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Vol II No. 5
Anglican Communion

A New Prayer Book Emerges:

by sinetortus

It is not just TEC that has been looking at

Prayer Book revision:

ACNA is about to launch

a completely new Prayer Book of its own. 

A.M-R

Recent months have seen much attention focused on the plan for a “comprehensive revision” of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer in the Episcopal Church, although in the end, the General Convention of this summer – to the relief of many who feared just how radical the results might have been– decided not to pursue this option but instead to develop a range of alternative liturgies and rites.  (The 2015 General Convention had mandated that a plan for a comprehensive revision be prepared and brought to the 2018 Convention by the Standing Commission on Music and Liturgy of TEC although the Commission itself decided to offer alternative policy options as well, since,  as they were at pains to point out a full revision would have required probably more than $8 million.)

However, surprising as it might at first seem, given that their whole raison d’etreis conservation of the historic Anglican tradition, not long after its inception in 2009,  the Anglican Church in North America embarked upon a process from which there is now beginning to emerge a completely new Prayer Book of their own. (See the very end of this article for some illuminating comments by one of the members of the ACNA Task Force).

 

In accord with the Prayer Book’s Society’s wish to engage all concerned with advancing and deepening our engagement with the Prayer Book tradition this article attempts to give an overview of the process leading to the production of the forthcoming new Prayer Book. We also list below the texts upon which comment and input is currently invited from those using them.

Members of the PBS USA will be continuing to offer input into this process and we look forward to a further article soon both online and in print about the entire project by one of the members of the ACNA Task Force The Revd. Dr. Arnold Klukas.

 

The Background and Process

Leading to the New ACNA Prayer Book

 

Thus in 2009, a Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force was appointed and produced what ACNA describes as the “lens” through  which prayer book texts would be considered and prepared as set out in: “Guiding Principles of Christian Worship”. The Ordinal was approved by the College of Bishops in September 2011. Morning and Evening Prayer and the first “working texts” for the Holy Eucharist were adopted in June of 2013 when a mechanism for extensive church-wide feedback was also put in place.

In October of 2013, the first Texts for Common Prayer were released for general use, to be followed by those for the rites of Baptism and Confirmation after the The Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force of the Anglican Church in North America was reorganized in early 2015. The reorganization was undertaken, it was explained, in order “to broaden the scope of projects and to strengthen communication between the College of Bishops and the task force”. It introduced a new Bishops Review Panel and five sub-committees which have in turn been supported by a Secretarial, Editorial and Translation Team and covered

  1. Calendar, Collects and Lectionaries
  2. Episcopal Offices
  3. Offices of the Hours and Special Liturgies
  4. Pastoral Offices
  5. Psalter and Music

(The Full list of members is given below)

Commenting on all this at the time it was also stated, in an ACNA news update, that ‘in addition to the Baptism and confirmation rites, the Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force is also considering putting forward two “ecumenical Canons” (most likely similar to Prayers A and D in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer).

Archbishop Emeritus, Robert Duncan, chairman of the Liturgy Task Force, explained something of the background thinking also at that time in saying that,

“We are using the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as our theological guide,” …“but we are also cautious to not be too rigid in adhering to the shape of its liturgies, especially since most of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer was not offered in a Eucharistic context.”

He went on to add that,

“I am grateful for the opportunity to work with such extraordinary people who bring their time, talents, and expertise to this endeavor,” said Archbishop Duncan. “I am also grateful for so many who are remembering us in their daily prayers.  While we are indeed challenged by the task before us, we are also deeply thankful to serve the Church community for the glory of God.”

 

The latest resource to emerge is

Draft 3 of The Daily Office Lectionary

The newest component part of the project has now been released just this summer (2018), namely The Daily Office Lectionary (DOL) which had already been substantially revised and is intended to help promote daily reading of Scripture.

A period of extensive consultation, during which feedback is very much encouraged  continues, while the Liturgy Task Force, in consultation with the Bishops Review Panel, still hopes evidently to be ready to release next year The ACNA the Book of Common Prayer 2019.

Of all the assignments the Liturgy Task Force has undertaken, “The Daily Office Lectionary has been among the most challenging,” noted Archbishop Duncan and this latest version of the DOL is in fact the third substantial revision already. (And it may not be the last.) The current version (accessible via this link The Daily Office 3.0)  has been called the “St. Barnabas Day Revision” by the Task Force which has asked for “wide testing and regular use of this revision” through the end of November 2018.

