In a celebration marked with poignant and humorous advice, the Rev. John D. Carson was installed as pastor of Elijah Kellogg Church.

The Sunday, April 21, ceremony was attended by more than a dozen Maine clergy who bore witness to the installation, offering counsel and congratulations to Carson. A minister with experience in churches from Middletown, Conn., to Tacoma, Wash., Carson was called to the Harpswell Congregational church in July.

Since then, he has preached from the pulpit on Sundays and immersed himself in community life. He has rolled up his sleeves in the church kitchen to prep for public suppers, helped set up the church’s annual holiday festival, ministered to the ill and invalid, participated in the local Brunswick Area Council of Churches, shared meals at the Brunswick food pantry, and performed other volunteer work to get to know Harpswell and the area.

“The installation is an affirmation of the church’s decision to call me, and for me, I see it as the turning of a page,” Carson said. “This church has existed for 260 years and now I get to take a turn. It is a real privilege and an honor. I stand on the shoulders of all the pastors who have preceded me and look forward.”

Before coming to the Kellogg Church, Carson spent nine years with the National Association of Congregational Council Churches as associate executive secretary for missions, church development and regional partnerships. It was a desire to return to preaching and “the challenge and joy” of church ministry that prompted him to apply for the opening created when the Rev. James Henry retired in 2010.

Carson holds a master’s degree in sacred theology from Yale Divinity School; a master’s in divinity from United Theological Seminary in Minneapolis; and a bachelor’s degree in psychology and religion from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minn.

The Rev. Mark Tanner, a pastor in Skowhegan and head of the Congregational Christian Council of Maine, who has known Carson for more than 20 years, was among the clergy to welcome him to the Elijah Kellogg Church. In his sermon, Tanner stressed the importance of building a relationship on trust and faith, as Moses did when he put himself in God’s hands to do God’s work.

“John will do an incredible job for you; he will,” Tanner said to the congregation.

In his charge to the congregation, the Rev. Don Mayberry, pastor of the First Congregational Church of South Paris, used the analogy of a wedding to describe the installation and its presage to marriage.

“The installation is a celebration of a shared life,” he said. The trick is “moving from honeymoon to happily married.”

The Rev. Mary Baard, pastor of First Parish Congregational Church in Brunswick, offered the charge to the minister. In her remarks, she stressed the importance of the covenant relationship — a promise — between the church members and the pastor, and among each other. She advised taking the long view — holding on to what the church can accomplish as minister and congregants working together to follow Christ’s teachings.

Jim Henry, the church’s previous pastor who is now a church member, joked that for the first time in 47 years, he has a pastor. He warmly welcomed Carson to the post he held for 12 years.

“John will lead us to places we thought we would never go,” he said.

Carson and his wife, Susan, recently bought a home in West Harpswell. They have three grown children.

A video of the installation will be broadcast on Harpswell Community TV.