28 CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH OR CHAPEL. THE CONSECRATION OF A CHURCH OR CHAPEL. The service may be opened with an anthem of praise by the choir, during the singing of which the Bishop and Ministers present may enter in procession, taking their places around the communion table. Then, all standing, one of the Ministers shall say, and the congregation respond: PSALM XXIV. The earth is the Lord's, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein: For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods. Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? stand in his holy place? or who shall He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. C. M. ¶Then may be sung the following hymn: Arise, O king of grace, arise, And enter to thy rest; Behold, thy Church, with longing eyes, Enter with all thy glorious train, Thy Spirit, and thy Word; Here, mighty God, accept our vows; Here let the son of David reign, Justice and truth his court maintain, TUNE 14. Here shall be prayed the Te Deum Laudamus, all standing, after which the Bishop, or, if no Bishop be present, the Minister appointed to perform the act of consecration, shall read the eighty-fourth Psalm, and Solomon's prayer at the consecration of the temple, as found in 1 Kings viii. 22-53. Then shall be sung the following hymn: L. M. O thou, who didst the temple fill Appear in those bright robes again. TUNE 22. Thereupon, all standing, the Bishop, or, if no Bishop be present, the Minister appointed to perform the act of consecration, shall say: In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, I consecrate this church, (or chapel,) to the worship of the Triune God, agreeably to the ritual and usages of the Church of the United Brethren. Let us pray. Here he shall offer the prayer of consecration, imploring God to own and bless the reading and the preaching of his word, the baptism of infants and those of riper years, the renewal of the baptismal covenant in the rite of confirmation, the sacrament of the Lord's Supper, the solemnization of matrimony, and all other services that will be held in the church, (or chapel,) to the good of souls, the spread of his kingdom, and the glory of his name. After the prayer of consecration, another anthem of praise may be sung by the choir. Then shall follow the sermon by the Minister appointed to preach it, and the service shall be closed with the singing of a hymn, and the doxology which follows the Litany (page 7), or with a short prayer and the bene diction. THE SOLEMNIZATION OF MATRIMONY. The The persons to be married shall stand before the Minister with their witnesses, the man on the right hand and the woman on the left. Minister shall then say: Dearly Beloved: We are here assembled, in the presence of God and these witnesses, to join together this man (here he shall mention the man's name) and this woman (here he shall mention the woman's name) in holy matrimony, which is commended by the Apostle to be honorable among all men; and, therefore, is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, and in the fear of God. In holy writ we are taught: That matrimony was instituted by God himself, and is, therefore, an holy estate; That, according to the ordinance of God, a man and his wife shall be one flesh; That, under the New Covenant, the married state hath been sanctified, to be an emblem of Christ and his church; That the husband, as the head of the wife, should love her, even as Christ also loveth the church; and that the wife be subject to her own husband in the Lord, as the church is subject unto Christ; That, in consequence, Christians thus united together, should love one another, as one in the Lord, be faithful one to the other, assist each other mutually, and never forsake one another. Into this holy estate these two persons come now to be joined. If any man can show just cause why they may not lawfully be joined together, according to the word of God and the laws of this State, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace. Then the Minister shall say to the man, addressing him by name: Wilt thou have this woman (here he shall name her) here present to thy wedded wife, to live together, after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love her, honor her, and care for her; and, through the grace of God, approve thyself unto her, in every respect, a faithful Christian husband, so long as ye both shall live? If this is thy desire, then answer and say, "I will." I will. Then shall the man auswer and say: ¶ In like manner the Minister shall say to the woman, addressing her by name: Wilt thou have this man (here he shall name him) here present to thy wedded husband, to live together, after God's ordinance, in the holy estate of matrimony? Wilt thou love him, honor him, and be subject unto him in the Lord; and, through the grace of God, approve thyself unto him, in every respect, a faithful Christian wife, so long as ye both shall live? If this is thy desire, then answer and say, "I will." ¶ Then shall the woman answer and say: I will. If a ring be used, the man shall here give the ring to the woman, which the Minister taking from her shall deliver again to the man, and say: Let this ring be the sign and the token of this holy vow. Take it, and place it upon the finger of this woman and say: With this ring I thee wed. Then the Minister shall say: For as much, then, as ye have thus consented to live together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and these witnesses, we exhort you, that ye enter upon the estate of matrimony in the name of the Lord, and that ye live therein according to the precepts of his holy word. Let us pray: O Lord, our God! who thyself hast instituted and blessed the estate of matrimony, sanctifying the same, under the New Covenant, to be an emblem of Christ and his church, we be seech thee, graciously to look upon these two persons, who are about to be united in holy wedlock. Grant, that they may enter upon, and continue in this estate, in thy name. Replenish their hearts with thy love, and enable them to be faithful one to the other, and thus to live together in perfect love and peace. Sanctify and bless their union; vouchsafe unto them the guidance of thy Holy Spirit, and teach them to do that which is well pleasing in thy sight, through Jesus Christ, our Lord: Amen. Here the Minister shall join their right hands, and say: In the name of God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, I now join you together to live in holy wedlock, as husband and wife. What God hath joined together let not man put asunder. Receive ye the blessing of the Lord :— The Lord bless you, and keep you; The Lord make his face shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; The Lord lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace : In the name of Jesus: Amen. THE BURIAL OF THE DEAD. The following may be used in the house of mourning, previously to the burial of the dead, or, at the discretion of the Minister, before the address in the church. All standing, the Minister shall say and the congregation respond: O Lord our God, in whom we live, and move, and have our being, Have mercy upon us. O Lord our God, who turnest man to destruction; and say、 est, Return, ye children of men, Be gracious unto us. O Lord our God, who dost not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children of men, Bless and comfort us, we humbly Holy Father, accept us as thy children in thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who came forth from thee, and came into the world, was made flesh, and dwelt among us, took on him the form of a servant, and hath redeemed us lost and undone human creatures from all sin and from death, with his holy and precious blood, and with his innocent suffering and dying; to the end that we should be his own, and in his kingdom live under him and serve him, in eternal righteousness, innocence, and happiness; forasmuch as he, being risen from the dead, liveth and reigneth, world without end: Amen. ¶ Then shall the Minister say one, or more, of the following texts: Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth like a flower, and is cut down; he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not. The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away. [As touching children, Jesus saith: Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven.] Thou Saviour of the world! So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. None of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; for whether we live, we live unto the Lord, and whether we die, we die unto the Lord; whether we live therefore or die, we are the Lord's: for to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living. O Lord, what wait we for? our hope is in thee. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we are dust. The Lord raiseth them that are bowed down. He relieveth the fatherless and widow. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. The mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him, and his righteousness unto children's children. |