Anglicans of the Booklet or the Book of Common Prayer

With the advent of low cost printing and word processors, Anglicans have become "booklet people," at least in the USA. Overlooked is the dramatic change that has occurred in Anglicanism these past decades; Anglicans have gone from being Book of Common Prayer people to Booklet people. While economics and convenience have paved the way, and the addition of color and textured paper has made it a super-highway, our Anglican heritage as a prayer book people has reduced us to "Booklet" Christians. This process continues as every parish, diocese, and liturgical commission releases yet another liturgical booklet.

Booklets do have an important role in our missionary and evangelism efforts. For newcomers, a Book of Common Prayer can be overwhelming. When we add that to the continuous movement of sitting, standing, and kneeling, it may bring confusion or at least frustration. For newcomers, a booklet with a straight, sequential, seamless flow of liturgy is a great tool for introducing the concept of liturgy, especially among those who have never worshipped in a liturgical church, or perhaps in any church.

Our bishops and clergy need to ask, "How many of our people carry their own Book of Common Prayer when we gather for worship?" In my youth, the Book of Common Prayer was presented as a gift at Confirmation or given to some at First Communion. It was not unusual to find our name stamped in gold on the leather cover. There was a sense of ownership, not so much of the bound pages, but of the prayers themselves. Almost everyone in our congregations carried their prayer books with them to church.

To read more, click here.

To read my review of the 2011 Book of Common Prayer, click here.

I noted with interest the Rev. Aker's involvement in the work of Forward in Faith North America as well as his recognition that the ACNA standard for the Book of Common Prayer includes "the Sarum Missal," which I have maintained since the ACNA's Fundamental Declarations were first made public. Among the aims of FIFNA are to promote "Catholic" doctrine, order, and practice in the North American Anglican Church. This leads me to wonder aloud whether the 2011 Book of Common Prayer is a FIFNA-funded project. The 2011 Book of Common Prayer, if adopted, would move the American Prayer Book in a decidely Anglo-Catholic direction, even further than the 1928 and 1979 Prayer Books. Its doctrine conflicts with the doctrine of the Thirty-Nine Articles, the 1662 Prayer Book, and the 1661 Ordinal, which form together the long-recognized historical doctrinal standard of Anglicanism. Its adoption would be a repudiation of GAFCON and the Jerusalem Declaration.