Initiation of Called Ministry and Installation of Rev. Dr. Isabel Call
May 4, 2024
3:00 PM Central Time
Come a bit early for fabulous music.
Stay after for the reception.
In-person and on Zoom.
481 Zeandale Rd
Meeting ID: 942 0904 4890
Passcode: 001710
Spiritual leaders, religious professionals, and healers will be gathering at 2:30. If you are in this group, please RSVP so that we can share additional instructions. The Zoom room for this pre-gathering is here. here
RSVP here!
The offering will be split between the Living Tradition Fund and the Kanza Heritage Society. Donations can be made at uufm.net/donate or by texting (785) 434-9296 and typing the number of dollars followed by the word “install” (e.g. “50 install”).
Thank you to Rev. Kimberly Debus, whose ordination is shown in the picture above left, and Rev. Kimberly Quinn Johnson who is leading the procession. The photo of Rev. Isabel is from her 2021 ordination by the First Unitarian Universalist Church of Columbus, OH.
Order of Service
| Prelude Spotify playlist UUFM Installation Quartet Getting to Know You By Rodgers & Hammerstein, arr. The Onyx Collective Blackbird By Paul McCartney, arr. Brad Mehldau A Spoonful of Sugar By Sherman & Sherman, arr. Kacey Musgraves |
| Processional Wake Now, My Senses Installation Brass Band UUFM Choir Renea Brown, Piano Wake, now, my senses, and hear the earth call; feel the deep power of being in all; keep, with the web of creation your vow, giving, receiving as love shows us how. Wake, now, my reason, reach out to the new; join with each pilgrim who quests for the true; honor the beauty and wisdom of time; suffer thy limit, and praise the sublime. Wake, now, compassion, give heed to the cry; voices of suffering fill the wide sky; take as your neighbor both stranger and friend, praying and striving their hardship to end. Wake, now, my conscience, with justice thy guide; join with all people whose rights are denied; take not for granted a privileged place; God’s love embraces the whole human race. Wake, now, my vision of ministry clear; brighten my pathway with radiance here; mingle my calling with all who will share; work toward a planet transformed by our care. |
| Welcoming words Emily Fraser, UUFM Board Chair |
| Lighting of Chalice Charlie Almquist and Dariel Mayer |
| Reading The Fountain, by Denise Levertov, read by Rev. Erin Dajka Holley |
| Greetings from our Unitarian Universalist Association Lauren Wyeth |
| Poem c huffman |
| Invitation to Generosity Rev. Shelley Page UUA General Assembly’s Living Tradition Fund and the Kanza Heritage Society Donate at uufm.net/donate or by texting the dollar amount followed by “install” to (785) 434-9296 |
| Offertory I Am Willing, By Holly Near UUFM Installation Quartet Featuring Emily Fraser and Marisa Larson, Vocals I am open and I am willing To be hopeless would seem so strange It dishonors those who go before us So lift me up to the light of change |
| Charge to the Minister Elder Gary Anderson |
| Charge to the Congregation The Rev. Dr. Emily Melcher |
| Act of Installation Member: With pride, resolve, gratitude, hope and love, we hereby affirm and embrace the covenantal relationship now blossoming between the people of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Manhattan and the Reverend Dr. Isabel Call. Isabel: We have freely chosen each other as partners in dance, to lead and follow by turns, and this service symbolizes our mutual commitment and dedication to that abiding bond. Member: Pastor Isa, we offer you a free pulpit, our steadfast hearts, the bounty of our minds and the work of our hands. We acknowledge that our first duty to you is to be present, whether at Fellowship services, or in service of Fellowship aspirations. As you take up the banner of leadership, we pledge to journey with you along the path of truth, service, justice and spiritual enlightenment, to be open, honest and forthright in conversation, and with appreciation and generosity to contribute our time, energy and resources to aid you in guiding us toward our shared vision. Isabel: I meet your trust in