In other jobs, work begins on one's first day in the office. No other event marks the beginning of one's tenure. In ministry, however, the wider church confirms and affirms a pastor's call to a congregation through a service of installation. The Church formally says to the pastor and congregation, "We are with you."
Installation seems an odd word for such an event. Refrigerators and dish washers are installed. Artists work months or even years on an installation of their own work. A pastor being "installed" to a congregation seems so sedentary, as if I am now fixed in place.
I prefer to think of ministry as agile and flexible enough to continue with the shifting winds of the Spirit. Change and growth necessarily blossom from the work of God in our midst. The day to day work of a pastor stretches and develops by the very nature of following Christ's call and by leading the people of God.
My installation means being firmly rooted in my call to this congregation while the lively breath of the Spirit grows and pushes me in all I do.