Words & Worship: The Ongoing Work of Prayer Book Revision

And just like that it's November ... and Diocesan Convention looms on the horizon: November 15/16. In addition to all the regular work and worship of our Annual Family Reunion complete with Liturgy & Legislation, this year the Diocese of Los Angeles will offer an expanded set of workshops. You can see the full schedule here ... and do note that one of them will explore the ongoing work of prayer book revision.

Here's the description of the workshop ... being offered at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, November 15 at the Riverside Convention Center (where we're thrilled to be returning after a number of years in convention center wilderness):

General Convention has invited dioceses to talk about and collect liturgical materials to bring to the national conversation about new forms of worship, i.e., “Prayer Book revision.” In this workshop, we will talk about the “why” and the “how” of these imagined changes as they are lived out in a parish context. We’ll talk about how some churches have introduced changes, and we'll offer tools for undertaking this work in your parish.
Presenters include: Norma Guerra, Susan Russell & Kay Sylvester

If you need a reminder of where the Episcopal Church stands in the process of creating a process to begin a process of prayer book revision, there's this fine overview by Melodie Woerman from Episcopal News Service ... and here's a link to the enabling resolution 2018-A068 ... which includes this resolve:

Resolved, That bishops engage worshiping communities in experimentation and the creation of alternative texts to offer to the wider church ...

So if you're a Dio L.A. peep coming to convention, join us for what we hope will be the first of several opportunities to engage in this work of collaboration and collection of alternative texts for worship that we can offer to the wide church. If you've got thoughts or ideas send them my way ... srussell@ladiocese.org

And do keep this important work in your prayers as we continue to live into our responsibility to incarnate in our generation the ongoing work of prayer book revision that has been part of our heritage since 1789 ... articulated in these opening words of the Preface of our Book of Common Prayer:

It is a most invaluable part of that blessed “liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free,” that in his worship different forms and usages may without offence be allowed, provided the substance of the Faith be kept entire; and that, in every Church, what cannot be clearly determined to belong to Doctrine must be referred to Discipline; and therefore, by common consent and authority, may be altered, abridged, enlarged, amended, or otherwise disposed of, as may seem most convenient for the edification of the people, “according to the various exigency of times and occasions.”