"Book of Prayer" complete

Except for the psalter, in which place is a chart, I’ve finished the 1894 Universalist Book of Prayer, which I hope will be a help to those people who come looking for historic Universalist worship materials.

Funny: while correcting typos and formatting it for the web, I began to see how appealing a service this could be. After all, “liturgical worship” (a faulty term, since liturgy isn’t the same as rite, and yet “ritual worship” isn’t right either) depends heavily on the ceremony to make it rise or fall. The ceremony comprises those choices, mannerism, physical actions, and space that conditions the worship service. Ceremony also depends on pastoral or other leadership to make sure the words are appropriate to the parish in question, and don’t become leaden.

So, even current worship enthusiasts should look to this prayer book. It might have something to offer to more people in the future than it has helped in the past.

A Book of Prayer for the Church and the Home; with Selections from the Psalms.

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