A Volley from the Canon, #66

PRAYER BOOK VS. PHOTOCOPY
It does get discouraging to note visitors to Episcopal worship, unused to participating in the liturgy, struggling with the prayer book and one or more hymnals. Some just blink doe-eyed at any suggestion to “turn to page___.” Page? Book? Read in church? Later, they say, “I’d never learn how to follow this service!” (And they haven’t even begun on the hymnal yet!) So, as a solution, we have the idea of printing the complete text for every Eucharist, including lessons, but containing only those prayers that will be used on the given day. It’s much easier, we think, more user-friendly, and especially more visitor-friendly. I’ve done it myself, and I admit there are those advantages. Even worship leaders experience a bit less confusion. It does “level the field” for new-comers—they have the same leaflet everyone else does, and the same ability to use it. And some of those who would not even pick up a book will actually use a pamphlet.

On the whole, though, I’ve come down on the side of sticking with the actual prayer book and hymnal themselves. Here’s why.

• It is a whole lot of trouble and takes a great deal of time to create a separate pamphlet for every week. That is a significant expenditure of personnel resources.
• It costs a lot of money to print that much material, too. All for—how many visitors per week?
• Word processing notwithstanding, the opportunity for errors increases. We once prayed for “Edmund, our Presiding Bishop” even after her name had become Katherine!
• The waste of paper is a bad message for the church to be sending. We should be modeling conservation, renewability and recycling.
• Experienced worshipers don’t need the booklets, and don’t use them. More waste.
• Even in this electronic world, there is something satisfying about holding an actual book in one’s hands.
• The opportunity to teach people how to use the book is lost, and learning to use the book also brings some understanding of how the liturgy fits together.
• Helping someone fathom the prayer book can be an opportunity for hospitality.
• The accomplishment of finally “getting it” can be a sign of fitting in.


No doubt, we do need to be sensitive to the way our prayer book can seem off-putting and alienating to Protestants among us in worship. We can do that by a smile at the right moment, a few words of encouragement, and an occasional short and impromptu lesson on the spot. Most importantly, we can keep our sense of humor, and let people know that we, too, were once BCP newbies—and they, too, can quickly become proficient in its use. Best of all, we take advantage of the opportunity to be verbally welcoming to a first-time worshiper, and maybe begin a long-term friendship. That way, we turn our handicap into a strength.