You in your own life seek to follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Love your neighbors, and work for reconciliation of the world. Will you be governed by our churches policy and will you abide by discipline? Will you be a friend among your colleagues in ministry, working with them, subject to the ordering of God's spirit and work? Do you promise to further the peace, unity and purity of the Church? Will you seek to serve this people with the energy, intelligence, imagination and love? I will. And will you be a faithful minister of planning the good news in the world of sacraments? Teaching faith and caring for people? Will you be active in the government and discipline serving in the governing bodies of the church and in your ministry? Will you try to show the love and justice of Jesus Christ?

Do you remember something I said very often it out of my life. And that's where you. And by. Their mom and dad were fired for asking for my grandma. And so. Well, we did. Law and order. Excuse me. And how do you do that?

It so happens that I was with Jerry for two or more years and I have been called upon to give this prayer. What I wanted to tell you something, that I'm retired, but I'm not rocky. And yet when you get cataracts, I guess I got cataracts. Sometimes you don't see everything that you want to see in quite the right way. And so I'm going to ask you to bear with me. And if you understand, I'm sure God will understand. Also, may we, via our heads, Almighty and Everlasting Father, who discovered the little things in heaven and earth by the wisdom it has from the beginning, ordained for that church, the Ministry of Reconciliation. We thank you for that goodness to us this day of establishing this pastorate and how it beseech thee to continue as a loving kindness to this your congregation and have a servant who has now been set, all of them in holy things, bless him in full measure with the gifts of thy spirit, that he may truly and effectively preach the gospel so and do him with I with the purity of life that he may be an example to this flock and grant that in all things he may faithfully serve v the glory of thy great me, O Lord God, the sanctifying of the faithful. We pray thee this people with our love and favor and prepare them to or prepare the hearts to receive thy word. Enlighten their minds more and more with the light available, the lasting gospel increase in them, true religion nourish them in all goodness, arouse them to works that shall establish among men righteousness and love and truth according to the high holy will, and of that great mercy, keep them in the unity of the Spirit and in the bonds of love through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who with the and with the Holy Spirit one God, we worship and glorify the world without end. And He met.

God, pray together as Jesus taught His disciples.

To pray for rather higher authority.

I wonder.

They're going to say. The idea that. Jerry, you are now installed as associate pastor for.

North Eastern Presbyterian Church. Whatever you do in word or in the do everything to the glory of God. Jesus Christ and the grace of our Lord.

Jesus Christ and the love of God and the continuing companionship of the Holy Spirit. Rest in the bind with you and peaceful now of.

It is our tradition to invite.

Clergy and elders to confer and greet this new associate pastor.

And we're going to alter tradition just a tad today and ask Dr. Mercer to say a word of greeting that's hard to carry. As we begin spinning you, elements of the party come and go that you will include.

I said that prayer. But that prayer is only the aftermath of the kind of prayers that I have been offering up for the young men who have come under my purview over a period of quite a few years. This young man came in sort of on special dispensation because his sister Katie, was under my wife's deanship at Bible school here, college. And then when Jerry came to Atlanta, I didn't know Jerry at that time, and he snuck into my congregation two or three times and looked me over and looked over the church. And then he came with his own scholarship in him and said that he was looking for a place to settle down and to get some in the house training. And so I welcomed him to the Radcliff family. And we had a perfectly a wonderful situation from that time on. I think I scared him a few times because I believed that somehow, some way that young men should be under a senior pastor and be able to get some of what is really in store for them down the line. So he's had he's had a part of that. Robert Frost, in one of his short poems, said these lines he promises to keep and miles to go before we sleep. The Christians at Northeastern the church have a lot of promises to keep because of the goodness of all mighty God to you. It is blessed you in so many ways. The leadership has that. And I didn't tell you also that Lord Green was also one of my boys and he was about it. He was preaching when he came back. And so I sent him down to Augusta, Georgia, in the little church where when you walked in the front door, you were going out the rear. And that's where that's where that's where life started off. But be that as it may, we fed the hungry during that summer, under the arm, under the egis of the of eoa. And so we got along fine too. And then we moved to higher heights. And these now in the helm, we were in the heavenly realms of Northeast. And so it is that I come out of the South to you are for the sake and the purpose of being on this program with my boy Jerry. And I'm proud of him. And I think you are going to be proud of him as he works and is filled with you.

