May I add a little to Jim Stevens’ brief comment on BCP made in June’s edition of Chipperfield News. As he said, this stands for The Book of Common Prayer. The version of BCP that we use now was produced in 1662. It had been worked on and revised during the previous hundred years to make it a clear and comprehensive statement of Christian teaching which would be readily understandable and be suitable for public and personal use. Every day since then parts of it have been read, said or sung all over the world, not just on Sundays and not just in cathedrals. It was designed to express in dignified language an approach to worshipping and serving God as He has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ. It has great depth and breadth of meaning; you will not exhaust it at one reading. It offers a life time of thought, stimulation and encouragement. Many have learnt parts of it by heart and return to them to enhance their understanding of the Christian faith. Wonderful, wonderful words that will stretch the mind and heart.
BCP is alive and well. Keeping it fresh is an investment in the future of the church. Christian worship and service would be poorer if it were to be lost, like removing a foundation stone of a building. BCP has been a vital element in the development of the English language. It has been the inspiration for wonderful music, much being written today by contemporary composers.
At St Paul’s, as well as all the other services available, we use BCP for Morning Prayer on the fourth Sunday of every month and sing Evensong three or four times a year. And BCP is used during some of the mid-week Communion services. Our services are designed so that the congregation can take a full part. ‘Thees’ and ‘Thous’ do not cause problems for most people. Psalms are sung not as chants, which can be beyond the scope of the keenest; we sing them as hymn versions. ‘The Lord’s my shepherd’ would be an example based on the 23rd Psalm. Again there are lots of psalms written as hymns by living authors.
We hope that these services will be appreciated by many, whether they are already familiar with BCP or not. Do feel welcome to come.
John King