The following dedication prayer can be used at a groundbreaking ceremony.  It is a poem written by John Pierpont.

 

 

On This Stone Now Laid with Prayer

On this stone now laid with prayer

Let Thy church rise, strong and fair;

Ever, Lord, Thy name be known

Where we lay this cornerstone.

 

Let Thy holy Child who came

Man from error to reclaim

And for sinners to atone,

Bless, with Thee, this cornerstone.

 

May Thy Spirit here give rest

To the heart by sin oppressed,

And the seeds of truth be sown

Where we lay this cornerstone.

 

Open wide, O God, Thy door

For the outcast and the poor,

Who can call no house their own,

Where we lay this cornerstone.

 

By wise master builders squared,

Here be living stones prepared

For the temple near Thy throne,

Jesus Christ, our cornerstone.