powerful. The pastor, on her knees in a posture of
humility and pleading, in the presence of her congregation and peers, prayed, “O
Lord my God…to you and to your service I devote myself, body, soul, and
spirit.” “Make me an instrument of your
salvation for the people entrusted to my care….” “In prayer, quicken my
devotion; in praises, heighten my love and gratitude; in preaching, give me
readiness of thought and expression; and grant that, by the clearness and
brightness of your holy Word, all the world may be drawn in your blessed
kingdom.”
As Pastor Amy begins her ministry, let us join her in
prayer. Pray for her work among the
young people at NIU. Check out the Grace
Place website, www.graceplaceniu.com. Grace Place can also be found on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GracePlaceNIU.
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| Hedges, Lee, Fallon, Wollersheim (left to right) |
Congrats Pastor Amy! It is a wonderful ministry that Grace Place is doing for the students at NIU. I pray that your enthusiasm for Christ infects your students. May they go out into the world to spread the Good News to others, as you are teaching it to them.
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