These workers are not.

You're late due to the fact and the pomp and pageantry of this impressive installation service. Along with the excitement thereof, may, in the days ahead, seek to rob your memory of the real significance and personal application of this occasion. It is with this possibility in mind that I charge you to remember what you have been called to be. Your official title is Associate Pastor, but behind that title are the more important words. Minister seven The members of this congregation and then the community will doubtless want to show their appreciation for your your ministry in the days ahead by serving you in a myriad of ways. This possibility makes it all the more important that you keep on replay the words of the one who said he or she who would be greatest among you. Let him or her be the servant. Again, let me try you to remember that what you've been called to do, regardless of what the words are on your position description. You've been called to proclaim God's Word. Yes, I'm referring to the formal 15 or 20 minute Presbyterian stopwatch sermon. But. But I'm also pointing you beyond the formal sermon on Sunday to the sermon continuum that moves from words on the first day of the week to deed during the rest of the week. I'm referring to the sermon people see and remember rather than the one they hear and quickly forget. Let me also try you to remember that the selfless service and demonstrated proclamation of the word are rooted and nurtured in a close and continuous relationship between the human and the divine for the best servant and the effective proclaim. Those are those men and women who walk and talk daily with the servant Lord, who is also the living word. Failure to enter into and remain in communion with the Divine is a sure way. I continue to make your ministry a self-serving one and to reduce your sermons to a noisy symphony of pious words that lack the appeal and the attractiveness of the good news. Finally, Jay Crosby, the well-known writer him Right, has written some familiar words, which, Jerry, I think you need to hang over the threshold of your spirit. And keep them in a prominent place in your study. I would hope that you would see them often and meditate upon them frequently. Not for ease or worldly pleasure, nor for fame. My prayer shall be gladly, gladly. Will I toil and suffer Only let me walk with the. Close. To the. Close to the. All along my pilgrim journey. Say You let me walk close to thee May you so walk to.

My dear friends of Northeast Northeastern, let me thank you for your kind invitation and the third time I've been with you on this occasion to give the charge to one of your men. Jerry, Bill Mercer and Bob Newbold have outlined what it's all about. But ours is a great tradition, this Presbyterian tradition. And all the time that I have been installed, I have requested that the warden, given the chance to me, would use portions of their charged found and now all book of common worship of 19. I just want to lay on you some of those words. Some of the great wisdom of our church. Hey, Jerry. Yours is the first and highest office in the church with both dignity and usefulness. And you do remember how varied manifold are the duties and responsibilities to which you are coal and you are a bishop, and as overseer of Christ's flock, you have a watchful regard for your people. You will be. They are God and leader, as Bob said, and they will follow you as they see you. While you are a pastor, you will shepherd the church which Christ purchased. Your respond to the Master's call Feed my sheep, feed my lamb. This will require on your part diligence and study and delighted in the care of your people. You are a Presbyterian, you will be faithful and diligent in your responsibilities, not only in your church, but in your presbytery. You will not only like the welfare of your brothers and sisters in other congregations, and you will regard for the work of the kingdom beyond your own parish. You are an ambassador. You will faithfully declare the whole Council of God. You are proclaim the Holy Birth, the perfect life, the tone, and therefore glorious resurrection, the ever living presence of the Lord Jesus. Saint Paul has reminded us. We are, Ambassador. And so I charge you. Before the great God in the Lord Jesus Christ preached the world the instant in season and out of season. Repeal, rebuke, sufferance. You do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your ministry. I may have the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you and upon the people of North.

