Contributed by Whitney Holley

Casey

This Saturday at 10am you are invited to join the Episcopal Church of the Transfiguration as we celebrate new life and ministry with the installation of the Reverend R. Casey Shobe as our fourth Rector. This festive service does not occur often and is a golden opportunity for us to celebrate the gift of our new rector with the greater community. Please come and join us and plan to attend a wonderful reception that will follow in Roper Parish Hall! 

For those of us who have never been a part of or witnessed a new Rector coming to town, I thought I would ask a pretty reliable source, Father Michael Merriman, what this installation thing was all about. 

This Saturday we install Father Casey as our Rector. Isn’t he already hired? What is the point of this service?

Casey is indeed already the Rector. This event helps us remember that our parish is but part of the much larger Church. The larger Church represented by our chief pastor, the Bishop, and many of the clergy of our diocese as well as visitors from other parishes and other denominations, will be with us to celebrate the beginning of Casey’s ministry here. There service also reminds us that the Bishop is our chief pastor, preacher, and liturgical presider. Casey is his representative in this place. 

I’ve heard people calling it an installation and people calling it an institution, which is it and why?

The Prayer Book calls the service as a whole, Celebration of New Ministry. It begins with the Institution which is when the Bishop, the Wardens, and the Congregation formally affirm that he is the Rector. There is another part called  The Induction when the Bishop, the Clergy, and the Congregation present to him symbols of the varied ministries he will lead us in. Then he joins the Bishop at the Altar to lead us in Holy Eucharist. 

This sounds very official and important, can just anyone come?

Indeed! Anyone and everyone can come and we hope they will. We would like to see the church building filled and overflowing!

Father Michael, how many Celebrations of New Ministry have you been a part of?

I have been instituted into five ministry positions, including Rector twice, Cathedral Vice Dean and Present0r once, Interim Rector once, and Honorary Canon in a cathedral in Australia. 

Are there any special elements of the service that are unique that we might miss if we are not paying close attention?

The presentation of the symbols in the Induction is very impressive, I think. The prayer Casey will say at the end of that part of the liturgy is very moving. (It is also one of the only two places in the Book of Common Prayer where you find a prayer by an individual- saying “I” and “me” rather than “we.”)

I’ve heard people wear red to ordinations, what color will people be wearing on Saturday?

The clergy’s vestments at this service will the white, the liturgical color for festivals. 

 Thank you Father Michael for helping us all get excited and prepare for the big event on Saturday. We hope you will be there with us as we honor Father Casey and install him as our new Rector! If you ever have a question about a service, a ministry, or something about the Episcopal Church in general, please send us an email or leave a comment and ask. While we are no experts, we have access to people, like Father Michael, who can get you the answers you want and need!