Chapter 6

       The Worship of the Church—The Book of Common Prayer

      The pattern of prayer and praise normally used in the worship of Almighty God is set forth in the Book of Common Prayer, commonly called the Prayer Book. The term “common prayer” describes a characteristic of worship in the Episcopal Church. Those who assemble have in common a responsibility to participate. The priest or minister at the front has his or her special role but this becomes a hollow performance apart from the active participation of the others who are present. The assembly is a congregation—people who have come together or congregated to worship God. The services are not a spectator sport where people gather to watch others perform. There is no audience. Someone once said that when a person comes to church he finds himself sitting on the stage—an active participant—not sitting in the audience watching. All of us take part in common prayer.

      One graphic indication of the fact that common participation is a hallmark of Prayer Book services is the presence of rubrics on almost every page. The rubrics are the italicized fine print directions which instruct participants as to how to proceed. They are called “rubrics” because they are sometimes printed in red, as in the large altar book used by the priest. (Ruber is the Latin word for red.) There is also a page at the beginning of each service entitled “Concerning the Service,” and a section of “Additional Directions” follows most of the services in the book (BCP, pgs. 312 and 406 are examples.) These together provide all of the directions needed for conducting and participating in Prayer Book services. The priest or minister does not have any secret book of mysterious things he does which those attending do not understand. We all have the same book; it is truly common prayer.

      When we open the book we discover that it contains services and rites for regular worship as well as those that appropriate for the milestone events of every individual Christian—baptism through burial. The contents are made up of passages of Scripture as well as prayers and hymns and rituals many of which have been part of Christian practice from the earliest times. It contains also the entire Book of Psalms from the Bible.

      The first Book of Common Prayer was compiled under the leadership of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer in 1549. Down through the centuries, first in England, then in this country, the Prayer Book has been revised eight times. The most recent American revision is that adopted by the General Convention in 1979. The Prayer Book was revised because times change and the spiritual needs of the new day must be met. The meanings of words change and some prayers have to be rephrased in order to convey their ancient meaning. Also, scholars acquire new and greater knowledge about the early Church and its life and practice which should be reflected in our worship. But every revision of the Prayer Book has measured up to the three criteria which Archbishop Cranmer laid down for the first Prayer Book back in 1549. The book must be “grounded upon the Holy Scriptures,” “agreeable to the order of the primitive church,” and “edifying to the people.” So each succeeding revision, while having its own distinctive character, has been in spirit and truth the same Book of Common Prayer.

      The services of the Book of Common Prayer fall into four categories. There are the regular services—the Holy Eucharist which is intended to be celebrated every Sunday and on holy days, and Morning and Evening Prayer, known as the Daily Offices, which are intended to be used every day of the week as well as on Sunday.

      A second category is services for special days. The Great Litany is especially appropriate during Lent, on the Rogation Days, and on the First Sunday in Advent. There are liturgies for Ash Wednesday, Holy Week, and the vigil which ushers in Easter Day. These occasions are milestones in the Church's calendar and these special services take note of that fact.

      A third category of services is those used for personal milestone occasions. These cover the whole gambit of human experience—Baptism, Confirmation, Commitment to Christian Service, Marriage, Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, Reconciliation of a Penitent, Ministration to the Sick and Dying, and Burial. All of these services are related to happenings in the lives of people.

      There is still a fourth category of services—those performed by a bishop. These are the Episcopal Services. They include the Making or Ordaining of a Bishop, Priest, or Deacon, Celebration of a New Ministry, and Consecration of a Church or Chapel.

      The Prayer Book, then, contains the material which assists us in holding up to God the whole of our lives and the extent of our days. It preserves for us the ways in which the people of God have done this through long generations. It is indeed a precious heritage.

      The other book in the pews of every Episcopal Church is The Hymnal. It has not had so long and constant a history as the Prayer Book. In the first American Prayer Book, for example, the words to 27 hymns were printed at the end of the book, but there was no music. Since then, there have been six revisions and enlargements, the last being in 1982—the book which is now in use. The 720 hymns in the present book cover a wide spectrum of our Christian heritage. The poems come from almost every century of our Christian past and from poets who have diverse Christian backgrounds. This richness of variety is also found in the tunes. The Catholic Church of the ages in its breadth and richness is present in our hymnal.

      Now, let's examine the Prayer Book services in some detail and seek to appreciate their meaning.