Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 5, 1993 TAG: 9306050057
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By DAVID BRIGGS
DATELINE: NEW YORK LENGTH: Medium
Nearly a century later, the new Book of Common Worship that will be unveiled at the Presbyterian General Assembly in June is being greeted as a symbol of how close many Christian churches have grown at the point where the prayer book hits the pew.
The new worship book draws prayers from every period of Christian church history instead of skipping from the early church to the Reformation in the manner of some Protestant books that consider the intervening period solely part of the Roman Catholic Church. The book also does not shy away from religious ritual, but offers daily prayers, liturgies for Sundays, weddings and funerals and two dozen Eucharistic prayers for celebrating the Lord's Supper.
"I see the Book of Common Worship as very exciting because through it we become more closely linked with other churches, like Catholic churches," said the Rev. Laura Mendenhall of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas.
The Rev. Harold Daniels, editor of the book that took 13 years to develop, said the book should have a major influence in furthering the unity of Christian churches.
"I envision the day, someday, when we will not be doing denominational service books," Daniels said. "One of these days we'll wake up to realize we have much in common."
Contrary to popular beliefs associating formal liturgies with the Catholic Church, Daniels said, service books written in the language of church members for people to use in worship were a product of the Reformation.
But the Puritans' struggle for liberty ultimately drove them to reject all liturgical forms, Daniels said. The new age of science, in which an implicit trust in human reason led to a downplaying of religious rites and sacraments, also contributed to a liturgical decline, Daniels said.
By the 20th century, a growing desire within the church for more ordered liturgies overcame strident objections that a worship book would restrict religious freedom. In 1906, the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. approved a Book of Common Worship that included liturgical texts for Sunday worship and an order for Holy Communion. Three more worship books followed before work began on the current project in 1980.
Even its name -- the Book of Common Worship -- distinguishes the new work from its 1970 predecessor, with its less formal title "The Worshipbook" relflecting the spirit of the '60s when it was developed.
The new 1,100-page worship book of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), which is for voluntary use by churches, contains nearly 870 prayers, an order of service for Sunday and resources for all the festivals on the liturgical calendar and liturgies for weddings and funerals.
There is a particular emphasis on Holy Communion, with 24 Eucharistic prayers offered for use in a variety of settings. In addition, the book offers two models for ministers to use in preparing their own "great thanksgivings."
The emphasis on spirituality is what people want, say some clergy.
"People have been hungry for a daily prayer book, and the Presbyterians haven't had one for centuries," Mendenhall said.
In the case of Communion, Daniels said, a generation ago most Presbyterian churches would celebrate the Eucharist quarterly. Today, he said most churches would celebrate at least monthly and a growing number celebrate Communion each week, as do Roman Catholics, Episcopalians and Lutherans.
Some criticize the new worship book, saying it's an attempt to "Episcopalize" the Presbyterian Church or departs from the Reformed heritage of "free" worship.
But the arguments are not as compelling today, when church members who visit other denomination's services on vacation or for weddings and funerals can see the similarities they share in worship, some clergy say.
Clergy, in many ways, are lagging behind the people, said the Rev. Peter Bower, of the Drayton Avenue Presbyterian Church in Ferndale, Mich.
In the pressure for more money and members, he said, clergy have sometimes succumbed to a "great deal of unwritten Wendy's vs. McDonald's vs. Burger King" type of competition.
In the meantime, he said, "The people are hungry for the Word. The people are thirsty for the cup."
The movement toward church unity envisioned in all Christian traditions may be most visible in the similar ways churches celebrate their liturgies, Daniels said.
"One of these days, we're going to wake up and realize we have brothers and sisters in other traditions and we face common problems of extreme individualism and secularism," he said. "It will be at the holy table and the place where the Word is heard and interpreted where we will discover our true unity."
by CNB