Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach

Anglican Theological Review, Spring 2004 by Murphy, Beth Marie

Discovering the Book of Common Prayer: A Hands-On Approach. Vol. 1: Daily Prayer. By Sue Careless. Toronto: Anglican Book Centre and The Prayer Book Society of Canada, 2003. 280 pp. CDN $19.95 (paper).

Discovering the Book of Common Prayer is written, the reader is told, to explain and encourage a greater use of Morning and Evening Prayer from the Canadian Anglican Book of Common Prayer. It is primarily written for those who have little understanding of the Book of Common Prayer, although those who have a long familiarity with the book will find informative material, such as the adaptation of various prayers for other pastoral uses. It could be a useful tool for those preparing for Confirmation.

The first chapter sets the tone of the book by discussing the importance of the Book of Common Prayer and some of its histoiy. However, the next chapter (over half the book), deals with prayer and praying in general. It contains many important topics that would be of interest to those just beginning to investigate prayer, yet I wonder if this isn't beyond the scope of a book dealing with Morning and Evening Prayer as found in the Book of Common Prayer. It might have been more helpful if the author had written a separate book on prayer and praying and provided a shorter book dealing with Morning and Evening Prayer. In addition, the sections on prayer and praying do not flow smoothly and contain many digressions. Nonetheless, there are parts that are very well written and thought provoking, such as the section on Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.

In the third chapter, "Praying across the Day with the Book of Common Prayer," Careless includes a number of topics that a reader could find useful, such as forms of family prayers. The explanation of Compline, as it relates to the end of life, is valuable. However, there are many other topics which divert one from the intention of the chapter, such as the church year and the litany. Careless also discusses reading of the Bible in this chapter. In speaking about balanced reading of the Bible, it would have been helpful to have the section on Lectionaries there instead of four pages later. Careless states, "many of us are biblically illiterate and need to ask the Holy Spirit to be our teacher" (p. 172). This is very true, but it would have been helpful if she noted not only the need to listen to the Spirit, but also to enter into Bible study, especially in groups.

The actual chapter on "Praying the Daily Offices" is well constructed and extremely instructive. It flows well from one section to another. Within this chapter is a helpful description of what common prayer means and the importance of being part of a community of prayer. The comparison of the Te Deum and the Apostles Creed (pp. 182-183) is a creative piece and the part on the final collects is fully developed and contains a wealth of information.

The book also contains a number of appendices. The first appendix, "Where Did the BCP Come from?," would have been more helpful at the beginning of the book in setting the context of the Book of Common Prayer. Throughout the book, Careless speaks about the language of the Book of Common Prayer. She tells the reader that the language is in an elegant and more beautiful style, which was grasped by the scholar and ploughman, the merchant and milkmaid of the day (p. 34). However, she provides an appendix of over 750 unusual words found in the Book of Common Prayer. One could ask if the ploughman and the milkmaid of today would understand much of what is prayed. The final appendix, "Index of Collects and Other Prayers in the BCP," gathers the prayers found in the Book of Common Prayer under various topics and is a valuable resource, truly one of the gems of the book.

BETH MARIE MURPHY

College of Emmanuel and St. Chad

Saskatoon, Saskatchewan