Draft Proposed Prayer Book Goes to Press
Diocesan Press Service. July 25, 1975 [75269]
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- At 10:30 p.m. on Friday, July 18, following a week-long session, the Standing Liturgical Commission of the Episcopal Church (SLC) completed its work on the manuscript of the Draft Proposed Book of Common Prayer with the triumphant singing of the Doxology and a warm tribute to its chairman, the Rt. Rev. Chilton Powell, Bishop of Oklahoma. At this, its last meeting in 1975, the Commission made its final decisions on the order and contents of the Draft Book, and on material left over from previous meetings for further study.
The work of preparing a revision of the Book of Common Prayer was assigned to the Commission by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in 1964 and was re-affirmed by three successive General Conventions. The process was actually begun in 1928 when the Revision Commission, which had prepared the present Prayer Book, was constituted as a Standing Commission. Initially it consisted of two bishops, two presbyters and two laymen, with the Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer as a member ex officio.
The principle of "trial use" -- a method of inviting all members of the Church to participate in the process of revision -- was adopted by the General Convention of 1964. The Commission's membership was expanded by the appointment of consultants and additional members, and continued to be expanded, until it now numbers 23. The SLC now consists of five bishops, 12 presbyters, and six lay persons. The bishops are appointed by the Presiding Bishop, the presbyters and lay persons by the President of the House of Deputies. Most of the members of the Commission have served as chairmen of some 14 drafting committees, which had a total membership of over 80 consultants. A larger group, numbering about 250, served as reader-consultants.
The revision process involved the active co-operation of about 100 diocesan liturgical or worship committees. The chairmen of these diocesan committees acted as liaison between their respective dioceses and the SLC. The process of trial use also included the participation of thousands of other church members who contributed comments, criticisms, and many valuable suggestions.
Trial use began with the publication of "The Liturgy of the Lord's Supper, " authorized by the General Convention in 1967. In response to the experience of using this rite, "Services for Trial Use " were prepared and authorized in 1970, and finally, "Authorized Services, 1973. " A number of Prayer Book Studies were also prepared and were given wide distribution. The Draft Proposed Book will now embody the Commission's considered response to the total experience of trial use. It will be distributed to the general public both by the Church Hymnal Corporation, publisher of all the Commission's materials, and by the Seabury Press. Publication date has been set for February 2, 1976.
Since the Draft Book will be a working document of the Minnesota General Convention (Sept. 11-23, 1976), copies will be made available free of charge to all bishops, Convention deputies and alternates.
The Minnesota Convention is expected to take the first constitutional action on the Draft Proposed Book. At least two full legislative days will be devoted to the consideration of the Draft. Hearings open to the public are planned for at least three days before the Convention opens, and also during the Convention itself.
If the Draft Book passes its first constitutional vote, it will become the Proposed Book of Common Prayer and will incorporate any textual changes made by the Convention. The Convention may authorize the Proposed Book for trial use throughout the church during the 1976-79 triennium. If the Proposed Book receives a second positive vote by the 1979 General Convention meeting at Denver, Colo., it will become the Standard Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.
Contents and Order of the Draft Proposed Book
The major action of the Commission at its July meeting was the decision on contents and the order in which the various rites and other materials are to appear in the Draft Book. Following detailed consideration of a report prepared by a committee under the Rev. Robert W. Estill of Virginia Theological Seminary, Alexandria, Va., the Commission decided on the following structure:
Prefatory Material -- including the 1789 Preface, general rubrics concerning the Service of the Church, and the Calendar;
The Daily Office -- Daily Morning Prayer and Evening Prayer, Rite I in traditional form; followed by Daily Morning Prayer, Rite II, Prayer at Noonday and Evening Prayer, Rite II, in contemporary language; together with an Order of Worship in the Evening; Compline; and the shorter forms of family prayer;
The Litany -- a revision, in traditional language only, of this distinctive Anglican prayer;
The Collects -- for use both in the Daily Office and the Holy Eucharist, in traditional and contemporary forms;
Proper Liturgies for Special Days -- consisting of special services for Ash Wednesday, Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, and the Great Vigil of Easter ;
Holy Baptism -- further revised after extensive consultations; The Holy Eucharist, Rite I -- including, as the first eucharistic prayer, the unchanged prayer of consecration from the present Book of Common Prayer, and a new shorter prayer, also in traditional language, as the only alternative;
The Holy Eucharist, Rite II -- including four eucharistic prayers in contemporary language; an Order for Celebrating the Eucharist; and a form for the Administration of Holy Communion under Special Circumstances;
The Pastoral Offices -- including
Confirmation -- together with a form for Reception and Reaffirmation of Baptismal Vows ;
The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage;
A Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child;
A Commitment to Christian Service;
The Reconciliation of a Penitent;
Ministry to the Sick;
Ministry at the Time of Death;
The Burial of the Dead -- Rite I in traditional, and Rite II in contemporary form;
The Ordination of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons -- together with a Preface and a Litany for Ordinations; and including in this section services for the Celebration of a New Ministry and the Dedication and Consecration of a Church or Chapel;
The Psalter -- all 150 Psalms, revised several times since the publication of the first group of Psalms in "Services for Trial Use," (1970), and a first complete draft in "Authorized Services 1973 ";
Occasional Prayers and Thanksgivings -- a selection of approximately the same number of prayers as in the present Prayer Book for various occasions, drawn both from the present Prayer Book in traditional language and from "Prayers, Thanksgivings, and Litanies " (Prayer Book Studies 25) in contemporary style;
An Outline of the Faith, or Catechism;
A Selection of Historical Documents of the Church -- consisting of the definition of the union of the divine and human natures in the Person of Christ, adopted by the Council of Chalcedon in 451 A.D.; the "Athanasian Creed," dating from the sixth century A.D.; the Preface to the First Book of Common Prayer of 1549; the Articles of Religion (39 Articles), as adopted by the General Convention of 1801; and the Chicago - Lambeth Quadrilateral of 1886 - 1888 ;
The Lectionary for Sundays, Holy Days, and Various Occasions -- newly revised after a thorough study of the biblical readings and psalms of the Church Year, organized in a three-year cycle of readings at principal Sunday services. As mandated by the 1973 General Convention, the sequence of gospel readings for the Season after Pentecost is so arranged that the readings will fall on the same Sundays as they do in the Roman Catholic lectionary ;
The Daily Office Lectionary -- for Daily Morning and Evening Prayer, based on a two-year cycle of readings, also thoroughly revised to ensure the greatest possible coverage of bible readings.
