Posted on 01/20/2007 6:37:22 PM PST by sionnsar
Since you asked...
Interestingly enough, I was fortunate not to have had to endure ECUSA seminary - I "read for Orders" using a combination of books that +John Rodgers had sent to my Rector (who went on to be one of the 4 AMIA Bishops consecrated in Denver) and "on the job training" - this was all pre-AMIA, but after our church had left ECUSA in the early 90's (Our Savior Parish in Campbell, CA; which is now Christ The King).
I mention all of that because I had never been exposed to any BCP except the '79 until the last few years - having come out of the Vineyard movement after leaving Rome prior to walking the Canterbury trail :)
So, while I'll investigate and dive into the new "trial use" BCP, I'll most likely continue with the '79 in a "contemporary service" setting and would be glad to honor those that would like to use the "older" liturgy if there were call to do so.
Admittedly, as I am currently working to plant a church in the Spokane Valley area; I often find myself asking the question - has ANY of these conversations about BCP's of any flavor, or the BCP itself ever led anyone to Christ?
I believe that the BCP in all of its forms has been a tool that has helped to lead people to Christ. The Anglican liturgy brings us together in prayer in a way that is unique and reverent. As is the case will all good liturgical worship, it reinforces how we worship God together, in His shared body, and not as individualists. It is also my opinion that the discussions of BCP are similar (although clearly of much lesser importance) to the councils of the early church in terms of leading people to (or away from) Christ, in that how we worship does affect how and what we believe.
The 1662 BCP and its direct relations such as the American 1928 are more orthodox and pound for pound are rich in biblical verse. These traditional prayerbooks are less easily coopted to advance a non-biblical agenda than the '79 (let alone the recent spate of other revisions.) The 1979 BCP has much that is positive, but also has within it some of the seeds of our current crisis.
Not knowing the process by which the trial use BCP graduates to official status, one hopes that the grammatical and syntax errors and will be caught and remedied prior to final publication. However, even with a few flaws, it certainly is a positive step on the part of the AMiA.
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