me with dedication and accountability to our shared faith. I vow to listen to you — opening my heart to your truth and your questions. I promise to support your growth. I will help you to be accountable to your mission, to expand it when we grow, and to celebrate. I will also be with you when things are hard, holding sorrow and respecting the complexity of human and community life. I will seek accountability for my own ministry, receiving the wisdom, experience, strength, and hope from others and sharing mine in service of the collective good. Together, let us listen to the community beyond these walls and the voices of our ancestors and join in the healing of our larger culture. I bring to you my personal commitment to antiracism and decolonization and to making amends and reparations for harm. Member: We vow to unite with you in sowing the seeds of expanding community, with faith in the synergy of our partnership, energized by a mindset of possibility and a spirit of exploration, with fervent openness to change, tempered by a deep regard for the wisdom of our predecessors, bolstered by a zest for adventure and a taste for joy, and with confidence that you and we together can harmonize our voices as we call to all to confront the persistent legacies of past wrongs and to pay our debts to those unfairly burdened. With humility and reverence, let us unite in nurturing a world that can continue to flourish. We receive your ministry here and meet it with our own. Isabel: I’m ready. Congregation: We’re ready. |
| Fanfare Pictures At An Exhibition: X. Promenade V By Modest Mussorgsky Installation Brass Band |
| Exchange of Gifts |
| Ritual for Shared Ministry Pastor Melissa Atchison |
| Let It Be A Dance UUFM Choir Led by the choir. Please join in the chorus. Let it be a dance we do. May I have this dance with you? Through the good times and the bad times, too, let it be a dance. |
| Closing words |
| Recessional “Ode to Joy” from Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125: IV. Finale by Ludwig van Beethoven Installation Brass Band |
We are grateful to many people beyond those listed here for bringing this service and reception into being.
Leaders
- The Rev. Dr. Emily Melcher is a spiritual director and UU minister who lives on Whidbey Island, WA, and has served as Rev. Isabel’s mentor for 4 years.
- Pastor Melissa Atchison serves the Manhattan Mennonite Church and is a close collaborator and friend of Rev. Isabel’s.
- Elder Gary Anderson is a queer yogi elder and mentor for Rev. Isabel. He lives near Madison, WI.
Participants
- The Rev. Erin Dajka Holley is the Lead Minister at All Souls Unitarian Universalist Church in Kansas City, MO.
- The Rev. Shelley Page is the Developmental Minister of the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Lawrence, and will soon be relocating to Ithaca, NY.
- Lauren Wyeth is an Advanced Level Credentialed Religious Educator who serves on the UUA MidAmerica Regional Staff. She joins us from Minneapolis, MN.
- c huffman is a Kaw Nation Citizen, poet, theologian, curriculum designer, and gentle soul. She joins us from Colorado Springs, CO.
- Dick Beeman, Incoming Board Chair, led the creative and collaborative poetic effort of writing the covenant for our Act of Installation
- Marisa Larson has served on the Board since Rev. Isabel’s arrival in Manhattan.
- Rev. Christian Watkins marshalled the spiritual leaders today. She is the Pastor at K-State Ecumenical Campus Ministries and a frequent collaborator with Rev. Isabel.
UUFM Installation Task Force
- Emily Fraser, Board Chair
- Lorn Clement, Member of the Committee on Ministry
- Linda Johnson
- Christie Launius
- Mark Mayfield
UUFM Installation Quartet
- Kevin Steinmetz, Guitar
- Jeff Brown, Bass Guitar, Vocals, UUFM Music Director and Member
- Justin Trowbridge, Drums, Banjo
- Renea Brown, Piano, Vocals, UUFM Accompanist and Member
Installation Brass Band
- Paul Hunt, Trombone, Moderator of First Congregational United Church of Christ
- Julie Hunt, Trombone
- Scott Freeby, Trumpet
- Gary Lloyd, Trumpet, First United Methodist Church