Archbishop Duncan explained that the latest iteration of the Daily Office Lectionary takes into consideration “the realities of modern life” and the demands on the user’s time.

The new Daily Office:

  1. Uses Old Testament readings from different books of the Bible, so that the lessons of Morning and Evening Prayer do not depend on one another;
  2. Can be employed for a one-year read-through or spread to a two-year cycle;
  3. Offers ways to read the Psalter in one month, two months, or even more extended patterns;
  4. Balances continuous reading of the Scriptures with provision for limited acknowledgement of the church year;
  5. Indicates the way a lesson/chapter can be abbreviated when shortening an Old Testament reading is necessary or desirable; and
  6. Includes readings from the Apocrypha (Article VI and BCP 1662), but offers a simple pattern of alternative readings.

The purpose of the Liturgy Task Force’s request for the “immediate and widespread use of this revision between now and November” is to gather feedback (as on all other working texts being finalized) which can then be considered before the final version is issued. Those wishing to forward input may do so by e-mail to the following address: [email protected]

 

 

A Full List of Currently Available

and Downloadable Texts

 

The full list is set out below together with links to access the texts now available

in PDF and Microsoft Word formats (last updated: January 2018):

 

The preparatory text by way of methodological propaedutic:

 

THE ACTUAL TEXTS

Daily Office

The Daily Office with lectionary readings is also available online here

 

Great Litany and Decalogue

 

Holy Eucharist

 

Baptism and Confirmation

Pastoral Rites

 

The Psalter (in process)

  • The Psalter:

 

Episcopal Services

 

Special Liturgies for Lent and Holy Week

 

 

Collects and Occasional Prayers

 

 

Calendars and Lectionaries

  • Calendar of the Christian Year(amended 1/28/18) [PDF] [Word]
  • Calendar of Holy Days and Commemorations[PDF]
  • Tables for the Finding the Date of Easter (Table 1)[PDF]
  • Tables for the Finding the Date of Easter (Table 2)[PDF]

 

  • Sunday, Holy Day, Commemorations Lectionary[PDF] [Word]
  • Daily Office Lectionary(updated 6/14/18) [PDF]

 

Documentary Foundations

 

 

 

The working texts on which comprehensive feedback

is presently particularly sought are as follows:

Holy Baptism

Confirmation

Holy Baptism with Confirmation

Renewal of Baptism Vows

Holy Matrimony

Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child

Rites of Healing: Reconciliation, Laying-on-of-hands, Communion of the Sick

Ministry to the Dying

Prayers for a Vigil

Burial of the Dead

Occasional Prayers & Thanksgivings

Calendar of the Christian Year

Daily Office Lectionary

Significant Feedback Deadlines:

August 12-17, 2018: Liturgy Task Force finalizes on all of the above for College of Bishops Meeting (September 4-6) on Prayer Book

November 1, 2018 (All Saints): Drop-dead date for Feedback. Liturgy Task Force and Bishops Review Panel will prepare final sign-off on texts for College adoption in January.

September – October Feedback:

The Ordinal

Institution of a Rector

Consecration and Dedication of a Place of Worship

The Psalter

(The extensive feedback received on the Daily Office, Holy Eucharist and Collects of the Christian Year was incorporated into final texts, approved by the College of Bishops in January 2018, and is reflected in the texts now available on line. Additionally, final texts of the Great Litany, and Lent and Holy Week Rites, with feedback incorporated, are now ready to go to the September 2018 College of Bishops Meeting.)

 

 

 

Further background to  the work of the Task Force at http://www.anglicanchurch.net/?/main/texts_for_common_prayer

 

Additional Resources have also been made available for the Project and include:

 

  • 1552 Communion Rite (Modern English) [PDF]
  • Resolution of the College of Bishops Concerning Prayer Books and Historic Rites [PDF]
  • Report on the 1552 Rite [PDF]
  • Santa Eucharistia: The Holy Eucharist: Common Form (Spanish Translation) [PDF]
  • The Holy Eucharist: Common Form (Chinese Translation) [PDF]
  • Holy Baptism (Chinese Translation) [PDF]
  • Guiding Principles of Christian Worship[PDF] 
  • Baptism and Regeneration[PDF] 
  • Holy Matrimony Explained [PDF]
  • The Three Blessed Oils [PDF]
  • Reverse Sunday & Red-Letter Lectionary [PDF]
  • Interview with Abp. Duncan on Lectionaries [PDF]
  • Liturgy Task Force Report 3/9/15 [PDF]
  • Liturgy Task Force Report 6/1/15 [PDF]
  • Liturgy Task Force Report 1/4/16 [PDF]
  • Liturgy Task Force Report 6/22/16 [PDF]
  • Liturgy Task Force Report 1/2/17[PDF] 
  • Liturgy Task Force Report 6/5/17[PDF] 
  • LCWTF Report to Provincial Council, June 1, 2018 [PDF]

