1662 and all that….

Its that time of term again…for 3 weeks at the end of each term, college goes incredibly retro and switches to book of common prayer for its morning services.

Why you may ask (certainly many people round here ask that!) well primarily because BCP is still authorised liturgy of the church and as trainee church ministers we need to know how to use it. I think it’s fair to say that for almost all the students at college this is the first time they have come across BCP and certainly the first time they have attempted to lead it, and I like them, was not at all impressed by the idea when it first came around. Being dyslexic I was fearful of the strange language and the incredibly small print and the complications of knowing what to keep in and what to leave out… but most of all I thought it was totally ridiculous that the church could keep something so out of touch with the modern world and I didn’t want anything to do with it…. That was last year… after this week when I have started my fourth cycle of BCP I find that it has really grown on me. Now that I know my way around it I find the language is understandable and, more than that is incredibly beautiful. It’s fantastically portable with all the services, lectionary and scripture in one small book, quite the contrast to my shelf full of the various books of Common Worship services… and the simplicity of saying the same liturgy every morning gives a real rhythm to the day. I particularly like the fact that the service starts with confession, particularly welcome in this season of Lent.

There are some down sides though…. particularly when reciting familiar passages such as the grace, I have lost track of the number of times I have worshipped the Holy Sp-ost…. as my brain just automatically provides my mouth with the modern version and I still find the text ridiculously small.. but all in all I am glad that the church still has BCP. Whether I ever get to use it out in the parishes however, will I think, be an entirely different matter….