Liturgy and Arts Archives

Preparing for Lent and the Triduum: Resources as We Move toward the Central Mystery of Christian Faith and Life

The Book of Common Prayer 1979 marked a radical departure from previous prayer books in that it highlighted Holy Baptism as the primary sacrament of Christian ministry in the church. The baptismal ecclesiology of the BCP 1979 notes that the first ministers of the church are the baptized faithful, an assembly to be supported and served in its ministries by deacons, priests, and bishops – not the laity living in polite submission to and dependence on every word of the

Ongoing Worship Renewal

In 2018, General Convention established the Task Force on Liturgical and Prayer Book Revision, a new committee with lay and clergy members. In 2022, General Convention transferred the work of this task force to the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music. Clergy, musicians, artists, educators, and liturgical ministers will find all authorized liturgical resources of the Episcopal Church at this site: https://www.episcopalcommonprayer.org/. The website includes everything from Expansive Language Eucharistic Prayers of the BCP to the revised Celebration and Blessing

What is Ordinary Time?

According to Ecclesiastes 3:1 and the song by The Byrds, “To everything there is a season.” In much of the Church, we observe the seasons of the two great cycles of the Church Year: Advent and Christmas, Lent and Easter. But there are “in between” times which are sometimes counted as “ordinary.” In the Roman Catholic Church, the Sundays after the Feast of the Epiphany and after the Feast of the Pentecost are considered “ordinary time.” Episcopalians are more likely

The Holy Spirit Comes Down

The Day of Pentecost “Divided tongues, as of fire, appeared among them, and a tongue rested on each of them.” -Acts 2:3 (NRSV) Among the stories people tell about the human relationship with God, most remind people that God’s vision for how we will care for Creation is far more expansive than we expect or imagine. Pentecost is a story like this. Chapter 2 of the Book of Acts tells a surprising tale involving a particular group of people, a

A Great Cloud of Witnesses: proposed approach to commemorations of holy women and men

An opportunity to join a very interesting conversation with the Episcopal Church’s Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM).