KING EDWARD VI PRAYER BOOK - 1549

 Our Lenten service this past Tuesday evening was from the King  Edward VI Prayer Book.  Edward was Henry VIII's son by his third wife, Jane Seymour.  Jane died from complications after childbirth not long after Edward was born.  Though Edward was crowned king, he never reigned, because he died at the age of 15 before reaching the age of maturity.

From The Book of Common Prayer - 1549:

 Although a formal break with the Papacy came about during the time of Henry VIII, the Church of England continued to use liturgies in Latin throughout his reign, just as it always had. However, once Henry died and the young Edward VI attained the throne in1547, the stage was set for some very significant changes in the religious life of the country. And so a consultation of bishops met and produced the first Book of Common Prayer. It is generally assumed that this book is largely the work of Archbishop Thomas Cranmer..., but, as     no records of the development of the prayer book exist, this cannot be definitively determined.

This Book of Common Prayer was not created in a vacuum, but derives from several sources. First and foremost was the Sarum Rite, or the Latin liturgy developed in Salisbury in the thirteenth century, and widely used in England. Two other influences were a reformed Roman Breviary of the Spanish Cardinal Quiñones, and a book on doctrine and liturgy by Hermann von Wied, Archbishop of Cologne.

This prayer book was in use only for three years, until the extensive revision of 1552. However, much of its tradition and language remains in the prayer books of today, as may be seen by even a cursory examination of the text.

 

Our priest presided at the Eucharist in the east-facing tradition, with his back to us.  As we read the words with the unfamiliar spellings, I had to suppress a giggle from time to time.  The congregation said little more during the service than, "And with thy spirite," in response to, "The Lorde be with you." I'd attended east-facing liturgies before but never using the 1549 prayer book, and I thoroughly enjoyed the service.  I wouldn't want to use the liturgy all the time, but it was a lovely experience. 

Our priest-in-charge has been creative in the weekly Lenten services.  Last week, we had a dinner Eucharist, in which we sat down to a regular meal in the middle of which the communion prayers were said and the elements passed around the dinner table.

ASBO JESUS ON THE BOOK

Excellent.

From ASBO Jesus.

TOGETHERNESS WITH STORMY

After my laptop and I were comfortably settled in a chair at my son's house, their Russian blue cat, Stormy, decided to join me. At first he tried to settle on my laptop, but I wasn't having that, so he moved over to my side to share the chair with me. I made space for Stormy, but he's a large, fat cat, and we had to squeeze in.   He did not seem to mind, though I did a little, but I let him stay.

My granddaughter took a picture of a front view of Stormy just ready to fall asleep.

There we stayed for quite a while until the the battery power on my laptop ran low, and I had to get up to plug it in.  Stormy jumped down and decided to nap elsewhere.

WHO'S IN? WHO'S OUT?

Opinions differ on the number of provinces who have adopted, suscribed to, acceded to (or whatever other term is used) the Anglican Covenant.  Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion Office claims that eight provinces have adopted the covenant, while Simon Sarmiento at Thinking Anglicans suggests six.

Kearon does not explicitly say that the covenant was rejected in the dioceses in the Church of England.  He speaks simply of "today's news" and notes, "What next steps are taken by the Church of England is up to that Province."  Nor does Kearon mention that the Episcopal Church in the Philippines rejected the proposed covenant.   Despite the rejection of the covenant by "that province" (Church of England), the provinces in the Communion which have not yet declared their positions are encouraged to carry on with consideration of the covenant.

According to the text of the proposed covenant:

(4.1.6) This Covenant becomes active for a Church when that Church adopts the Covenant.

Now that the 'mother' church has rejected the covenant, I  wonder if the provinces that have already signed on are asking themselves, "Where do we go from here?"  The covenant states only the following:

(4.2.1) The Joint Standing Committee of the Anglican Consultative Council and of the Primates' Meeting, or any body that succeeds it, shall have the duty of overseeing the functioning of the Covenant in the life of the Anglican Communion. 

