Video—Installation of the Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Nick Tamen
Shipmate
The thread that @Gramps49 started this past summer on the election of the Rev. Yahiel Curry as Presiding Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is closed, or I would have bumped it. When I went to YouTube yesterday to look for something else, this video of the Installation of Bishop Curry as Presiding Bishop from this past Saturday (October 4) was suggested to me on the main page. I thought shipmates who geek out on liturgy, particularly those for whom Lutheran liturgy (at least in its American form) is less familiar, might enjoy watching it, or at least dipping into parts of it.
The bulletin for the service can be found here. Aside from containing the full liturgy and identifying music, it provides a fair bit of helpful explanation for various parts of the service and identifies the many people who took part.
There were a number of highlights, I thought. The way in which Bishop Curry was clearly moved by the “Welcome” he received early in the liturgy was one of them, and another for me was the back-and-forth of the Veni Creator Spiritus (an English translation/adaptation) and “Spirit of the Living God” while representatives of a number of church bodies laid hands on and prayed for the new presiding bishop.* (I particularly enjoyed hearing “Spirit of the Living God” as I have numerous close family connections with the Presbyterian minister who wrote it.)
The church bodies represented by those who laid hands on Bishop Curry were:
• The Lutheran World Federation
• The United Church of Christ
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
• The Moravian Church, Northern Province
• The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria
• The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
• The United Methodist Church
• The Episcopal Church
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• The Anglican Church of Canada
• The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• The Church of Norway
All in all, a joyful service. Well done, ELCA!
* As I understand it, bishops in the ELCA are “installed” rather than “ordained” or “consecrated,” as the office of bishop is seen as a particular ministry of the office of pastor. @Gramps49 will, I hope, correct me if I’m wrong about that. The bulletin for the service noted: “During the hymns, leaders from various church bodies lay hands on the presiding bishop-elect, a sign of the church’s unity. As the Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Bishop Curry was installed as a bishop in historic succession in 2019. In this installation, the laying on of hands embodies the whole church’s prayer for the Holy Spirit to guide and sustain this new season of ministry.”
The bulletin for the service can be found here. Aside from containing the full liturgy and identifying music, it provides a fair bit of helpful explanation for various parts of the service and identifies the many people who took part.
There were a number of highlights, I thought. The way in which Bishop Curry was clearly moved by the “Welcome” he received early in the liturgy was one of them, and another for me was the back-and-forth of the Veni Creator Spiritus (an English translation/adaptation) and “Spirit of the Living God” while representatives of a number of church bodies laid hands on and prayed for the new presiding bishop.* (I particularly enjoyed hearing “Spirit of the Living God” as I have numerous close family connections with the Presbyterian minister who wrote it.)
The church bodies represented by those who laid hands on Bishop Curry were:
• The Lutheran World Federation
• The United Church of Christ
• The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada
• The Moravian Church, Northern Province
• The Lutheran Church of Christ in Nigeria
• The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
• The United Methodist Church
• The Episcopal Church
• The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• The Anglican Church of Canada
• The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
• The Church of Norway
All in all, a joyful service. Well done, ELCA!
* As I understand it, bishops in the ELCA are “installed” rather than “ordained” or “consecrated,” as the office of bishop is seen as a particular ministry of the office of pastor. @Gramps49 will, I hope, correct me if I’m wrong about that. The bulletin for the service noted: “During the hymns, leaders from various church bodies lay hands on the presiding bishop-elect, a sign of the church’s unity. As the Bishop of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod, Bishop Curry was installed as a bishop in historic succession in 2019. In this installation, the laying on of hands embodies the whole church’s prayer for the Holy Spirit to guide and sustain this new season of ministry.”