“And Suddenly a Sound Came From Heaven”
By Lewis T. Boynham
This article was published in the December 11, 1949, issue of The Living Church.
The “Bryan Green Mission” in the national capital has come and gone but its effects will linger and grow in parishes and dioceses. If the one held in New York a year ago could be classed as a “miracle,” the one just ended in Washington could be epitomized by the theme: “And suddenly a sound came from heaven … and filled all the house where they were sitting.”
For nine nights, beginning on Sunday, November 13th, and ending on Monday, November 21st, Washington Cathedral was packed (the word is used advisedly) with men, women, and teen-agers listening to the simple Gospel message as preached by the Rev. Bryan Green, of Birmingham, England, perhaps the greatest evangelical preacher of modern times.
A few less than 4,000 on the first night filled the nave, transepts, great choir, galleries, side-chapels, crypt chapels and nearby St. Alban’s Church. These chapels and the church were equipped with public address systems. All through the nine days there was a phenomenal attendance, reaching its climax on the second Sunday of the Mission when it is estimated more than 5,000 filled every available space in the cathedral, chapels, and church.
Theme Songs
The services began at 8 p.m., but an hour before that the doors were opened and by 7:30 all seats were occupied. From then on until 8 o’clock each evening there was congregational singing aptly led by the Rev. Kenneth E. Heim of the Virginia Theological Seminary. Certainly no evangelical church members ever raised their voices in greater fervor than did those attending this mission. The half-hour of community singing — there was no formal choir — became a part of the services. Old familiar hymns were used and being repeated each evening became, in a way, theme songs of the entire mission.
Those who attended the mission throughout agreed unanimously that the people of Washington experienced a spiritual revival, conducted without undue or fanatic emotion, such as never before had been offered them, and they also are in agreement that “it can happen in the Episcopal Church.”
Parish clergy and leaders among the laity are now working and praying that those who came to a real religious conviction may continue “steadfast in the Apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and prayers.”
Anyone hearing Bryan Green could say only one thing: “He is a great preacher, sincere and earnest, having but one ambition and that to tell the world that Jesus Christ is the only Savior of mankind.” He speaks rapidly but distinctly, almost without notes, is never at a loss for a word or fitting phrase, interspersing his discourse with simple stories which strike home the thoughts he is portraying. His sincerity and forcefulness, his range from oratorical to conversational form of speech, coupled with his catching sense of humor, kept his audience in profound attention for an hour at a time and left them wishing for more.
The Real Struggle
The missioner’s themes were all based on simple, fundamental Gospel truths and the crying need for complete surrender to Jesus Christ in the present-day crisis in history. “The real struggle,” he said, “is not primarily economic or intellectual, but spiritual and moral” in a society which is trying to get along without God.
From his opening theme, “Awake ye that sleep,” to his final, “Remain steadfast in the Apostles’ doctrine,” he presented the cardinal doctrines in such a way that all who heard him, from those of sunset age down to boys and girls on the threshold of life, came away with a more certain understanding of what is meant by “Faith,” “Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind,” “Jesus Christ is God,” “The forgiveness of sin,” “The Cross,” “Christian Marriage,” and other truths and teachings of the Church.
An important feature of the mission was Bryan Green’s appeal to young people. He likes them; they like him. Each evening young people literally surrounded him as he preached, and he would refer to them as his choir. They also had an opportunity to write out questions which he collected and answered before beginning his sermon. He also found time to visit his “kids,” as he called them, in their schools.
He made other visits, one on President Truman, and for four days he preached at noon-time at the downtown Church of the Epiphany. A women’s luncheon at the Shoreham Hotel on Armistice Day preceded the mission.
A Turning to the Attack
Instructions for various groups were held each evening after the mission service for counsel and advice. Hundreds remained for these meetings and undoubtedly returned to their homes with a new or renewed faith.
The mission may be summarized in the words of Bishop [Angus] Dun:
“The mass singing of hymns and the massive silence of such a multitude bowed in prayer has been deeply moving. Only God knows what people have brought and what they have taken away, but judging by their faces, many have come as true seekers and many have begun to find a new or renewed faith.
“Only the months and years ahead can disclose the real results. What I hope and pray for that part of the Church for which I have special responsibility is that the mission may mark a turning to the attack. There are masses of people on the fringes of all of our churches and in the general community who know in their hearts that we are faced with a spiritual crisis. They long vaguely for a revival of the Church and a revival of the moral forces in our national life. But too few pray in full seriousness: ‘Revive Thy Church, Revive America, beginning with me.’ They have not made the personal commitment or accepted the disciplines which alone can bring renewal. The business of all of us who have been moved by the mission is to catch and hold the militant need which Bryan Green has helped us to find.”
Picturing the mission in retrospect, with all its zeal and warmth, one thinks of the words of the young girl who wrote a note to Bryan Green and which he read to the congregation. It read: “We will not be lonesome in the Cathedral any more.”
The Rev. Canon Bryan Green (1901-93), sometimes called “the Anglican Billy Graham,” had a remarkable evangelistic ministry in the postwar period. His dynamic ministry at Holy Trinity, Brompton, during World War II was followed by two decades as vicar of St. Martin’s in the Bull Ring, Birmingham, which became a center of evangelical witness. During his ministry there, which began in 1948, he devoted three months of the year to preaching missions around the world, including frequent visits to the United States.
The Rev. Mark Michael is editor-in-chief of The Living Church. An Episcopal priest, he has reported widely on global Anglicanism, and also writes about church history, liturgy, and pastoral ministry.