 

The Members of the ACNA

Liturgy and Common Workship Task Force are:

The Central Committee:

The Most. Revd. Robert Duncan (Chairman), The Rt. Revd. Keith Ackerman, The Revd. Dr. J.I. Packer (Senior Reader), The Ven. Darrell Critch, The Revd. Jonathan Kanary, The Revd. Dr. Arnold Klukas, The Revd. Canon Ron Mook, The Revd. Canon Andrea Mueller (Chairwoman), The Revd. David Puick, The Revd Marcus Kaiser.

The Bishops Review Panel

The Most. Revd. Robert Duncan (Ex officio), The Rt. Revd. John Guernsey (Ex officio), The Rt. Revd. Jack Iker, The Rt. Revd. Neil Lebhar, The Rt. Revd. Charlie Masters

Calendar, Collects, and Lectionaries Sub-Committee

The Revd. Dr. Arnold Klukas (Chairman), The Revd. Andrew DeFusco, The Revd, Deacon Erin Giles, The Very Revd. Dean Jonathan Riches, The Revd. Michael Fry, The Revd. Christopher Klukas.

Episcopal Offices Sub-Committee

The Revd. Canon Andrea Mueller (Chairwoman), The Revd Eric Dudley The Revd James Guill, The Revd. Canon Allan Graves.

Office of the Hours and Occasional Rites Sub-Committee

The Revd. Jonathan Kanary (Chairman), The Rt. Revd. Abbot Lius Gonzalez, The Ven.Michael McKinnon, The Revd. Doug McGlynn, The Revd. Canon Susan Skillen,

Pastoral OfficesSub-Committee

The Revd. Chip Edgar (Chairman),  The Revd. Richard Crocker, The Revd. Canon Ron Mook, The Very Revd. Dean Ryan Reed, The Revd. Jon Jenkins.

Psalter Sub-Committee

The Ven. Darrell Critch (Chairman), Dr. Travis Bott, Dr. John Crutchfield, The Rt. Revd. Charles Dorrington, Dr. Erika Moore

Editorial, Secretarial, Translation Team

The Rt. Revd. Abbot Luis Gonzalez, The Revd. Ben Jefferies, The Rt. Revd. Stephen Leung, The Rt. Revd. Bp. Alberto Morales

 

 

Some separate commentary

from Task Force Member The Rev. Marcus Kaiser

 

Lastly, the following comments are taken from a longer article by one of the Task Force Central Committee members The Rev. Marcus Kaiser, Rector, Church of the Holy Comforter, Sumter, SC. and take the form of “Frequently Asked Questions”. They cast useful light on the overall perspective, objectives and thinking that has informed the work of the Task Force.

The full article can be found via the following link:

https://www.dioceseofsc.org/the-acna-to-release-new-prayer-book-in-2019/

 

 

“……The ACNA’s Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force (LCWTF) is working feverishly to produce a Book of Common Prayer with the intention that it be ratified by the Provincial Assembly in 2019. The Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence and I are both members of that task force. The working texts for the new BCP, along with many other resources, are available here.

Below are some of the more frequently asked questions regarding the proposed trial liturgies and the upcoming BCP.

Prayer Book FAQ’s

Q: WHY DO WE NEED A NEW BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER? WHY NOT JUST USE AN EXISTING PRAYER BOOK?

A:  With the formation of the ACNA in 2009, several different Anglican jurisdictions and dioceses came together to form a new province. This meant a good deal of variation in tradition and expression within the breadth of Anglicanism. For example, the Diocese of South Carolina has primarily used the 1979 BCP in most of our parishes for nearly 40 years. The church in Canada and the Reformed Episcopal Church, on the other hand, have never used that book, and some churches in the ACNA were formed using the Kenyan prayer book or the Nigerian prayer book. The ACNA College of Bishops decided that the best way to work toward truly common prayer was to commission a new prayer book that drew on all of these traditions, representing classical Anglican theology in modern language and idiom.

Q: WHAT IS THE SOURCE FOR THE 2019 BCP?

