Dear Rose Park,
As an ordained Minister of Word and Sacrament, I have the unique privilege to be involved in some very meaningful services. Some of those services, like baptisms and professions of faith are called “congregational services” while weddings and funerals are called “pastoral services”. Beyond these congregational and pastoral services, I also have the unique privilege to be involved in what are called “classical services.”
Classical services include the commissioning of a Minster into a specialized ministry area and the final worship service at the closing of a church. These services don’t happen all that often in Holland Classis, so it’s been quite some time since I’ve last attended one of these classical services. A few times throughout the year however, and elder and I are asked to attend the ordination of a Minister of Word and Sacrament.
These services are typically filled with beautiful prayers and songs, the reading of God’s Word, and the laying on of hands. As I sit in the sanctuary and was a witness these ordinations, I am reminded of my own ordination service at Calvary Reformed Church in 2014. Some of you attended that service right after I graduated from seminary. I can vividly remember Rev. Leigh Van Kempen saying these words:
Ministers are called to build up Christ’s church. They are to proclaim God’s Word, to declare forgiveness through Jesus Christ, to call publicly on the name of the Lord on behalf of the whole congregation, to celebrate Christ’s holy sacraments, baptizing and presiding at the Lord’s Supper. They are to be pastors and teachers, sharing people’s joys and sorrows, encouraging the faithful, recalling those who fall away, and helping the sick and the dying.
I hope I fulfill this call. It is such a privilege and blessing for pastors to be able to do what we do with whom we do it. It is a blessing to walk alongside of you in both joy and sorrow. It is a blessing to hold your newborns as we baptize them and it is a blessing to meet you at the funeral home when we remember and celebrate a loved one being called on to glory. It is a blessing to publicly share God’s Word with you and it is a blessing to learn alongside you the teachings of Jesus.
But in a sense, this call can be for us all. We all can share in each other’s joys and sorrows. We all can encourage the faithful. We all can recall those who fall away. We all can help the sick and the dying. Though some are called to the office of minister, this does not excuse the call for all of us to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.
Grace & Peace,
Pastor Mark
Photo by Kirsten Frank on Unsplash