There is no prescribed time limit for adopting the covenant, nor is there a requirement for a specific number of provinces to sign on before the document is in effect.

STORY OF THE DAY - DAY BREAK

liking each other because it's a beautiful 
day & it seems like a waste of time to 
disagree about stuff the other one is 
refusing to change out of sheer 
stubbornness 

From StoryPeople.

WHO HAS THE BETTER VIEW?

Two American presidents visit the DMZ in Korea.

Thanks to Doug.

FEAST OF THE ANNUNCIATION

BALDOVINETTI, Alessio
Annunciation - 1447 - Tempera on wood
 Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Aubade: The Annunciation

When the dim light, at Lauds, comes strike her window,
Bellsong falls out of Heaven with a sound of glass.

Prayers fly in the mind like larks,
Thoughts hide in the height like hawks:
And while the country churches tell their blessings to the
distance,
Her slow words move
(Like summer winds the wheat) her innocent love:
Desires glitter in her mind
Like morning stars:

Until her name is suddenly spoken
Like a meteor falling.

She can no longer hear shrill day
Sing in the east,
Nor see the lovely woods begin to toss their manes.
The rivers have begun to sing.
The little clouds shine in the sky like girls:
She has no eyes to see their faces.

Speech of an angel shines in the waters of her thought
like diamonds,
Rides like a sunburst on the hillsides of her heart.

And is brought home like harvests,
Hid in her house, and stored
Like the sweet summer's riches in our peaceful barns.

But in the world of March outside her dwelling,
The farmers and the planters
Fear to begin their sowing, and its lengthy labor,
Where, on the brown, bare furrows,
The winter wind still croons as dumb as pain.

Thomas Merton - 1946

PRAYER

Pour your grace into our hearts, O Lord; that we who have known the incarnation of your Son Jesus Christ, announced by an angel to the Virgin Mary, may by his cross and passion be brought unto the glory of his resurrection; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.

Image from the Web Gallery of Art.

VALENTINE DREAM

After she woke up one February 13, a woman told her husband, "I just dreamed
that you gave me a pearl necklace for Valentine's Day. What do you think it
means?"

"You'll know tonight," he said.

That evening, the man came home with a package and gave it to his wife.

Delighted, she opened it - to find a book entitled, "The meaning of dreams."


Cheers,

Paul (A.)

Paul (A.) is a little late with this one, but, even though the joke is out of season, it made me laugh out loud.

NEW MATH, BISHOP YELLOW BELLY-STYLE

Thanks to SCG at Wake Up and Live.

DING DONG! THE COV IS DEAD

Anglicans:

Ding Dong! The Cov is dead. Which old Cov? The Wicked Cov!
Ding Dong! The Wicked Cov is dead.
Wake up - sleepy head, rub your eyes, get out of bed.
Wake up, the Wicked Cov is dead. It's gone where the goblins go,
Below - below - below. Yo-ho, let's open up and sing and ring the bells out.
Ding Dong' the merry-oh, sing it high, sing it low.
Let them know
The Wicked Cov is dead!

Mayor:

As Mayor of Anglican City, In the County of the Sun never Sets, I welcome you most regally. 

Barrister:

But we've got to verify it legally, to see

Mayor:

To see?

Barrister:

If it

Mayor:

If it?

Barrister:

Is morally, ethic'lly

Father No.1:

Spiritually, physically

Father No. 2:

Positively, absolutely

Anglicans:

Undeniably and reliably Dead

Coroner:

As Coroner I must aver, I thoroughly examined it.
And it's not only merely dead, it's really most sincerely dead.

Mayor:

Then this is a day of Independence For all Anglicans and their descendants

Barrister:

If any.

Mayor:

Yes, let the joyous news be spread The wicked Old Cov at last is dead!

Don't blame me.  Blame Canon G who says, "With apologies to the Wizard of OZ, English and good taste."