Common Prayer and the Book of Common Prayer
The Episcopal Church has a rich history with its origins found in the Church of England. A core value of that tradition is an idea called “common prayer.” This idea is so central that our principal worship book is called “The Book of Common Prayer” (“BCP”). What we mean by common prayer is that our worship is intended to have a format to allow us as a community to pray together. We do not rely on our clergy alone to offer prayers on our behalf, nor do we rely solely on the private prayers of individuals. We gather as a community of faith and offer prayers together in one voice.
This form of gathered and unified praying is called “liturgy.” As we said on the “What to Expect on a Sunday Morning” page, the bulk of the forms and prayers do not change from season to season and the general shape of our worship remains constant. This allows us to go deeper spiritually and the liturgy in its familiarity can become a source of comfort and inspiration.
The BCP contains not just services for a Sunday morning, but also a variety of other services to be used at various times and occasions like baptisms, weddings, and funerals. In addition to the BCP, our denominational church (The Episcopal Church) authorizes other liturgical forms to be used such as same-sex blessings and rites for departed pets.
Music in Worship
Music as a part of worship is as old as Christianity itself. In the Episcopal Church music takes a central place in the life of worship. It is not uncommon to find both old and new hymns being sung, classical and contemporary music being offered, and many of the words of the service being sung as well. There is also a strong choral tradition in the Episcopal Church expressed in many churches having one or more choirs of varying size.