What is an installation service? Rev. Alanna Simone Tyler and Bishop Regina Hassanally

Elder Suzanne P. Kelly was installed as CEO of Minnesota Council of Churches in a service at Shiloh Temple International Ministries in Minneapolis on October 22, 2024.

Rev. Alanna Simone Tyler of Minneapolis' Westminster Presbyterian Church, and Bishop Regina Hassanally of the Southeast Minnesota Synod ELCA spoke about the purpose of an installation service.

Watch a video of their comments and find their prepared remarks below.

Purpose of Installation Remarks and Prayer

Rev. Alanna Simone Tyler

Good evening. My name is Alanna Simone Tyler; I am ordained Teaching Elder in the Presbyterian Church and a member of the Minnesota Council of Churches Board of Directors.

This gathering is one of the unique features of the Minnesota Council of Churches as we welcome our new leader. Your participation in this installation is particularly important too, as you affirm your call to share with our new leader in the ministry and work of Jesus Christ, in service to the beloved community. We pray this special worship gathering marks a new beginning of what God will do through the Minnesota Council of Churches in this season.

Installation is the liturgical celebration of the covenantal relationship among the ordained minister/ordained leader, the Minnesota Council of Churches, its member judicatories, and—by association—the more than one million Christians living across the state of Minnesota.

The Minnesota Council of Churches is a body shaped by covenant. Covenants differ from contracts. A covenant does not dissolve automatically at the point that the parties disagree or experience discomfort, or when change occurs. A dynamic tension between autonomy and covenant is at the heart of what it means to be the Minnesota Council of Churches. Covenant means that the Chief Executive Officer and Board members of the Council agree to be held accountable by the other, and each agrees to allow their individual service to be shaped, in part, by their relationship to the other leaders. All member denominations and individual members of the Minnesota Council of Churches agree that they carry accountability to others in the covenant to fulfill our joint mission which is Unity Built on Justice.

With these thoughts in mind, the installation of our CEO is our formal opportunity to publicly affirm and celebrate the "covenant relationship" MCC has with her, its member judicatories, and the bishops and leaders who serve them.

Bishop Regina Hassanally

Today, we acknowledge the people who have served in this role before. We remember their courage and boldness, their creativity and innovation, their legacy of leadership compassion and mercy. We remember their lives formed by study of God's word and shaped by conversations with God in prayer.

Standing before you this evening is the first African American woman selected to join the list of those named as CEO of the Minnesota Council of Churches. She is called to bold and courageous leadership. She is called to serve with mercy and compassion. She is called to lead with wisdom that holds on to that which serves the gospel of Jesus Christ while at the same time confidently bringing forward innovative ideas. She is called to build relationships and bridges between individuals and groups. To be faithful to the task she will need to study God's word and pray. She will need to be in conversation with you and with others. She will need to be open to the movement of the Spirit. To be successful in the tasks before her, she will need your prayers and your support. She will need you to respond to God's call to work beside her as together we step into God's future.

And so, Lord we pray, Almighty God, we thank You that You have called us into Your church and have given us tasks to perform. Help us to be aware that you have entrusted us with accomplishing remarkable things for the advancement of Your kingdom on earth. We pray for Elder Kelly, that your Spirit would pour out upon her, anointing her for the work to which she has been called. We ask that you endue your chosen servant with heavenly wisdom that she might have the mind of Christ in the decisions she makes. Help her to employ the gifts with which You have prepared her. May Your church be blessed by her service and may she find joy in serving You. In the name of Christ. Amen.