The Test of Time
2008 Marks 80th Anniversary Episcopalians for Traditional Faith (ETF) is dedicated to preserving and promoting the use of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, which has been in use for the past 80 years. Why the 1928? Because it is the most recent Episcopal Church prayer book that is based on holy scripture. Because it is written in language that rises above the mundane as we praise God. Because, as we repeat the reverent phrases, they elevate and strengthen us. The 1928 Book of Common Prayer might just as well be called The 2008 Book of Common Prayer, for it is as accessible to us and as relevant to our lives today as it has always been. For conservative Episcopalians who choose to worship as they believe, it contains the only liturgy available to us this year or any year. Other Books of Common Prayer before the 1928 differ very little from it, as a study of the editions issued from 1549 - 1928 will reveal. All center on the Word of God. All are wrought in words that sing. All call us to common worship. But look at the books that come after it and you'll see an incremental disintegration into a nothingness where there is no book at all, but a series of pamphlets and leaflets. As they flutter to the church floor during services, one is reminded of the chaff, blown away on the wind while the solid wheat remains to nourish us. Great Words for Great Occasions "But it's hard to understand!" is a frequently heard whine about the 1928. Nonsense. The language of the true Book of Common Prayer is accessible to all. If you don't know what "vouchsafe" means, take its meaning from the context. Look it up. Or here: Vouchsafe: To grant or bestow. Oblations: Offerings, such as worship and thanks, to God. Is that so hard? The adulteration of our liturgy doesn't stop with the printed word. Even more liturgical mischief is brewing, as can be seen on the TEC website in a mess of rites and chants based on humanism and socialism. Now, rather than wait to see what new leaflet one's parish priest is going to distribute, the layman acting as Eucharist-Planner of the Week need only go to TEC website, cherry-pick through page after page of chant and ritual, and email the most abominable to one and all, to print out and bring with them to church on Sunday, or not. As the liturgy is splintered and diminished, Episcopalians find themselves alienated from one another, the common interest nurtured by the true Book of Common Prayer, sliced into diverse segments. Have the revisionists sincerely wished to destroy the Church or have they simply, naively, stupidly bungled into it? For whatever their reasons, they have changed the religion, starting with the 1979 book, which introduced the "baptismal covenant," conceived by materialistic man, not God. This passage, focusing on striving for "peace and justice" rather than repelling evil, speaks for itself. Those who have taken control of TEC call upon it daily to justify their support of social, rather than spiritual, agendas. Words have meaning. In books and rites following the 1979 travesty, the words depart ever farther from the Word; for example, a marriage ceremony that resembles a pagan rite; a Lord's Prayer from which references to God the Father have been removed because they are considered "sexist" or not "inclusive." The 1928 Book of Common Prayer stands as the true Prayer Book in a long liturgical tradition that has inspired and sustained the Anglican Communion as one. May hymns of gladness rise throughout the Episcopal Church and the entire Anglican Communion on the 80th anniversary of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. May it endure for 1,928 years and more. -- jm |