- Singing: “Home, Sweet Home.”
- Minister Reading: “The Kingdom of Love.”
- The Address of the Minister (impromptu).
- Minister Reading the “Dedicatory Prayer.”
- Presentation of Home by Husband and Wife.
- The Minister Pronounces the Dedicatory Sentence.
- Prayer of Dedication.
- Benediction.
Home, Sweet Home!
‘Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like home;
A charm from the sky seems to hallow us there,
Which, seek through the world, is ne’er met with elsewhere.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!
There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!
An exile from Home, splendor dazzles in vain;
O, give me my lowly thatched cottage again!
The birds singing gaily, that came at my call,—
Give me them,—and the peace of mind, dearer than all!
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!
There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!
How sweet ’tis to sit ‘neath a fond father’s smile,
And the cares of a mother to soothe and beguile!
Let others delight ‘mid new pleasures to roam,
But give me, oh, give me, the pleasures of Home!
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!
There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!
To thee I’ll return, overburdened with care;
The heart’s dearest solace will smile on me there;
No more from that cottage again will I roam;
Be it ever so humble, there’s no place like Home.
Home! Home! sweet, sweet Home!
There’s no place like Home! there’s no place like Home!
—John Howard Payne.
The Kingdom Of Love
In the dawn of the day when the sea and the earth
Reflect the sunrise above,
I set forth with a heart full of courage and mirth
To seek for the Kingdom of Love.
I asked of a Poet I met on the way
Which cross-road would lead me aright.
And he said: “Follow me, and ere long you shall see
Its glittering turrets of light.”
And soon in the distance a city shone fair.
“Look yonder,” he said; “how it gleams!
But alas! for the hopes that were doomed to despair,
It was only the “Kingdom of Dreams.”
Then the next man I asked was a gay Cavalier,
And he said: “Follow me, follow me”;
And with laughter and song we went speeding along
By the shores of Life’s beautiful sea.
Then we came to a valley more tropical far
Than the wonderful vale of Cashmere,
And I saw from a bower a face like a flower
Smile out on the gay Cavalier.
And he said: “We have come to humanity’s goal:
Here love and delight are intense.”
But alas and alas! for the hopes of my soul—
It was only the “Kingdom of Sense.”
As I journeyed more slowly I met on the road
A coach with retainers behind.
And they said: “Follow me, for our Lady’s abode
Belongs in that realm, you will find.”
‘Twas a grand dame of fashion, a newly-made bride,
I followed, encouraged and bold;
But my hopes died away like the last gleams of day,
For we came to the “Kingdom of Gold.”
At the door of a cottage I asked a fair maid.
“I have heard of that realm,” she replied;
“But my feet never roam from the “Kingdom of Home,”
So I know not the way,” and she sighed.
I looked on the cottage; how restful it seemed!
And the maid was as a dove.
Great light glorified my soul as I cried:
“Why Home is the Kingdom of Love!”
—Ella Wheeler Wilcox.
Address of the Minister (impromptu).
“DEDICATION PRAYER”
God of Wisdom, God of Might!
Father! dearest name of all,
Bow Thy throne, and bless our rite;
‘Tis Thy children on Thee call.
Glorious One! look down from heaven,
Warm each heart and hear each vow;
Unto Thee this home is given,
With Thy presence fill it now.
Fill it now! on every soul
Shed the incense of Thy grace;
While our anthem echoes roll
In this consecrated place,
While Thy holy page we read,
While the prayers Thou lov’st ascend,
While Thy cause Thy servants plead,
Fill this home, our God, our Friend!
Fill it now,—oh, fill it long!
So, when death shall call us home,
Still to Thee, in many a throng,
May our children’s children come.
Bless them, Father, long and late;
Blot their sins, their sorrows dry;
Make this home to them the gate,
Leading to their home on high.
There, when time shall be no more,
When the trials of life are past,
May the souls from every shore
Congregate in peace at last!
Then to Thee, Thou One all-wise,
Shall the gathered millions sing,
Till the arches of the skies
With their hallelujahs ring.
—Charles Sprague.
Presentation of the Home:
The husband and wife shall then address the minister, saying: We present this, our home, to be set apart from all unhallowed uses and devoted to the service of God.
Dedicatory Sentence by the Minister:
Inasmuch as the members of this family desire to have this, their home, kept always pure, helpful and happy and maintained for Christian service, I solemnly dedicate it in the sight of God as their home, to be cherished as the center of their interest and affection; to be maintained for all who dwell herein as a school of character; to be for guests a shelter from the storms of life, where they may ever find healing sympathy and fellowship; to be for this community a lamp of life radiating sweet influences of beauty and service; to be safeguarded with the utmost diligence as a unit in the Kingdom of God that His will may ever be done herein as it is done in Heaven; to be loved as the sacred shrine that links this life to Heaven by daily worship and service.
Prayer of Consecration by the Minister:
O God, Our Father, as Thou hast Thyself established the family for the purpose of propagating and training human life, we consecrate this home to Thee and pray that Thy lovingkindness and tender mercy may ever rest upon each member of this family. Thou alone canst create life, and yet Thou hast called us to work with Thee in training character that we all may ultimately become perfect as Thou art perfect. May no storms of passion ever be so strong as to break the ties of love in this home. May Thy almighty hand be a shield to protect this home from all outside influences that poison the heart, embitter the mind, and degrade the soul. May nothing be allowed to grow herein that is unfit for Thy Kingdom, but may all vie with each other in making this home beautiful, healthful and happy.
As Jesus, our Savior, loved the home and so tenderly ministered to the children, may we, too, exalt our home above all other interests in this life and place the child in the midst of all our thought and affection. May children always be welcome in this home of Thine; and, as their angels serve God through their tender ministry to the little ones, so may we count it our highest privilege to serve Thee by patiently caring for them, and esteem it our holiest act of worship to train them to be good and reverent and useful.
O God of all love, we would erect in this home an altar unto Thee, whereon the sacrificial fires of praise and thanksgiving shall never bum low, but grow brighter as the swift years speed us toward our eternal home. Be Thou our unseen Guest in all our conversations and fellowship and so reveal Thyself by a daily baptism of Thy Life that no one going out from this home may ever become careless of his obligations as a child of Thine or fail in the service to which Thou hast called each one of us.