This holiday began in 1992 as a way to say thank you.

THANK YOU for your faithful proclamation of the Gospel.
THANK YOU for naming, preaching, teaching Jesus.
THANK YOU for saying “Yes” to this amazing call.
THANK YOU for the hours spent caring for the people of God in congregations, ministries, institutions, and wherever you are called upon to bring God’s love through Jesus in your setting and community.
THANK YOU for being you, now, in this time, in this century, in this place.

Remember you are CALLED, not hired.
Remember you are LOVED by Jesus, just like the people you serve.
Remember you are SAVED by grace, not by the many hours you put in.
Remember you are GIFTED with abilities and talents to share with each other.
Remember you are NOT ALONE. The ministry we share gives us opportunities to be with people who are joyous, in pain, in grief, in uncertainty.

Every time I preside at an Ordination I am struck by the meaning of the words I say. They are pointed and serious. It is always an honor to preside and to witness the Spirit’s work through the newly ordained Rostered Minister and the seasons Rostered Ministers who show up to support the ordinand through support and prayer during the service. I invite you to ponder some of the words from the Ordination service, as you reflect on your calls this month, giving thanks for how God has worked through you and accompanies you in your ministry:

At the time of Ordination as a Minister of Word and Service and Minister of Word and Sacrament the following is said:

As Pastors: All baptized Christians are called to share in Christ’s ministry of love and service in the world, to the glory of God and for the sake of the human family and the whole creation.

According to apostolic usage you are now to be entrusted with the office of word and sacrament in the one holy catholic church by the laying on of hands and by prayer. Before almighty God, to whom you must give account, and in the presence of this assembly, I ask:
Will you assume this office, believing that the church’s call is God’s call to the ministry of word and sacrament?
If so, say: I do, and I ask God to help me.

Hear the words of the apostles: Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith; take hold of the eternal life to which you were called. (1 Timothy 6:11-12)

As Deacons: All baptized Christians are called to share in Christ’s ministry of love and service in the world, to the glory of God and for the sake of the human family and the whole creation.

You have been called as a minister of word and service to give leadership in the church’s mission to proclaim the gospel through word and deed. You are now to be entrusted with the ministry of word and service in the one holy catholic church by the laying on of hands and by prayer.
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Before almighty God, to whom you must give account, and in the presence of this assembly, I ask: Will you accept this ministry, believing that the church’s call is God’s call to the ministry of word and service?
If so, say: I do, and I ask God to help me.

A reading from First Corinthians: There are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)

From the entire Southern Ohio Synod Staff: THANK YOU!

And REMEMBER: be of good courage, for God has called you, and your labor in the Lord is not in vain. The God of peace, who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, make you complete in everything good so that you may do God’s will, working in you that which is pleasing in God’s sight; through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.
Amen.