A:  The 2008 Jerusalem Declaration says, “We rejoice in our Anglican sacramental and liturgical heritage as an expression of the gospel, and we uphold the 1662 Book of Common Prayer as a true and authoritative standard of worship and prayer, to be translated and locally adapted for each culture.” The same sentiment is reflected in the ACNA’s Constitution and Canons and our own diocesan canons. Therefore, the 1662 is the standard on which the work of the LCWTF is based. That basis is then informed by the various liturgical traditions that preceded and followed the 1662 including: Evangelical, Anglo-catholic, and charismatic practice; ecumenical dialogue with other liturgical traditions; other prayer books including those of the American and Canadian churches; and shifts in style and meaning in the English language.

An example of this approach is the two proposed rites for Holy Eucharist. The Common Text is a modernization of the 1928 BCP rite, with rubrical permission to rearrange it and omit certain sections to conform with the 1662. It is intended to capture the breadth of our Anglican heritage. The Ancient Text is a translation of the 4th century Canons of Hippolytus, informed by the musicality of the 1979 BCP Eucharistic Prayer A (itself much more loosely based on Hippolytus). This is both in recognition of the drastic liturgical changes of the 20th century and in recognition of our ongoing dialogue with the Eastern and Roman Churches.

Q: WILL WE BE REQUIRED TO USE THE 2019 BCP WHEN IT IS RELEASED?

A:  The College of Bishops intentionally sought to avoid coercion but rather charged the LCWTF to produce a book that would be attractive to as many as possible. There is no plan to require anyone to use the 2019 book. The College of Bishops passed a resolution in December, 2017 that said in part, “the College sees no route to making it mandatory at the Provincial level (principle of subsidiarity) or to ruling out continuing use, under the authority of the local Bishop, (of not only 1662 and its predecessor books but) of the Prayer Books that were in use at the time the Province came together.”

Q: WHAT LITURGIES ARE CURRENTLY APPROVED FOR USE IN OUR DIOCESE?

A: Our diocesan canons state that “‘Worship’ in the Diocese of South Carolina shall be those liturgies as described by the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the 1928 Book of Common Prayer and the 2003 Book of Occasional Services. All other liturgies shall require the express approval by the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese.” Bishop Lawrence has approved usage of the ACNA liturgies, called “The Texts for Common Worship” on the ACNA website, as well.

Q: WHY CAN’T WE JUST MAKE UP A LITURGY THAT SUITS US OR USE NONE AT ALL?

A: You can. However, as stated in the previous question, according to the canons of the diocese and the province, the bishop must give explicit permission to use anything outside of the approved liturgies.

Q: WHAT ABOUT A RITE I (TRADITIONAL LANGUAGE) OPTION?

A: The LCWTF has authorized a sub-committee, chaired by the Rev. Kaiser, to produce a companion resource to the 2019 Book of Common Prayer. That volume will include all of the rites of the new BCP in Elizabethan English. We expect to publish that resource as concurrent as possible to the 2019 BCP. Meanwhile, both the 1979 Rite I and the 1928 Book of Common Prayer are fully authorized. According to a poll conducted by our Liturgy and Worship Commission, most of the parishes in this diocese use some traditional language liturgy.

Q: WHO IS ON THE LCWTF?

A:  The membership of the LCWTF and the sub-committees is listed on the ACNA’s website. The team represents a wide cross-section of the ACNA and includes Anglo-catholics, Evangelicals, and Charismatics. For a helpful report from an outsider’s perspective on the work and ethos of the LCWTF , we commend this article: http://www.leaderworks.org/people-of-the-book/?utm_content=buffer7c313&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

(APPENDED BELOW – written by Kolby Kerr)
Q: WHEN DID THE WORK ON THE NEW BCP BEGIN?

A: Shortly after the formation of the ACNA in 2009, the Archbishop — with College of Bishops’ encouragement — appointed the LCWTF. The first responsibilities were to approve a “lens” through which all liturgies would be evaluated and, as follow-up, to propose an Ordinal for the province.

Q: WHAT PROCESS IS THE LCWTF USING TO GET FEEDBACK AND REVISE THEIR WORK?

A: You can send comments on the published liturgies by email to [email protected]. Every comment is then catalogued by the secretary of the Task Force and reviewed by the entire group. It should be said that never before has an Anglican province attempted to solicit this level of input. The LCWTF has received thousands of comments ranging from short editorial and typo corrections to long theological position papers. The currently published Daily Office and Eucharistic texts are the result of that feedback. Over the next year, the LCWTF will be considering comments on all of the other liturgies.

