In response to a mandate from the 2015 General Convention, a Sub-Committee of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) on Revision of the Book of Common Prayer drafted to proposals for the upcoming convention to consider. Drew Keane, the First Alternate Deputy from the Diocese of Georgia, served on the nine-member Sub-Committee. The group looked into four alternative ways to approach the revision process and now the SCLM offers a report with two options for moving forward.
The first option would call for a decision by the 2018 General Convention to begin the revision process at once, by gathering “data, resources, and ideas, and then set up the structure to begin drafting immediately after 2021 General Convention.”
The second option calls for a much slower schedule. This option, “invites the whole church to broaden its familiarity with the 1979 Prayer Book and the history that underlies it, and provides for time to reflect as a body on the significance of common prayer in our tradition.” During this time, significant work would happen in offering the current Book of Common Prayer in other languages in which the Episcopal Church now worships. The report states that, “It is generally recognized that the present Spanish and French versions of the Prayer Book are inadequate, and that there is an urgent need for the Prayer Book to be translated into Haitian Creole and many other languages, particularly among First Nations….Comprehensive translation of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, using the criteria passed by the 78th General Convention and executed from “the ground up” is included in Option Two as one of the most significant and meaningful ways the church can deepen its engagement with the 1979 Book of Common Prayer.”
You can read the full report, including the two alternate resolutions online here: Report from the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music, Sub-Committee on Revision of the Book of Common Prayer
An Episcopal News Service article on the report is online here: Liturgy and music group offers General Convention two ways to approach the prayer book
