Then shall the Minister request the Congregation to stand, while he repeats the following

DECLARATION:

Dearly Beloved, it is meet and right, as we learn from the Holy Scriptures, that houses erected for the public worship of God should be specially set apart and dedicated to religious uses. For such a dedication we are now assembled. With gratitude, therefore, to Almighty God, who has signally blessed his servants in their holy enterprise of erecting this Church, we dedicate it to his service, for the reading of the Holy Scriptures, the preaching of the word of God, the administration of the Holy Sacraments, and for all other exercises of religious worship and service, according to the Discipline and Usages of the Methodist Episcopal Church. And, as the dedication of the temple is vain without the solemn consecration of the worshipers also, I now call upon you all to dedicate yourselves anew to the service of God. To him let our souls be dedicated, that they may be renewed after the image of Christ. To him let our bodies be dedicated, that they may be fit temples for the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. To him may our labors and business be dedicated, that their fruit may tend to the glory of his great name, and to the advancement of his kingdom. And that he may graciously accept this solemn act, let us pray.

The Congregation kneeling, the Minister shall offer the following Prayer:

O Most Glorious Lord, we acknowledge that we are not worthy to offer unto thee anything belonging unto us; yet we beseech thee, in thy great goodness, gra

ciously to accept the dedication of this place to thy service, and to prosper this our undertaking; receive the prayers and intercessions of all those thy servants who shall call upon thee in this house; and give them grace to prepare their hearts to serve thee with reverence and godly fear; affect them with an awful apprehension of thy divine majesty, and a deep sense of their own unworthiness; that so approaching thy sanctuary with lowliness and devotion, and coming before thee with clean thoughts and pure hearts, with bodies undefiled, and minds sanctified, they may always perform a service acceptable to thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Regard, O Lord, the supplication of thy servants, and grant that whosoever shall be dedicated to thee in this house by Baptism may ever remain in the number of thy faithful children. Amen.

Grant, O Lord, that whosoever shall receive in this place the blessed Sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ may come to that holy Ordinance with faith, charity, and true repentance; and, being filled with thy grace and heavenly benediction, may, to their great and endless comfort, obtain forgiveness of their sins, and all other benefits of his death. Amen.

Grant, O Lord, that by thy holy word which shall be read and preached in this place, and by thy Holy Spirit grafting it inwardly in the heart, the hearers thereof may both perceive and know what things they ought to do, and may have power and strength to perform the same. Amen.

Now, therefore, arise, O Lord, and come into this place of thy rest, thou and the ark of thy strength. Let thine eye be open toward this house day and night; and let thine ears be ready toward the prayers of thy children which they shall make unto thee in this place: and whensoever thy servants shall make to thee their petitions here, do thou hear them from heaven, thy dwelling-place, the throne of the glory of thy kingdom; and when thou hearest, forgive. And grant, O Lord, we beseech thee, that here and elsewhere thy ministers may be clothed with righteousness, and thy saints rejoice in thy salvation. And may we all, with thy people everywhere, grow up into a holy temple in the Lord, and be at last received into the glorious temple above; the house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. And to the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be glory and praise, world without end. Amen.

The service to conclude with a Doxology and Benediction.

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APPENDIX.

NOTE. The matter contained in this Appendix to the Discipline is sufficiently important to justify its publication in this form. Some of it is taken from the General Conference Journals, and is therefore the action of the General Conference, although not ordained as part of the Discipline. Some of it, as the Courses of Study, has received the sanction of the Bishops, and is inserted for convenient reference; while other portions of it are suggestive and useful, as the forms of charges, report of General Conference expenses, Post Office addresses, etc. EDITOR OF DISCIPLINE.