Colored Methodist Episcopal Church

“ Do you trust that you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you the office of the ministry in the Church of Christ, to serve God for the promoting of his glory and the edifying of his people? ”

“ Then shall the Elder say:
O Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who of thy great mercy hast promised forgiveness of sins to all them that with hearty repentance and true faith turn to thee; have mercy upon us; pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. ”

“ The Bishop. Are you persuaded that the Holy Scriptures contain sufficiently all doctrine required of necessity for eternal salvation through faith in Jesus Christ? And are you determined, out of the said Scriptures, to instruct the people committed to your charge, and to teach nothing, as required of necessity to eternal salvation, but that which you shall be persuaded may be concluded and proved by the Scriptures? ”

“ So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.—Behold, I show you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. ”

“ Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the vail, that is to say, his flesh; having an high-priest over the house of God; let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. ”

“ Help them to perform the promise and vow which they have made; to renounce the devil, the world, and the flesh; to believe the record which thou hast given of thy Son; and to walk in all thy commandments and ordinances blameless, to the end of their lives. May their communion with thy people be sanctified {289} to their growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, being nourished and knit together, increasing with the increase of God. May thy people do them good, and may they prove a blessing to thy people. ”

“ Almighty God, giver of all good things, who by the Holy Spirit hast appointed divers orders of ministers in thy Church: mercifully behold this thy servant, now called to the work and ministry of a Bishop; and replenish him so with the truth of thy doctrine, and adorn him with innocency of life, that, both by word and deed, he may faithfully serve thee in this office, to the glory of thy name, and the edifying and well-governing of thy Church, through the merits of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Ghost, world without end. ”

“ The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth; and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. ”

“ Then shall the minister say:
Let us pray.
Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven; give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against {294} us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; for thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. ”

“ Take thou authority to preach the word of God, and to administer the holy sacraments in the congregation.
Then shall the Bishop say:
Most merciful Father, we beseech thee to send upon these thy servants thy heavenly blessing; that they may be clothed with righteousness, and that thy word spoken by their mouths may have such success, that it may never be spoken in vain. Grant also, that we may have grace to hear and receive what they shall deliver out of thy most holy word, or agreeable to the same, as the means of our salvation ”

“ Let thy work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children, and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us; and establish thou the work of our hands upon us, yea the work of our hands establish thou it. ”

“ Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, good-will toward men. We praise thee, we bless thee, we worship thee, we glorify thee, we give thanks to thee for thy great glory, O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father Almighty.
O Lord, the only begotten Son, Jesus Christ: O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, that takest away the {272} sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Thou that takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer. Thou that sittest at the right hand of God the Father, have mercy upon us. ”

“ Then shall the general confession be made by the minister, in the name of all those who are minded to receive the holy communion, both he and all the people kneeling humbly upon their knees and saying:
Almighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Maker of all things, Judge of all men, we acknowledge and bewail our manifold sins and wickedness, which we from time to time most grievously have committed, by thought, word and deed, against thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly thy wrath and indignation against {265} us. We do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry for these our misdoings ”

“ But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Here may follow a suitable hymn, a sermon or exhortation, and an extemporary prayer.
At the grave, when the corpse is laid in the earth, the minister shall say:
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. ”

“ Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh ”

“ Grant that whosoever is dedicated to thee by our office and ministry may also be endued with heavenly virtues, and everlastingly rewarded through thy mercy, O blessed Lord God, who dost live and govern all things, world without end. ”

“ The Son, who is the Word of the Father, the very and eternal God, of one substance with the Father, took man's nature in the womb of the blessed {16} Virgin; so that two whole and perfect natures—that is to say, the Godhead and manhood—were joined together in one person, never to be divided, whereof is one Christ, very God and very man, who truly suffered, was crucified, dead and buried, to reconcile his Father to us, and to be a sacrifice, not only for original guilt, but also for actual sins of men. ”

“ Every case to be tried shall be referred to a committee of not less than nine, nor more than thirteen, who, in the presence of a Bishop or a chairman, whom the President of the Conference shall appoint, and one or more of the Secretaries of the Conference, shall have full power to try the case, and their decision shall be final, save as to the right of appeal: provided, that the accused shall, upon good grounds alleged, be allowed to challenge five in a committee of nine, or seven in a committee of thirteen, and in the same ratio for any other number. ”

“ For we are consumed by thine anger, and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told.
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.
Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath. ”

“ Almighty and everlasting God, the heaven, and the heaven of heavens, cannot contain thee, much less this house which we have built; yet thou dost humble thyself to behold the inhabitants of the earth, and dost promise that in all places where thou dost record thy name thou wilt meet with thy people, and bless them. ”

“ What are the duties of a preacher who has the charge of a circuit, station, or mission?
Ans. 1. To receive, try, and expel members, according to the provisions of the Discipline, and to subscribe for the Christian Index. Any minister failing to subscribe for the same shall be guilty of neglect of duty.
2. To appoint all the leaders, and change them when he sees it necessary.
3. To see that all the ordinances and regulations of the Church be duly observed, and that the General Rules be read at least once a year in every congregation. ”

“ When a traveling elder or deacon is under report of being guilty of some crime expressly forbidden in the Word of God, if it be in the interval {135} of the Annual Conference, let the Presiding Elder, in the absence of the Bishop, call as many traveling preachers as he shall think fit—at least three—and, if possible, bring the accused and the accuser face to face. ”

“ The Old Testament is not contrary to the New; for both in the Old and New Testament everlasting life is offered to mankind by Christ, who is the only Mediator between God and man, being God and man. Wherefore, they are not to be heard who feign that the old fathers did look only for transitory promises. ”

“ No person shall be licensed to preach without the recommendation of the Church of which he or she is a member, or of the Leaders' Meeting of the charge to which he or she belongs. Nor shall any one be licensed to preach {99} without first being examined in the Quarterly Conference on the subject of doctrines and discipline, and giving satisfactory evidence of his or her ability to read the word of God; nor shall any license be valid unless signed by the President and Secretary of the Conference. ”

“ Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule, and all authority, and power. For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet—But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened except it die: and that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain ”

“ And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth; and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south; and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. And Jacob, awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place ”

“ The Supper of the Lord is not only a sign of the love that Christians ought to have among themselves one to another, but rather is a sacrament of our redemption by Christ's death; insomuch that, to such as rightly, worthily, and with faith receive the same, the bread which we break is a partaking of the body of Christ ”

“ The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such that he can not turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith and calling upon God; wherefore we have no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us, when we have that good will. ”

“ The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments duly administered, according to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that of necessity are requisite to the same. ”

“ The Quarterly Conference Sunday School Board shall be composed of the pastor and superintendents, officers and teachers of a station, circuit or mission; whose duty shall be to extend the circulation and influence of our Sunday School literature into every possible local precinct, and to make report with recommendation of the progress of Sunday School work, to the quarterly conference and church conference and to the district conference and Sunday School Convention. A Sunday School Board, like a committee, may consist of from three to forty-nine. ”