On August 8th, 1999, the Lord of the Church, having Solemnly Called candidate David Milette through the congregation of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church to serve them in His name as their pastor, officiant Rev. Dr. Roger Winger, president of Lutheran Church-Canada East District, ordained him into the Office of the Holy Ministry and installed him as the pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Moncton, NB. Following his installation, Pastor Milette officiated for the first time as a Servant of Christ and a Steward of the Mysteries of God (I Corinthians 4:1) in distributing the Sacrament of the Altar to the members of his new parish for the first time.

Other pastors participating in the installation included:

• Rev. David Somers, East District missionary to francophones in the Montreal region (guest preacher)
• Rev. Deane Detlefsen, pastor emeritus, circuit counselor for the Ottawa Circuit and vacancy pastor for Good Shepherd for the last two years
• Rev. Mark Koehler, pastor, Ascension Ev. Lutheran Church, Montreal, Qc (home pastor)

… as well as a record attendance of members, family, and friends of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, who pledged to receive Pastor Milette, pray for him, and support him as the preacher Christ has sent us.

Pastor Milette was heard to say that day,

The Office of the Holy Ministry is a great gift from Christ to His beloved Church, but it is not a gift to me as pastor for my own sake — in fact, for me as your pastor, it is a great burden and a heavy charge of responsibility, which I bear willingly for your sake and for Christ’s sake. Rather the great gift Christ gives in the Office of Preaching the Gospel and Administering the Sacraments is to the Church and to the world: “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent + Me, even so I am sending you.” And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld” (John 20:22-23). That is the power that still accompanies Christ’s Word when spoken faithfully, even when it is spoken by the messengers He sends.

Again, the Lord’s Apostle St. Paul writes to the Church: For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us (II Corinthians 4:5-7).

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!