Q: WILL THERE BE NEW LITURGIES INCLUDED?

A:  The LCWTF expects the basic content and format of the 2019 BCP to follow that of previous books. However, we no longer live in a primarily printed age; electronic media allow us to publish new liturgies and resources as needed rather than print them directly in the book.

Q: WHAT ABOUT A PSALTER?

A: The LCWTF is currently hard at work reviewing and revising the work of the Psalter sub-committee. That sub-committee is using as its basic source the Coverdale Psalter and a 1963 Revised Coverdale. That 1963 version was an attempted revision by the Church of England, with notable committee members C.S. Lewis and T.S. Elliot.

Q: WHY USE THE COVERDALE PSALTER?

Until the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, the Coverdale Psalter (taken from the 1539 Great Bible by Miles Coverdale) was the prayer book standard. Even after the King James Bible was published in 1611, the 1662 BCP and subsequent books retained the Coverdale Psalter because of its timeless beauty and accuracy.

 

 

The article cited above in part here by

by Kolby Kerr of Leaderworks

Now that the first (Webinar) ….went smoothly, I can breathe a sigh of relief—

While I pack away cameras and mics, the conference table becomes crowded with open laptops, scattered papers, piled books, and lots of coffee cups. In minutes, they are wading into the Eucharist texts, discussing how to ensure clarity through the rubrics without letting them become too cumbersome for use.

Sometimes their discussion digresses to the conventions of older prayer books, or precedents in other rites, or the present-day connotation of a word as opposed to its 17th century use. For a moment, it seems that the sentence or phrase is going to end up clumsy or bloated, too long or too unmetrical or too opaque. Someone will say: This thing looks like a platypus. I look at my notebook and discover I’ve been scribbling variations—a child imitating adults.

Then the room settles for a moment, while they look together at the current proposal. After a beat, one offers a quiet suggestion—what if we…? Now the ball is rolling. Another chimes in—yes and that would work with…it scans nicely…It feels like they’ve just come through turbulence with one engine out and suddenly found themselves intact on the runway in the full sun.

THE NECESSARY TENSION

They refer often to their guiding principles: continuity, memorability, musicality, and clarity. They remind one another of the charge to emphasize the biblical, missional, and unifying spirit of the province. And their representation reflects all of this, in tension together.

One will stump for a particularly hefty word, arguing that the church should teach, should inspire, should raise people up. Another exhorts everyone to consider those who know little English or whose literacy is low. And both of them are right.

In another moment, one bishop will cite Roman Catholic and Orthodox liturgies, reminding everyone that the prayer book should carry an ecumenical posture. Another will chime in that our tradition has distinctions we should honor. And they are both right, too.

Graduate students devoted to the study and use of language wrangle with septuagenarian practitioner-priests. Those who can recite the ’79 text by heart reckon with Canadians who have no familiarity with it at all. And somehow the conversation advances at a steady pace. They scroll down to the next line as one of them quotes a Latin translation and another softly sings the doxology to himself.

THAT WAS BEAUTIFUL

I gather with them again at Evening Prayer—they’ve elected to use their newly polished text, to see how it sounds in corporate worship. We recite the Phos Hilaron, hear from Nehemiah again—Let us arise and build—then Hebrews—Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things unseen. After the final amen, Ben (the Brit) pumps both fists over his head.

Ben is in charge of tracking and archiving all suggestions and criticism. He sifts through hundreds of emails (some offered in a less-than-charitable tone), distills every comment to bulleted notes that are painstakingly organized so that they can be considered one-by-one by the committee. It is an exhausting and sometimes discouraging task.

But now, hands still raised, he marvels at the screen where the words are projected and exclaims, “That was beautiful!” He looks around to the rest of us for confirmation. There is no hint of ego or arrogance in his voice or face, only a child-like appreciation for a good and beautiful thing.

Later, over dinner, two bishops at my table hold forth on the origins of the American episcopacy, hammering away on the reception of Seabury and the Scottish prayer book. One raises a finger and a rebuttal, the other appeals to the rest of us, marshaling support—we give half-nods, but have long since lost the thread. I feel myself leaning, fairly rolling toward them, the collective weight of these figures like a bowling ball set on a taught cloth. In the same breath that one offers a counter-claim, the other asks for salad. A moment later, they are swapping stories about grandchildren. They ask what my little sons are doing back in Texas while I’m away.

