Kenyon College - Reveille Yearbook (Gambier, OH)

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Bishop Bedell was always, in heart, a man of simplicity and godly sincerity. Those who were thrown with him, and whose duty and privilege it was to work with him, always knew that in him there was no hypocrisy or deceit. lie was a true man, earnest in his quest of truth, and brave to declare it as he had received it. He was indeed a gifted man, gifted in many ways—and accomplished also. But his best gift, his highest accom- plishment, was his pure, sweet, genuine, lovely Christian character. A little more faith in his fellow men, or at least in the best of them, would have helped him greatly. He was not a good judge of the characters of the men and women with whom lie had to do. He could not readily read the book of human nature. Consequently his judgment of people was worth but little, and as he came to know that this was so, through many trying experiences, he came to mistrust his own judgment, and, so far as concerned his fellows, lie was a man of little faith. But his faith in God was great, and grew steadily greater. He believed God and trusted Him as implicitly as any loving child ever trusted his earthly father or mother. The good Bishop lived constantly as in the presence of the great Bishop and Shepherd of onr souls. With deepest conviction lie had learned to say “Whate’er my God ordains is right.” He was indeed a devout man, living constantly in communion with the great Father alone. With genuine humility, but with strong enthusiasm also, he could have used St. Paul’s words “ I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ livetli in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” 1 o this good Bishop, Gambier was the most beautiful and attractive spot upon the face of the earth. He once told the story of the Frenchman who declared that when, after death, his heart was examined, the name “Napoleon” would be imprinted there. And so, he said, upon his heart the word “Gambier had been inscribed. The Institutions at Gambier were dearer to him than life itself. 1 he relation in which he stood to them officially was not the right relation. His was a burden of responsibility which he ought not to have assumed, and which should not have been put ui)on him. As “ Prudential Committee,” he was clothed with “too much power.” The control of the affairs of Kenyon College was not his legiti- mate work, and the man whose legitimate work it was ought not to have 8

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In personal appearance, Bishop Bedell was a man who, once seen, would never be forgotten. His predecessor, Bishop Mcllvaine, was not only one of the handsomest men ever born, he was of commanding stature and looked “ a very king of men.” Bishop Bedell was not tall, not imposing, except through the calm dignity and winning attractiveness of his lovely counte- nance. During all the years of his active toil in Ohio lie grew in grace, and his face reflected the spiritual growth within, so that men liked to look upon him, feeling sure that his was a most beautiful soul. And they were right. He lived as in the presence of his risen Lord, and the graces of the Master were made visible through him. He labored and became spiritually strong “ by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned, by the word of tmth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.” The chief moral characteristic of Bishop Bedell can best be described by the word beautiful. In his character there was both strength and beauty. The same can be said of Bishop Mcllvaine. But in Bishop Bedell beauty predominated, as in Bishop Mcllvaine strength predominated. The older Bishop excelled the younger Bishop in qualities of leadership; the younger Bishop excelled the older Bishop in loveliness of personal character. As a preacher, at his best, Bishop Bedell was great. This greatness came with advancing years. During the years of his New York rectorship he was interesting and attractive. With his charming appearance, his gift of rhetorical expression, and his matchless voice, he could never be less than that. But when he broadened under the freer life of Ohio, and the large outlook of the Episcopate, he became a preacher of genuine power. He was always the artist. He became as Bishop of Ohio the gifted and effective orator. He will never be forgotten by those who were privileged to listen to his fitting and burning words. In manner lie was the embodiment of grace; and how musical the cadences of his voice! It were worth a journey of many miles to hear him repeat “ You ask me when I gave my heart to Christ,” or some other poem that had deeply moved him. His imagination lifted his spirit up as on wings. This was one of the chief sources of his power. What pictures he drew! and how vividly! When he spoke at length of the Resurrection, one who listened thought himself at the judgment bar. 7

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been shut out from the power of direction. But, amid all the perplexities of the Gambier problem, no one competent to form a judgment ever doubted Bishop Bedell’s great interest in the schools established there, or his ardent desire and purpose to help them to the full extent of his power. When he was able to do so, he worked for the necessary endowment—and he always gave to dear old Kenyon his interest, his prayers, and his undy- ing affection. It is fitting that his body should rest upon one of the slopes of that hillside which he loved as he loved no other bit of ground upon the earth. The place of his sepulcher should be honored, and sacredly guarded in all the years to come. Other benefactors of Kenyon College may rise, who may aid more largely in her development than did he—they may give more of time and more of money—but they can never give more of the heart’s best devotion. Among the unselfish, pure, sweet-spirited servants of the church of Ohio, no one is ever likely to rise more lovable in his personal characteristics, more single-minded in his devotion to God and duty, than the faithful, the saintly prelate, Gregory Thurston Bedell.