The first Book of Common Prayer was printed in 1549. To celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity and our Prayer Book Tradition we will celebrate the Holy Eucharist using this historic liturgy Sunday, June 19th at the 11:15 AM service. A service booklet with the liturgy included has been prepared.
Henry VIII had the liturgies of the Church said in Latin throughout his reign, even after his separation from Rome. However, once Henry died and the young Edward VI attained the throne in 1547, the stage was set for some very significant changes in the religious life of the country. One such change was producing in English the first Book of Common Prayer. It is generally assumed that this Prayer 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.
The 1549 Book of Common Prayer was not created in a vacuum, but derives from several sources such as the ancient Sarum Rite which was the Latin liturgy developed in Salisbury in the thirteenth century and widely used in England, and a reformed Roman Breviary of the Spanish Cardinal Quiñones and a book on doctrine and liturgy by Hermann von Wied, Archbishop of Cologne.
There were a number of books required for all the Latin liturgies. The priest's part of the Mass was contained in the Missal, which is the book on the Altar. The Mass also required a book for the choir, and another which gave the unique parts for each day; not only did the lections change from day to day (as they do now), but there were also many other differences (prayers, etc.) from one day to another.
The Latin Missal was divided into two parts: the Ordinary, and the Canon, the latter corresponding approximately to the Eucharistic Prayer we know today. The Canon was fairly similar among the three or four Uses employed in England; the Ordinary less so. Although this Sarum Missal was one of the main influences on the 1549 Book of Common Prayer, there are more differences than similarities.
While the general outline of the service, and many of the prayers of the Canon are quite similar, many other parts, particularly the rubrics involved with the priest's actions, were drastically changed and simplified.
The 1549 BCP was in use only for three years, until the extensive revision of 1552. Many of the 1552 BCP were made as compromises to keep peace with the growing presence and influence of "English Puritan's". "Puritans" were a grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. They actually were an activist movement within the Church of England dating back to around 1564. They by in large felt that the English Reformation had not gone far enough, and that the Church of England had retained too much Catholic theology and liturgical practice. "Puritans" formed into and identified with various religious groups advocating greater "purity" of worship and doctrine, as well as personal and group piety.
Puritans adopted an anti-Catholic and Reformed theology that was developed by Martin Luther, John Calvin and Huldrych Zwingli and others. In church polity, over all Puritans advocated for separation from all other Christians, in favor of autonomous gathered churches. These separatist and independent strands of Puritanism became prominent in the 1640s, when the supporters of a Presbyterian polity in the Westminster Assembly were unable to forge a new English national church. We still see this "separatist" attitude in modern day Protestantism. The bottom line here is that since 1552 forward the Church of England and Anglicanism struggle to retain a consistent and right understand and practice of its Apostolic and Catholic faith and legacy.
However, much of the 1549 BCP tradition and language remain in all this historic Prayer Books of today. Please join us as we explore our Anglican liturgical legacy.
On Wednesday, Sept 7, 2011 at 7:00 pm we will start Bible Study. We will begin with the Book of Joshua. The name "Joshua" in Hebrew means "the Lord is salvation."
Genesis 1:1-2 makes a peculiar statement. It says, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 And the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep;”. Have you ever considered how God created the "form” and filled the "void?”
A reason we must approach the interpretation of the Bible with great care and respect is because the interpreter is seeking to realize the meaning(s) intended by God, who is the chief author of the Holy Bible. The sacred texts were written centuries ago and in languages that are often difficult to understand. The ideas in the Bible are frequently challenging. For example, consider what St. Peter said about the writing of St. Paul:
The so called "health care legislation" passed in 2010 has directed the Obama administration to create a list of preventive services for women that all new health care plans must cover without deductibles or co-payments. You guessed it. If this goes through health insurance plans could soon be required to offer female patients free coverage for prescription birth control along with a “the full range” of federally approved contraceptives, devices, and sterilization procedures. All free for the asking.
Just reading the Bible in its original form is not very easy. First you have language and many “language idiosyncrasies” to overcome. Then you have the writing style. The Bible was written originally in “uncial” style. This type of writing consists of writing in all capital letters with no connection between letters, no spaces between words and sentences, no periods or comas and not chapters or verses or chapter headings, etc. It would look like this:
Parish Family BBQ. Saturday, June 18 starting at 4:00 pm. Spread the word! Plan to be with us and bring your friends and family! Sign-up sheet in Mitchell Hall or call or email the Parish Office. Bring food to share and enjoy great BBQ. For more information see Kendall Collins Smith
On Sunday, June 5, 2011 the Right Reverend Jack Leo Iker, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth will make his Annual Pastoral Visit to St. John's. 
We are saddened to announce that the Rev. Canon Billie R. Boyd died Thursday afternoon at Baylor All Saints hospital in Fort Worth, just three weeks short of his 88th birthday His Requiem Mass will be celebrated by Bishop Iker on Saturday, March 5, at 2 p.m. at the Church of the Holy Apostles, 3900 Longvue Avenue, Fort Worth. Interment will follow in his native Sulphur Springs. Canon Boyd became the first priest canonically resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth in 1983 when he was named Canon to the Ordinary by the founding bishop, the Rt. Rev. A. Donald Davies. He continued to serve as Canon to the Ordinary under Bishop Davies' successor, the Rt. Rev. Clarence C. Pope, until 1989. He served Bishop Iker as Business Administrator from 1997 to 2001 and was appointed interim rector at both All Saints' in Weatherford and St. John's in Fort Worth. In recent years he was chaplain to the retired clergy and clergy widows. He is remembered fondly by all the diocesan staff. Canon Boyd was a graduate of The Episcopal Theological Seminary in Lexington, Kentucky. Born on Annunciation Day in 1923, he was ordained deacon on June 15, 1970, and priest on Dec. 20, 1970, in the Diocese of Dallas. Before his life as a priest, he served in the United States Army for 21 years, retiring with the rank of Major. During his parochial ministry, Fr. Boyd served for 11 years as rector of St. Luke's Church in Mineral Wells. His affection for that parish never waned. 