At the other table, some of the younger members are buzzing, talking animatedly and gesturing with their rolls. Impossibly, the cause of their excitement is the sub-committee work after dinner. That’s right, they can’t wait to sit down in sub-committeesand dig into some revisions to propose tomorrow morning. They are still jet-lagged, it’s getting dark, and they can hardly wolf down dessert fast enough so they can get back to work.

IN THE ROOM

My wife and I have watched the television series The West Wing all the way through a few times. It’s a smartly-written show about the inner-workings of the White House—the speech writers, the chief of staff, the press secretary. When there’s a conflict among the characters, there’s a single phrase oft-repeated:

You’ve got to trust the guy in the room.

That’s what I’m walking away with after this trip. To this point, I had a limited understanding of what this project was all about and who was steering the ship. I didn’t know enough to muster any skepticism, but I was staggered by the scale of the project, the difficult balance required, and the logistics of completing such a work in the midst of so many other pressing ministries. After hearing these individuals speak from their hearts, and—more importantly—after watching them work so diligently and lovingly with one another, I’m convinced that we can trust the people in the room….

 

By Kolby Kerr|October 23rd, 2017

 

 

 

 

For yet further background,

please see the following links to articles and resources on the liturgy work of ACNA

 

New Daily Office Lectionary For Trial Use

The provincial Liturgy Task Force, in consultation with the Bishops Review Panel and with consideration of the sizable feedback on past versions, is preparing the text for next year’s release of the Book of Common Prayer 2019. Of all the assignments the Liturgy Task Force has undertaken, “The Daily Office…

Toward a New Anglican Psalter

Have you noticed that the Psalter texts in the Daily Office (Morning and Evening Prayer, Midday Prayer, Compline, and Family Prayer) and the Sunday Scripture inserts are different? Do you have any idea what the Coverdale Psalter is or what any of this means? Do you wonder why there is…

A Call for Feedback to the Liturgy Task Force

Come Provincial Assembly 2019, the Liturgy Task Force plans to present to the Anglican Church in North America its completed, published, and printed Book of Common Prayer 2019. To get there, the Task Force is seeking your help and participation. You, the member of the Anglican Church in North America,…

Remaining Prayer Book Working Texts Now Available

Nearly all the remaining working texts proposed for the Book of Common Prayer 2019, approved by the College of Bishops in January, are now available online as PDF and Word documents at http://anglicanchurch.net/?/main/texts_for_common_prayer.  Of special interest immediately will be the proposed rites for Ash Wednesday and Holy Week.  For those who…

Two New Liturgies Released

The bishops of the Anglican Church in North America met June 23-24, 2016 in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina and approved new working texts for liturgical use in the Church.  In particular, the College approved two new liturgies (Holy Matrimony and the Burial of the Dead) and two calendars (an overall…

New liturgies for review include Family Prayer

The Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force continues their work on new texts of liturgies for the Anglican Church in North America. Among the new working texts released by the task force are liturgies for Family Prayer as well as Midday Prayer and Compline. “Family Prayer is offered to the…

New Working Liturgy Texts released

“Very significant progress has been made toward a Book of Common Prayer 2019,” Archbishop Robert Duncan, the Liturgy Task Force chair, reported to the College of Bishops. “The present plan is to produce all the working texts of a new prayer book by mid-2016, and then use the following 18-24…

Interview with Archbishop Duncan on the new Lectionaries

As the Anglican Church in North America continues to grow, many new members have not used a lectionary before in their daily worship. Can you explain what the Daily Lectionary is and why it is part of the Book of Common Prayer? The Daily Office Lectionary is designed to help…

Working Texts for Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, & Reaffirmation now available

The new working texts are rites for Holy Baptism, Confirmation, Reception, and Reaffirmation. “We are trying to get all the working texts put together, approved by the College, and in circulation,” the Most Rev. Bob Duncan, chair of the Task Force, told the Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in…

Next steps to a new Prayer Book

The Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force of the Anglican Church in North America met for it’s first meeting since its reorganization at St. Vincent’s Cathedral (Bedford, TX), February 26-27, 2015. High on the task force’s agenda was preparing texts for the rites of Baptism and confirmation. The Most Rev.…

Ordinal Approved for Use by the College of Bishops

The Anglican Church in North America is pleased to announce the Ordinal has been approved for use by the College of Bishops. The Ordinal text was approved on June 24, 2011. To view the PDF document, please click here. “One of the major things that we sought to do was…

August 14, 2018