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 Church with special concern to families with young children,” the task force reported to the College of Bishops at their last meeting in January. The new working texts for Family Prayer include four offerings for use in the morning, noonday, in the evening, and at bedtime.
The Family Prayer readings and collects may be read by one person, with the other parts read aloud in unison or in other ways. As in the tradition of Morning and Evening Prayer, the opening sentences may be replaced by those used in the various seasons of the church year. In addition, readings from the Daily Office, the Sunday Lectionary, and special Holy Day readings may be used.
The Rev. Grady Buhler (Deacon at St. Timothy’s Anglican Church in North Vancouver, BC) recently wrote to the Task Force, ”My seven year-old daughter, Mary, has really taken to the Family Prayers. She started to ask me to pray morning and evening prayer with her and this has blessed me so very much. The family offices are rich, but brief enough so as not to be burdensome for small children or their parents. I’m thankful for this as it is deepening our family’s prayer life.”
The task force also released for review and comment the working texts for Midday Prayer and Compline.
“These minor offices are very similar in content to the forms in the Book of Common Prayer 1979,” the Task Force reported. These forms of prayer are consistent with the long tradition of these rites in the Western Church.
The Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force welcomes feedback on the working texts now in circulation. To send feedback to the Task Force, email {encode=”liturgytaskforce@anglicanchurch.net” title=”liturgytaskforce@anglicanchurch.net.”}
The members of the Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force are:
• The Most Rev. Robert Duncan, Chair
• The Rt. Rev. Keith Ackerman, Vice Chair
• The Rev. Dr. J.I. Packer, Senior Reader
• The Ven. Darrell Critch
• The Rev. Chip Edgar
• The Rev. Jonathan Kanary
• The Rev. Dr. Arnold Klukas
• The Rev. Canon Ron Moock
• The Rev. Canon Andrea Mueller
For further information:
Click here for PDF version and here for the Word version of the Family Prayer text.
Click here for PDF version and here for the Word version of the Midday Prayer text.
Click here for PDF version and here for the Word version of the Compline text.
To download more working texts, visit the webpage for the Texts for Common Prayer here.
You may also watch Archbishop Duncan’s full report from the Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force to Provincial Council 2015 here.
The written report to Provincial Council 2015 from the Task Force is available online here.
Photo: The Revs Christopher and Carrie Klukas leading prayers with their family.
