If the Word of God is a double edged sword then the Book of Common prayer is a Swiss army knife. It is packed with applications. It has every type of service in it that a pastor may need to have, order and liturgy. But in addition it has gadgets that no Episcopal home should be without.
The Catholic Breviary takes four volumes, but packed into just a portion of this volume are the liturgies for the Daily Office, the psalter and a daily lectionary. For the home discipler, there is a liturgy for family or individual devotions and a catechism. You can use a table to figure out when Easter will be, or find a prayer that will collect the thoughts of the day (your pick of modern or high English).
The Anglican church has taken the formation of its people seriously since 1549. The Book of Common prayer, or BCP as those who pack them as folded knives into their pockets call it, has been a powerful tool for seekers and spiritual guides. As Thomas Merton says, liturgy can make it easier to be sincere. Some times even the fastest and loosest among us need a little structure and stricture. The Book of Common prayer has them in abundance.
My copy of the Book of Common Prayer was given to me by Ray Orth a Lutheran Pastor who often fills Episcopal Pulpits. It was given to him by a bishop who plucked it from a pew.
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