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[I'm of two minds to this -- though I will start by noting that I think Fr. Ross' solution is not going to do a thing for TEC's declining membership.

His is not a bad idea, particularly with the '79 book with its multitude of service options. But my first re-encounter with the 1928 BCP, which I grew up with but after only 15 years' absence had me fumbling to find the right page (though Cranmer's wonderful English came back *very* quickly) and announcements would have helped.

Our provincial canons dictate we celebrate Holy Communion when a priest or deacon is present, so Morning Prayer is rare on Sundays in my church. Which means that when we have Morning Prayer, the page numbers are announced. And nobody complains. (Complain? Many of us are happy to celebrate this service with its own special beauty, especially when sung.)

To have every page announced every Sunday might be annoying because we all (I think) have the service memorized already. But to announce if we have visitors might not be a bad idea -- though often enough of late our visitors turn out to be quite familiar with the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. --sionnsar]

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Speak the truth in love. Eph 4:15

The moral of the story: "It's not the message, it's the way we're saying it."

Sound familiar?

If we are to attract new members...

...then we should try to stop hemorrhaging old members.

But, I digress. Now my church prints the entire service into the bulletin, and that seems to help those new to Anglicanism. Though, even with that, there are still traditions that crop up and cause my wife to ask "where are we?" One can't anticipate everything, I guess.

When I lead services from the BCP, I generally only announce the page number when I have to skip or if we are turning to an entirely different section, such as to a Psalm. This is only for Morning or Evening Prayer however, as we publish a bulletin with the pages numbers for every prayer and reading printed in it, along with whatever citations are appropriate (hyman number and name, scriptural book, chapter and verse, etc.).

Deaocn Paul+

I have nothing against announcing page numbers. The EMC church I belong to actually has service booklets in the pews that contain the specific excerpts from the prayer book that are used in the service, as well as '28 prayer books for those that know their way around. The Maronite Catholic church I attend on Wednesdays always announces page numbers at major transitions in the Mass. If you really want to attract new members, however, I suggest that standing for the Creed and the authority of Scripture and Tradition will do a lot more for you than worrying about what page you're on.

In Colorado, I put everything on overheads. Less trouble and visitors didn't have to do the "Anglican Shuffle" looking for pages and prayers.

I also put the Sunday Collect in the bulletin as we read it together.