This post was written by Andrew Preston, one of our Ministry Residents.
We are happy to share the second edition of “Common Prayer for Common Places.” If you recall from last year’s edition, this booklet is a compilation of liturgies from the 2019 Book of Common Prayer with modest adaptations to aid in establishing rhythms of Word and prayer into your daily life.
You can pick up a free copy at our Welcome Table in the lobby.
Daily Prayer
In the second edition of CPCP we have retained the two services of “Daily Morning Prayer” and the “Daily Prayer for the Close of the Day” as in the first printing with no changes (except for some minor formatting adjustments). These liturgies are adapted from the Daily Offices found in the ACNA 2019 BCP and designed to provide an abbreviated and simpler structure for times of individual, group, family, or household times of prayer.
The first service, “Daily Morning Prayer,” is meant to be used at the beginning of the day and closely follows the liturgy of “Morning Prayer” as one would find it in the ACNA 2019 BCP. In order to bring a sense of clarity, some of the additional options of Scripture passages and Collects in the traditional liturgy have been removed. The service can be prayed through in about 25-30 minutes.
The second service, “Daily Prayer for the Close of the Day,” incorporates various services from the ACNA 2019 BCP, including “Evening Prayer,” “Compline,” and the liturgy for “Family Prayer At the Close of the Day.” The general structure is still shaped around Scripture readings and the Lord’s Prayer as the main sections of the service, followed by a selection of Collects (or closing prayers) that are drawn directly from Compline. The liturgy is also intended to be much shorter (reflecting the “Family Prayers”) in order to be used at the dinner table as a household or before bedtime. With a shorter liturgy that can be completed in around 10minutes, this also allows more time in the evening for extended times of prayer, reflection, or journaling if so desired.
While the two services included in this booklet are reformatted, all of the liturgy (including the prayers or Collects, Scripture readings, hymns, etc.) are drawn completely from the ACNA 2019 BCP.
New Changes
In this second edition, we have also added (and replaced) additional services as a resource to integrate rhythms of Word and prayer into our everyday lives. The additional resources included are: (1) a "Baptism Remembrance Liturgy,” (2) the “Home Blessing Liturgy,” (3) a “Table Group Liturgy," and (4) a collection of several “Occasional Prayers.”
Baptism Remembrance
First, the “Baptism Remembrance liturgy,” is a service that allows us to celebrate the sacrament of Holy Baptism and one who has been baptized into the family of God. This service aims to help us reimagine life around the sacred symbols of both water and table as central to remembering our new identities in Christ.
Home Blessing Liturgy
Second, we have provided the “Home Blessing liturgy,” which is used at Epiphany. This service offers us a time to reimagine how our common places are sacred places and sites of holy habitation.
Table Group Liturgy
Third, the “Table Group liturgy” is a short service that is meant to help build rhythms of prayer into our life together around Word, Table, and Spirit so that we might come to see how our everyday tables are extensions of the communion we share together at the Eucharist Table.
Occasional Prayers
Lastly, we have retained the section on “Occasional Prayers” as a resource that can offer voice to the prayers of our hearts. The collected prayers are from the ACNA 2019 BCP.
It is important to reiterate again that A Book of Common Prayer for Common Places in no way intends to be a replacement of the ACNA 2019 BCP, but aims to be an accessible resource that helps build rhythms of prayer and Scripture reading into our daily lives. The hope is that this resource deepens your fellowship with the Lord and with his Body, the Church.
In Christ,
Andrew Preston