I would ask the Congregation of the Northeastern Presbyterian Church to reflect with me a bit on the questions that you have answered in the affirmative, as asked by elder Doris Hundley. First, you have agreed to accept the Reverend Jerry Cannon as your associate pastor, chosen by God through the voice of this congregation to guide you in the way of Jesus Christ. As we think about those words chosen by God through you, what led you to choose him to respond in the affirmative to the Holy Spirit? You have chosen him for his clarity of faith. For his special qualities and his special gifts. As Jerry Cannon ministers among you, you'll need to allow time for these gifts to flourish and to grow. You will also need to allow time for his hidden talents to develop. For him to perfect his own style of ministry as he moves in your midst. Let Jerry Cannon be himself not molded into something or someone you feel he should be. In the second question, you have agreed to encourage him. Respect his decisions and to follow as he guides you in serving Jesus Christ, who alone is head of the church. All of us flourish in an atmosphere of acceptance, respect and love. And yet at times there's a strong pull for us to hold on to familiar patterns. But this is the time for change, to let go a bit and allow Jerry Cannon to test his ideas, some of which may be very new to Northeastern Church. To listen to his counsel, respect his decision and the outcome for this church and for God's kingdom will probably be surprising and gratifying. Jerry Cannon is a human being. He will make mistakes, as we all do, and he needs the love of Christ, as you and I do. Be grateful for his pattern of ministry, realizing that any gifts he likes will be provided and developed in other members of Christ body here in Northeastern Church and also among his colleagues in ministry. The final question you have answered in the affirmative is to fairly provide for his and for his family's material needs. To the best of your ability and to stand by him and his family in times of trouble and to share their jaws, allowing them time to be together as a family without church responsibilities, respecting their privacy, also allowing time for Jerry spiritual renewal and growth. And lastly here, the word he preaches accepting his pastoral care and honoring his authority as he seeks to honor and obey Jesus Christ, our Lord. Thank you.

Prior to singing our closing hymn. I would like to make some recognition of that remark. First of all, I'd say it is indeed an honor. And it made it an opportunity for me to be installed as the associate pastor of the North Eastern Presbyterian Church. I thank you, Northeastern, for having the confidence in voting for me, as well as supporting me in the ministry thus far. And I hope that with the grace of God, through the grace of God and with your help, we will have a long lasting ministry. I thank my family who is here today, and I have made a terrible mistake this morning and due to introducing my family, I forgot to recognize specifically that I have a sister and brother in law here. That is, I introduced them as Mr. and Mrs. Henry Love. That is Doris and Henry Love. Doris is my sister and I am very glad that she's here with you all family. They have visited with us before back in the fall, and I am grateful for their close proximity to me being in Warfield, Virginia. Next, I would like to also share this auspicious occasion with my wife. Veronica, would you please stand? And thank you for being my support and writing left hand. Thank goes out to a lot of friends and supporters, colleagues, colleagues, friend, fraternity brothers and this family that have ventured to be with me on this particular occasion. To my colleagues in ministry, I am very grateful for you to be here. I have representatives from the pit group, as we call it, Professionals in Transition, and you see the names listed on the program. There is one omission that I apologize for relate to start introducing this group of first by saying we have the honor of having the Reverend Suzanne Root herself on the rest in Paris. Minister, would you please then. Next, we have Reverend Hong John Cho from the Korean Presbyterian Church in Beltsville. Complete that problem that we have. Reverend Kinte went to Hazleton from the Capitol Hill Presbyterian Church downtown. Thank you. And we also have the Reverend Paul White from the first Church, Annandale. Thank you very much for this. Is a group of clergy and what church professionals that we've gathered for an orientation and debriefing and more or less established a support group. And we're very grateful for you to be. I am grateful for you to be here and share this moment with me also. We have Mr. Henry George. Mr. George is, I think, a friend by way of choice, and for it we have worked inadvertently on some committees together and some other presbytery things. And I thank you, Mr. George, for serving on the commission. Would you please stand History, Sergeant Church? Now, if I have admitted anybody, I apologize. But I just want to thank each and every one of you for being here with me, specifying those, as I say to you Northeastern Church and to the installation committee, which is it has been headed up by Miss Rita Davenport. Thank you, Ms.. Davenport. Now that would take care of all the introductions in my remarks. So if you would now please stand as we sing our closing hymn, Him number 515, God of Our Fathers Whose Almighty Hand.

I. No. And.

And on to him was able to keep you from stumbling and falling in the way. Who is able to prevent you falling before his father's throne and glory may grace, peace and mercy rest by with you henceforth and forevermore. Amen.

We're. Ow, Ow, Ow, ow, Ow! O. P. O. O.

O.

O. We. We. Oh, there is go. Oh, oh, oh. For.