The Mercer University community is invited to a Service of Blessing honoring President Penny L. Elkins, Ph.D., in advance of her formal investiture as the University’s 19th president. The service will be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 25 in Toney Auditorium in Willingham Hall on the Macon campus.
The Service of Blessing is designed to convey the sacredness of the inauguration and the larger purpose it serves in Mercer’s nearly 200-year history, said University Minister Craig McMahan, Ph.D. It also will bestow a blessing upon the president.
“A blessing is a very ancient tradition that conferred a sense of well-being, a sense of promise, a sense of support and encouragement,” McMahan said. “We felt like all of those themes would come together nicely in a service that will encourage her and inspire her to know not only are we — her students, faculty and staff — supporting her, but there is sacred support.”
The program includes music, scripture, meditation and prayer, with contributions from students and faculty in the Townsend School of Music, James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and local faith leaders.
“We want to affirm and encourage President Elkins, in both her preparation for this office and her execution of the duties of this office, that she will not be alone, that she will be inspired and empowered by God as she does her work,” McMahan said.
The Service of Blessing is part of Mercer’s Countdown to 19, a university-wide celebration of the historic investiture of Elkins as Mercer’s 19th president. It is open to the public.
The investiture ceremony, to be held on Oct. 29 and streamed live, will provide the global Mercer community the opportunity to participate in this landmark occasion from anywhere in the world. For additional information, visit inauguration.mercer.edu.
Andrea Honaker, digital content specialist in the Office of Marketing Communications, contributed to this report.
