Rich Mexican Episcopalian services come to light

Charles Wohlers’s Anglican prayer book site is worth bookmarking whether or not you are of that Communion. Even non-Christian UUs would benefit from the flow and cadance that comes from good liturgy, and these are among the best in English. Or, indeed, more than English as dozens of translations have been made, some of which are supplied there.

One of his newest additions is the English version of the 1895 provisional set of liturgies for use in the Mexican Episcopal Church, now its own province, the Mexican Anglican Church (no official web site). Unlike other Anglican liturgies, these were drawn from earlier sources, mainly from the Iberian medieval Mozarabic Rite. This beautiful and complex source has frequently inspired liturgists; indeed, a prayer from that rite even made its way into the joint Unitarian and Universalist Services of Religion prepended to the red Hymns of the Spirit. See “Grant us grace to rest . . .” on page 140.

While I would be tempted to edit — most by gentle deletion — the communion rite, but it is the morning prayer service that I think stands highest. (Even there, I would omit the first reading of the Lord’s Prayer.) OK, it looks a lot like other period services, but those differences are noteworthy. If nothing else, see the unfamiliar way the lessons are introduced. Good stuff.