Not even when I was in the Methodist or Presbyterian church, I don't ever remembering using or even hearing about a Book of Common prayer.
The more I started learning about Anglo- Catholicism, the more intrigued I was about this book.
Even more so when I found out that this book was one of the reasons why The Anglican Catholic church split from the Episcopal church in the 1970's.
The version we use is the 1928 version (the 1979 version is the most commonly used one in the Episcopal church.)
My husband had a copy of it from his old Episcopal days, and gave it to me. I instantly fell in love with it. The prayers in it were so poetic, and really can tug at the heart strings, especially the general confession.
When I told some of my old Protestant and Anabaptist friends about it, they seemed confused.
The most common complaint I heard about the prayer book was "Why do you need a book to tell you how to pray?"
I would quickly respond "Have you never had a time in your life where you just couldn't find the words to pray?"
This got some of them thinking I had a point. However, my Pentecostal and charismatic friends would dismiss this retort by saying "That's what tongues are for".
It got me thinking a bit. The go to answer I had was nice, but was that it? Is that what a church would split about?
I started digging in deeper in the prayer book. Then I noticed something I hadn't seen before.
The Liturgy.
The Liturgy ( or the order of our service) is in the book of Common Prayer. Everything from morning and evening prayers, to high mass, to high holly days mass, to weddings, to baptisms, to confirmations, to funerals. It's all there.
I brought up the subject up to a few of my fellow parish family members and one of them gave me the real answer I was looking for.
The way they explained it to me, was that the Book of Common prayer gives specific direction on how the service is to flow. If a priest were to go out of line of the prayer book, the Layman (Non ordained church member) is able to tell right away, and would be able to report it to a higher authority (Such as a Bishop) to get it straighten out.
Tat was the moment I was truly in love with this book.
I remember thinking, how many churches have I been in the past that could use a tool like this.
I wouldn't have to hear a sermon about tithing every single Sunday, if the book says that day is in celebration of the Trinity.
In fact, how nice would it be if I was able to report a couple to them to a Bishop, rather than just walk away, but that's another blog for another day.
So, in short, that is the purpose of The Book of Common Prayer.
If you don't know how to pray for something, the book can teach you how to. Which, surprisingly, prayer requires learning. It's not as easy as the Evangelical community makes it out to be. In fact, they have some of their own written prayers that most don't acknowledge as the same as the prayers we have in the prayer book.
The Sinner's prayer, for example, looks pretty similar to the Prayer of General confession, if you look at it.
At it's to help keep structure and order in the church, and to keep the priest accountable. Something, that I am sorry to say, seems to be dwindling in the mainstream protestant churches.
I liked what the archbishop once said about the Liturgy in the Book of Common prayer.
"The Liturgy works to where, even if you don't like your priest, it's fine, because he doesn't get to but in very often."
Now just by writing this blog, gives me an idea for my next blog.....BUT...that will have to be for another time.
The Lord be with you.