The structure adopted by the SLC follows a sequence similar to that of the present Prayer Book beginning with daily worship, followed by Collects to be used every day and every week, then by the rites of the two principal Sacraments of the Church, Holy Baptism and the Eucharist, continuing with the Pastoral Offices, the Ordinal, and concluding with the Psalms, occasional prayers, instructional materials and tables.
Other decisions
One of the Commission's major decisions was the approval of a service of Thanksgiving for the Birth or Adoption of a Child, prepared by a committee under Mrs. Virginia Harbour of Gambier, Ohio. The SLC also completed its review and revision of the Collects, Proper Prefaces, and occasional prayers, and the wording of rubrical directions.
The Commission decided to establish a permanent committee to consider more fully than time permitted, and to keep under continuing review, the question of additions to the present Calendar. The SLC referred to this committee for further study its preliminary decision, made at its May meeting, to include the names of Charles Stuart, Queen Emma and Thomas Beckett. The Commission decided, however, to include in the Calendar of the Draft Proposed Book the name of Edward Bouverie Pusey, a distinguished and saintly nineteenth century churchman, and a commemoration of the saints of the Old Testament, recommended by its Committee on the Church Year under the Rev. H. Boone Porter, Jr., of Roanridge, Kansas City. The Commission also approved a proper Collect and biblical readings for Labor Day.
The Ven. Frederic P. Williams, Chairman of the Standing Commission on Church Music, was present throughout the session, and reported on plans for the revision of the Hymnal and on the success of the Chilton Powell Institutes on Church Music, initiated by and named after, the Chairman of the Liturgical Commission.
Also present at the Commission's meeting were the Rt. Rev. H.V.R. Short, Bishop of Saskatchewan and Chairman of the Synod Committee on Doctrine and Worship of the Anglican Church of Canada ; and the Very Rev. David J. Carter, Dean of the Cathedral in Calgary, Alberta, and Vice-Chairman of the Canadian Committee. Both visitors made a valuable contribution to the Commission's work.
The Standing Liturgical Commission consists of the following: The Rt. Rev. Chilton Powell, Bishop of Oklahoma, Chairman; the Rt. Rev. E. Otis Charles, Bishop of Utah; the Rt. Rev. William A. Dimmick, Bishop of Northern Michigan; the Rt. Rev. James W. Montgomery, Bishop of Chicago; the Rt. Rev. Morgan Porteus, Suffragan Bishop of Connecticut ; the Rev. Lloyd S. Casson of New York; the Rev. Robert W. Estill of Alexandria, Va.; the Rev. Donald L. Garfield of New York; the Very Rev. Robert H. Greenfield of Portland, Ore.; the Rev. Canon Charles M. Guilbert, formerly of New York, and now of San Francisco, Calif., Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer, and Secretary; the Rev. Canon Paul E. Langpaap of Seattle, Wash.; the Rev. H. Boone Porter, Jr. of Roanridge, Kansas City, Mo.; the Rev. Charles P. Price of Alexandria, Va.; the Rev. Massey H. Shepherd, Jr. of San Francisco, Calif., Vice Chairman; the Rev. Bonnell Spencer, O.H.C., of West Park, N.Y.; the Rev. Richard C. Winn of Philadelphia, Pa.; the Very Rev. C. Preston Wiles of Dallas, Tex.; Dupuy Bateman, Jr., of Pittsburgh, Pa.; James D. Dunning of New York; Mrs. Richard L. Harbour of Gambier, Ohio; Mrs. Donald Kingsley of Marshal, Mich.; Dr. Anne LeCroy of Johnson City, Tenn.; and Harrison Tillman of Valdosta, Ga.
The Commission is assisted by a Coordinator, the Rev. Leo Malania of New York, and an Editorial Assistant, Capt. Howard E. Galley, C.A., of New York. Frank L. Tedeschi of the Church Center communication office attended this and several previous meetings as liaison officer with the Executive Council Staff in New York. The membership of the Commission also included at various times during the current period of revision ( 1964-1975) the Rt. Rev. Jonathan G. Sherman, Bishop of Long Island; the Rev. Charles W. F. Smith, formerly of the Episcopal Theological School, Cambridge, Mass.; the Rev. Louis B. Keiter (died 1972) of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific; Frank S. Cellier, formerly of Chicago, Ill., who served as secretary until 1968; the Rt. Rev. Arthur C. Lichtenberger, former Presiding Bishop (died 1968); the Rt. Rev. Albert R. Stuart, former Bishop of Georgia (died 1973) ; Dr. John W. Ashton, former Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and Vice President of Indiana University (died 1971); the Rt. Rev. William C. Frey, Bishop of Colorado; the Rt. Rev. Joseph M. Harte, Bishop of Arizona; and the Rev. Canon Lee M. Benefee of Nashville, Tenn. (died 1974).