When a Bishop Sang at the Ordination Service
A group of young men were ordained into the ministry of the Methodist Episcopal Church on a glorious Sunday afternoon in May in the presence of many hundreds of ministers, relatives and others. The service apparently was about to end when Bishop Adna W. Leonard knelt inside the altar by the side of these young preachers. By pre-arrangement with the organist, the strains of music softly came and then the voice of the bishop was heard singing the expressively appropriate words:
“It may not be on the mountain’s height,
Or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front
My Lord will have need of me;
But if by a still small voice He calls
To paths that I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Thine,
I’ll go where You want me to go.”
The young ministers who had just taken upon themselves the solemn vows of the ordination service then joined with the soloist in the chorus:
“I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain or plain or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.”
The voice of the bishop was again heard:
“Perhaps today there are loving words
Which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now in the paths of sin
Some wanderer whom I should seek.
O Saviour, if Thou wilt be my guide,
Tho’ dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo Thy message sweet,
I’ll say what You want me to say.”
Then for the second time, the young ministers united their voices with the one who was leading them in song, as together they rendered the chorus.
The third stanza followed, by the Bishop:
“There’s surely somewhere a lowly place,
In earth’s harvest fields so wide,
Where I may labor through earth’s short day,
For Jesus the crucified;
So trusting my all to His tender care,
And knowing Thou lovest me,
I’ll do Thy will with a heart sincere,
I’ll be what You want me to be.”[11]
Hundreds of eyes by this time were mist-filled, and it was with difficulty that many could control their voices when Bishop Leonard asked the entire company to sing the refrain. Soon, however, about twelve hundred voices were songfully pledging their loyalty to their Lord as they sang the words of the chorus.
Few were the words spoken by the leader of the service before another hymn was rendered:
“I need Thee every hour,
Most gracious Lord;
No tender voice like Thine
Can peace afford.”
These lines voiced a prayer for divine strength, guidance and blessing. With the young ministers now standing at the altar, young people were asked to consecrate their lives to the service of Christ. From all parts of that historic church young men and young women moved forward until sixty of them had publicly registered their decision. Some of them for the first time took their stand for Christ, others expressed a desire to become ministers, missionaries, workers in their home churches.
The effects of this service will remain for many years. For there went forth from that church in the central part of the Empire State of New York a great company of hearts touched by the Spirit of God and resolved to render faithful devotion to Christ’s cause.
The consciousness of the divine providence was emphasized in the confession: