Sometimes we look forward to moments, and we expect a moment that is transcendent. Often, those moments fail to live up to our expectations.
Not so, Saturday. I will always treasure and remember May 31st, 2008. On the last day of our Annual Conference session 10 of us were ordained Elders in Christ's Holy Church. After years of mentoring and examination, it was an incredible moment to have the Bishop lay his hands on my head and set me aside for the Church. Having Jack Hart place the stole around my neck was surreal. It truly was a transcendent moment.
A few weeks leading up to ordination, Bishop Mike Coyner led all of the ordinands in a 2 day retreat. There we read and discussed the meaning of being ordained. I appreciated the reflection. Though little was "new" to me, it was a great (meaning both good and big) reminder of the weight of yoke of ordination. It is not something done lightly. The tradition of ordination came from the concept of Apostolic Succession.
In the Early Church, growth was rapid, leaders were few, and the only Scripture was the Old Testament. As disagreements in theology arose, it became evident that there needed to be a process of preserving and transmitting the historic faith. This became ordination. The Disciples of Jesus had disciples who had disciples who had disciples who...you get the picture. The concept of Apostolic Succession is that there is a trained, mentored, and educated group of people set aside to preserve and transmit (sometimes the word "guard" is used) the historic faith. This line of ordination, in theory, goes all the way back to Jesus himself. This is why we ordain clergy and set them aside.
On Sunday morning, June 1st, I kissed my ordination stole, offered up prayers that in humility I might be a servant of God to CCUMC, and I put on a stole that carried an impossible weight. It was the weight of being a servant of the Church, a faith and a people that extend millenia in the past and innumberable years ahead. It didn't feel good or bad, but there was a real sense that I was now different.
I am honored. I am humbled. I feel good. I am carrying a burden. In all these feelings, still there is something that is true. That always was true and always will be: The love of God. I pray that always my stole is a reminder that ordination is a calling by God to the Church and entrusted to me that I might serve and in so doing offer God's Love to a hurting and broken world.
Not so, Saturday. I will always treasure and remember May 31st, 2008. On the last day of our Annual Conference session 10 of us were ordained Elders in Christ's Holy Church. After years of mentoring and examination, it was an incredible moment to have the Bishop lay his hands on my head and set me aside for the Church. Having Jack Hart place the stole around my neck was surreal. It truly was a transcendent moment.
A few weeks leading up to ordination, Bishop Mike Coyner led all of the ordinands in a 2 day retreat. There we read and discussed the meaning of being ordained. I appreciated the reflection. Though little was "new" to me, it was a great (meaning both good and big) reminder of the weight of yoke of ordination. It is not something done lightly. The tradition of ordination came from the concept of Apostolic Succession.In the Early Church, growth was rapid, leaders were few, and the only Scripture was the Old Testament. As disagreements in theology arose, it became evident that there needed to be a process of preserving and transmitting the historic faith. This became ordination. The Disciples of Jesus had disciples who had disciples who had disciples who...you get the picture. The concept of Apostolic Succession is that there is a trained, mentored, and educated group of people set aside to preserve and transmit (sometimes the word "guard" is used) the historic faith. This line of ordination, in theory, goes all the way back to Jesus himself. This is why we ordain clergy and set them aside.
On Sunday morning, June 1st, I kissed my ordination stole, offered up prayers that in humility I might be a servant of God to CCUMC, and I put on a stole that carried an impossible weight. It was the weight of being a servant of the Church, a faith and a people that extend millenia in the past and innumberable years ahead. It didn't feel good or bad, but there was a real sense that I was now different.
I am honored. I am humbled. I feel good. I am carrying a burden. In all these feelings, still there is something that is true. That always was true and always will be: The love of God. I pray that always my stole is a reminder that ordination is a calling by God to the Church and entrusted to me that I might serve and in so doing offer God's Love to a hurting and broken world.
3 comments:
congrats, Mark!! it was a beautiful ceremony and as i have already told you, it is an honor and a privilege to have been a part of your ministry at ccumc. i have watched you pour yourself into the people and ministies of ccumc with unfaltering dedication and i have loved being on the journey with you!! you will be greatly missed!! i wish you the best of luck at Winchester UMC. God is Good, Love Wins, ALL THE TIME!! :)
Oh man - I am sorry I missed it. But I am very proud of you buddy! What a long jouney it has been. You'll do great in Winchester (God willing of course) :-)
Many, many congratulations! I was lucky enough to be able to hold my ordination on the same day as our wedding anniversary back in December. Sometimes, when I put on my robe and stole on Sunday mornings, I still feel like a kid playing dress up, thinking, "what right do I have to be teaching these people anything about God?" and then I remember, it's not a 'right,' it's a gift--one that God has given me and my professors, my mentors, my colleagues and my churches have all fostered!
Blessings on your ministry and on you and your family. Peace.
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