On Sunday, July 7, hundreds of parishioners packed Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Sun Prairie.
They came to witness the installation of Fr. Vincent Brewer as pastor of Epiphany of the Lord Parish, which includes Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary Church in Sun Prairie, St. Albert the Great Church in Sun Prairie, St. Joseph Church in Waterloo, and St. Mary of the Nativity Church in Marshall.
The church was filled well ahead of Mass, so much so that by the time it began, the only available option for late arrivals was to stand at the back.
Father Brewer was installed as pastor by Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison, and he installed Father Brewer in the presence of Vicar General Fr. Tait Shroeder, Parochial Vicar Fr. Michael Johnson, Deacon Joe Stafford, and the many parishioners in attendance.
‘Willing to go Into the Deep’
In his homily, Bishop Hying emphasized and thanked the work Epiphany of the Lord Parish had done to be the first parish merger in the diocese since Into the Deep was launched last year and reflected on Into the Deep and Go Make Disciples, two initiatives currently underway in the diocese.
The bishop said that in planning for the diocesan restructuring, “We did a deep dive on data two years ago and discovered that by any metric, the life of our diocese was going in the wrong direction, whether it was Mass attendance, number of baptisms, number of children in religious education — and we needed to do something about it.
“Our mission is to Go Make Disciples. Our restructuring is Into the Deep to help us to do that well and to help us lay foundations for the next 40, 50 years because we don’t want to just hang on.”
Continuing, the bishop said, “We seek to do for our whole diocese what is happening here today.
“I’m grateful to you, Father Vince but also to Father Michael, Fr. William [Vernon], Deacon Joe, all of the staff, all of the lay leadership, and indeed all of you . . . to be willing to go Into the Deep and to say ‘Yes’ to the Lord knowing that He is with us and will remain with us.”
Rite of Installation
Following the homily, Bishop Hying led the Rite of Installation for Father Brewer.
The rite began by inviting Epiphany of the Lord clergy and staff, followed by members of the parish’s pastoral and finance councils, and finally parish trustees to stand at the front of the church with Father Brewer.
In front of each group, the bishop, and the congregation, Father Brewer said, “My friends, I pledge to seek your counsel, guidance, and advice in the spiritual and temporal care of my parish.”
Then, Father Brewer happily shook hands with the parishioners called forward.
Bishop Hying offered a word of advice, saying, “Remember, my brother, Father Vince, always be a loving father, a gentle shepherd, and a wise teacher of your people so that you may lead them to Christ who will strengthen all that you do,” and asked Father Brewer to lead the congregation in the Profession of Faith.
After the profession, the Book of the Gospels was brought forward, and Father Brewer laid his right hand over it, swearing in front of the congregation: His belief in the Church and its teachings, to preserve communion with the Catholic Church, and his submission to the pope, the college of bishops, and Bishop Hying.
Upon Father Brewer’s declaration, the Rite of Installation was complete.
‘A lot more meaningful’
At the Mass’ conclusion, Father Brewer reflected on the Rite of Installation.
He said, “This is my third pastor assignment, but it’s the first time we’ve done it this way.”
Continuing, he explained that “It’s a lot more meaningful [here] than sitting in the vicar general’s office and saying the Profession of Faith and the Oath of Fidelity.
“It means a lot more when you’re standing up in front of the people that you’re entrusted with — to carry those things through.”
Following, Father Brewer thanked Bishop Hying for presiding over the Mass, rite, and choosing to install him in front of his congregation.
Then, Father Brewer thanked the fellow clergy in attendance as well as “my staff, who put a tremendous amount of work in making all of this come together, the reception and all of that, but [also] there’s been a lot of behind the scenes work in preparing for all this, so thank you all so much”.
Before the Mass concluded, Father Brewer noticed that “People from all four of our churches attended, which is wonderful — a wonderful sign of us coming together and starting to build this new unity that is our parish.
“We still have our four churches, but we are one parish family, and I am so honored to be your pastor now, to lead us together, coming together as one.
“Thank you all for being here today in honor of this installation,” said Father Brewer.
Following Mass, an outdoor reception took place in the parish parking lot. Tents kept parishioners cool in the summer heat as they socialized, ate, and sipped horchata with Father Brewer and parish clergy.