Creative ways emerge to witness John Dorhauer installation

By car, by bus, and even by bandwidth.

As the Rev. John C. Dorhauer is formally installed as the ninth general minister and president of the United Church of Christ in a series of worship services in three cities this weekend, the wider church has the opportunity to be part of the event in-person and online.

The Riverside Church in New York City, Trinity United Church of Christ on Chicago’s South Side, and Plymouth Church United Church of Christ in downtown Seattle are the host congregations for the progressive installation service on April 15, 16 and 17 — planned as a pivotal moment for the future and mission of the denomination.

One conference planned a road trip to allow members to be present Friday evening at this new moment for the church. The Rev. Kent Siladi, conference minister of the Connecticut Conference, came up with the idea to charter a bus to take a group of people to The Riverside Church to attend the first service and make a weekend of it.

“We have a bus of 55 people (actually 13 spots left) that will be going down to the installation,” Siladi said. “It’s making three stops — starting here in Hartford, then [the New Haven area] and then Fairfield. We also have folks who will be seeing this as a New York City adventure and will be getting there by car and train for an overnight or weekend excursion.”

All three of the services will be streamed live on the UCC website, something that Dorhauer had stated is a reminder that the installation is shared with the entirety of the denomination.

“It’s a symbolic value suggesting that we are now a part of a technological world,” Dorhauer said, “and we will use those gifts to broaden our impact; and practically making this moment something we can all own and participate in.”

For those who watch the installation on their home computers or on their mobile devices via the LiveStream app, programs that detail the proceedings of all three services are available online for download so viewers follow along.

For more information or to watch the proceedings live, visit the UCC Installation webpage.