Why
are they changing our liturgy?
Background:
Until 1998 the Church of England had
basically two service books:
- The Book of Common Prayer
(1662), which is authorised for ever, without a time
limit. The BCP is a permanent feature of the Church of
England's worship. It is loved for the beauty of its
language, and the services it contains are still widely
used (in their entirety or in adapted form). The BCP is
also the foundation of the tradition of common prayer,
and a fundamental source of the Church of England's
doctrine. The BCP is unaltered by the present process of
liturgical revision. It cannot be altered or discontinued
without the agreement of parliament.
- The Alternative Service Book
1980, which was authorised until 31 December 2000. The
ASB was never intended to be a permanent feature of the
Church of England's worship. Originally it was authorised
only until the end of 1990, but then it was subsequently
authorised for use for a further ten years.
Why revise the ASB?
The shortcomings of
the ASB...
- Some parts of the ASB (for
example the Funeral Service, and Morning and Evening
Prayer) are widely criticised and rarely used without
adaptation.
- Many people find the language
of the ASB flat and unpoetic - it does not compare well
with the poetry and beauty of the Book of Common Prayer.
The ASB also suffers from the drawback that it was
produced just before the issue of "inclusive
language" became prominent. Whether we like it or
not, inclusive language is here to stay - it is no longer
possible to confess our sins against "our fellow
men" in the way that people did twenty years ago.
- Many people find the theology
of the ASB rather one-dimensional. The ASB service of
Baptism focused largely on Baptism as "dying with
Christ"; the new Common Worship service of
Baptism includes the idea of the church as a pilgrim
people, young and old alike on a journey of faith.
The ASB Funeral Service focused
strongly on the resurrection, whereas the proposed Common
Worship Funeral Service also draws in the biblical
emphases of incarnation and the cross - instead of being
"triumphalist" the new service is more
sensitive to the feelings of grief and suffering that
bereaved people experience.
A desire
for greater flexibility...
Variety and informality have become
hallmarks of our culture and our generation. We
live in a "pick and mix" culture, and people
expect flexibility in worship as in other spheres. Many
people have appreciated and have got used to
supplementary resources, such as Patterns for Worship,
The Promise of his Glory, and Lent, Holy Week and Easter.
We also live in a society which is beginning again to
value symbolism and richer language.
- The pattern and style of
people's lives have also changed. The Book of Common
Prayer assumed that the whole nation consisted of
Christians. Whatever expressions one uses to describe our
society now (secular, post-Christian or post-modern), it
is clear that many people have little or no idea about
basic Christian doctrines and little or no experience of
Christian worship. It's not surprising that many people
find the services in both the BCP and the ASB inadequate
to deal with the vast range of different lifestyles and
experiences of our generation.
New
concerns...
- We now appreciate good material
that comes from other Anglican traditions. Common
Worship (unlike ASB and BCP) will contain both old
and new material. There is good reason to encourage a
blend of the old and the new, drawing on both BCP and
alternative services. The new material will bring the two
traditions closer together.
- We are now open to Christians
of other denominations. Other denominations use many of
the same texts, and these common forms are being revised
in different denominations in line with each other. Where
possible it is good to use the same versions of common
texts, the same Lectionary readings and so on.
Point to Note!
Some people think that it is only in
our generation that there have been changes in the liturgy. It is
true that on the surface there was little or no change in the
Church of England's liturgy between the production of the Book of
Common Prayer in 1662 and the 1928 Prayer Book, which was
rejected by Parliament. In reality, however, there was a vast
difference between the way different churches of different
traditions interpreted and used the same services. And always the
church found ways of developing new services when they were
needed, even if there was no provision for them in the Prayer
Book - for example Carol Services and services for Harvest
Festival.
So liturgical change and variation
is nothing new, even if in our generation the pace of change has
been increasing!
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