REVIEW: THE COMMON THREAD: LITURGY LOOKING FORWARD
Kevin J. Moroney, The Common Thread: Liturgy Looking Forward (Church Publishing, Inc., 2021).
The 2015 General Convention of the Episcopal Church approved a resolution for the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music to prepare a plan for revising the current 1979 Book of Common Prayer. Three years later, the House of Bishops passed resolution A068 establishing a task force on liturgical and prayer book revision. The Rev. Canon Kevin J. Moroney, the H. Boone Porter Chair of Liturgics at the General Theological Seminary, is a member of that task force. His book reflects upon the work the task force has done and explains his vision for prayer book revision.
Moroney's book is valuable because of his insider's perspective. The book also provides a study of how Episcopal Church governance works through General Convention and (implicitly) the church canons. He proposes that in order to know where we are going as Episcopalians considering prayer book revision, we must understand our church and why we do what we do.
Maroney believes the liturgy is the basis of our Christian faith. The readings from the Old Testament, the Epistles, and Gospel explain who we are and how we came to be. We recall our Baptism and partake of the eucharist as our sacred meal. All reforms must be grounded in baptism and the eucharist, the basic foundations of our Christian liturgy.
He explains that there are various perspectives within the movement for prayer book revision. One focuses upon the use of expansive language, which Moroney supports. However, he also grounds his liturgical theology in a biblical theology of creation in light of the climate crisis. The Covid pandemic only reinforced the urgent call to change course.
Even though Moroney didn't intend a liturgical history, liturgics matter, nonetheless. However, it's not until the last third of the volume — chapters seven, eight and nine — that he discusses the Book of Common Prayer and the role it has played in Anglican liturgy since the Reformation. He focuses upon Thomas Cranmer's visions for reform and the influences of the two versions of the prayer book he wrote in 1549 and 1552. These prayer books became foundational throughout the Anglican Communion as its various churches developed their own prayer books over time.
Of great significance are the liturgical movements of the twentieth century that led to the Episcopal Church's 1979 Book of Common Prayer:
They emphasized a more active role for the laity; promoted a theology that saw Christian identity, ministry, and church governance as flowing from baptism; encouraged a return (for many of us) to the primitive practice of a weekly celebration of the Eucharist as the principle service on a Sunday; reintroduced the full run of Holy Week services; and provided worship in modern language. (1)
Moroney explains in chapter eight the nuts and bolts of his committee's work in light of the charge set forth by resolution A068, the full text of which he included: "to 'memorialize' the 1979 BCP … revise the BCP and create new liturgies and … use emerging technologies in this new era of revision." (2)
Not only did General Convention set forth a conservative strategy of revision, but Moroney was aware that not everyone on the task force even wanted to revise the prayer book.
With these concerns in mind, he drafted a proposal for the work ahead, which the committee adopted: "Common Prayer: Worship in the Episcopal Church."
The 1979 BCP remains foundational as an authorized text within a growing set of authorized texts. The primary platform would be digital and online. The authorized liturgies would be consistent with the Trinitarian, Baptismal, and Eucharistic theology of the 1979 BCP; and will be consonant with the directives of the General Convention with respect to liturgical language, inclusive and expansive language, and creation care; and will honor the Church's increasing diversity. (3)
Of help to readers is the inclusion of his proposals in the appendix. Those who want to follow the committee's work are free to check the committee's website: https://www.episcopalcommonprayer.org.
Moroney's observations about his conversations with Episcopalians “helped [him] understand why the strategy he proposed was the ideal one, a middle of the road approach, in light of ‘the major bodies of opinion about prayer book and liturgical revision.’” (4)
The 1979 prayer book was itself a controversial revision of the 1928 Book of Common Prayer, even though it was "a strong book biblically and theologically." (5) It led to the church splitting. Current skeptics of prayer book revision asked if the cost of a new prayer book could be justified, even if there was interest in new liturgical options? Others argued "our need to 'live into the 1979 book more fully' [was] more compelling than the need for a new book." (6)
Moroney has given us a lot to think about.
Living fully into the prayer book is surely a good thing. It's all well and good to want change, but do we understand what we already have? For example, he notes that in many parishes, Episcopalians “don't know what the prayer book is because they are handed a full text bulletin when they walk through our red doors.” (7)
This observation raises important questions, in turn.
What is prayer book literacy? Do we have it in our parishes? If it's lacking, what steps might we take to gain that literacy? How would developing prayer book literacy affect adult and children's Christian formation? If we had prayer book literacy, what might be the implications for Sunday worship? How might Episcopalians develop prayer book literacy in their daily lives?
I believe the Book of Common Prayer shouldn't sit in the pews as though it were a relic from a different time that we are free to ignore. If we use bulletins in Sunday worship, we should include references to the relevant pages from the prayer book and encourage parishioners to turn to them. We should discuss the prayer book in our inquirer's classes as an integral part of Anglican church history, liturgy, and theology. At the same time, let's encourage everyone's learning, and not just newcomers to the faith.
Every parishioner should have their own personal copy of the Book of Common Prayer that they might carry with them to Sunday worship because literacy will only become possible through robust use of the prayer book. Make a gift of the prayer book to the newly baptized, confirmed, and received — children as well as adults.
Let’s incorporate the Daily Office into our worship in order to familiarize parishioners with all the liturgies the prayer book contains, and not just the Eucharist. We should introduce the Daily Devotions for Individuals and Families as a means of parishioners developing their own prayer practices. Encourage parishioners to read the Catechism and review the historical documents, especially the Articles of Religion.
These strategies, I believe, are the best means of going forward in ensuring that Episcopalians will persist in their knowledge of our faith tradition in the wake of the task force's prayer book revision.
Kevin J. Moroney, The Common Thread: Liturgy Looking Forward, (New York: Church Publishing Inc., 2021), 82.
Ibid., 90.
Ibid., 92-93.
Ibid., 96.
Ibid., 99.
Ibid.
Ibid., 97.
