Celebrating 350 years of The Book of Common Prayer

Forthcoming events

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National Events

THE PRAYER BOOK SOCIETY'S FLAGSHIP NATIONAL CELEBRATION OF THE 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE 1662 BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

Wednesday, 2nd May 2012: Choral Evensong in St Paul's Cathedral followed by a Reception in the Crypt (Choral Evensong 5.00 p.m.; Reception 6.30 p.m.. Tickets required in advance for both service (free) and reception (£35 per head).

Click here for full details
Click here for tickt application form

British Academy Symposium on the Book of Common Prayer
(Sponsored by the Prayer Book Society and Hymns Ancient and Modern)

Exhibition at Lambeth Palace Library

1st May - 14th July: 'Royal Devotion—Monarchy and the Book of Common Prayer'
Tickets £12 ( adults) or £10 (concessions); under 17s free. For tickets, please click here.

Local events arranged by diocese

Bath and Wells

Wednesday, 26th September: Visit to Badminton House to mark the 350th anniversary year of the 1662 BCP, by kind permission of the Duke of Beaufort. Tour of the house and gardens, followed by Bath & Wells PBS Branch AGM. Talk on the Book of Common Prayer by Canon George Kovoor, Principal of Trinity College, Bristol. Choral Evensong sung by the boys of the Schola Cantorum of Tewkesbury Abbey.

Blackburn

Saturday, 19th May: Blackburn PBS Branch Festival, Blackburn Cathedral. 11.00 a.m., Choral Communion (all words and music from the Seventeenth Century); celebrant the Bishop of Blackburn; preacher the Rt Revd & Rt Hon Lord Hope, former Archbishop of York. (It is planned to place a statue of Thomas Cranmer in the Cathedral during this service.) Afternoon speaker: the Revd Norman Taylor, whose book For Services Rendered is being reissued for the anniversary year. 3.30 p.m., Cathedral Evensong. 19th May is the exact anniversary of the passing of the Act of Uniformity in 1662.

Sunday, 20th May: The Cathedral and Diocese are marking the anniversary at Evensong at 4.00 p.m. The Dean and Chapter have invited the Rt Revd Robert Hardy, a former Bishop of Lincoln, to preach on the Prayer Book theme.

Bristol

April - June Bristol schools competition, for details click here

Chichester

Saturday, 26th May: 11.00 a.m., St Thomas a Becket church, Cliffe, Lewes: BCP sung Holy Communion with hymns. Preacher: Brother George Linnegar. Followed by refreshments (booked in advance) and Prayer Book Society Chichester Diocese Branch AGM. Contact Valerie Dane: 01243 827330

Saturday, 13th October, 10.30 a.m., Chichester Cathedral: Sung BCP Eucharist. Celebrant: the Very Revd Nicholas Frayling, Dean; preacher: the Ven Philip Jones, Archdeacon of Lewes and Hastings.

Coventry

Sunday, 6th May, 10.30 a.m., Coventry Cathedral: Eucharist from the Book of Common Prayer (in place of the usual Common Worship service).

Exeter

Sunday, 24th June: Choral Evensong to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP; St Andrew's Minster Church, Plymouth. Preacher: The Rt Revd John Ford, Bishop of Plymouth.

Tuesday, 28th–Thursday, 30th August: '1662: Historical and Ecumenical Perspectives' Conference, University of Exeter. Click here for full details and booking information. Please register by 1st July 2012; otherwise, a late registration fee will be charged.
http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/research/conferences/1662

Gloucester

Sunday, 20th May, 10 a.m., Cirencester Parish Church: Holy Communion (BCP) to mark the 350th anniversary celebrations. Celebrant the Revd Canon Leonard Doolan; organist Antony Hammond. For further details, contact Sue Emerson at susanemson@hotmail.co.uk or telephone 01285 654591.

Guildford

Sunday, 1st July, 6.00 p.m, Choral Evensong to mark the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 BCP at St Nicholas Church, Compton (described by Simon Jenkins as 'Surrey's Flagship Norman Church'). Address by the Rt. Hon. Lord Hurd of Westwell, Lay Patron of the Prayer Book Society.

Hereford

Until the end of May 2012: 'Lift Up Your Hearts', An exhibition at Hereford Cathedral celebrating the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is the Cathedral's sealed copy of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer, one of only 27 to survive. It includes corrections made in manuscript to agree with the new standard legal version and could be referred to in legal disputes about the wording. Entrance, including the Mappa Mundi Exhibition and the Chained Library: £6 Adults / £5 Concessions / £14 Family ( 2 Adults + 3 Children) £10 Family ( 1 Adult + 3 Children). A season ticket is available at £15. More info: http://www.herefordcathedral.org/about-us/news/new-exhibition-opens-monday-23rd-january

Sunday, 22nd July, 4.30 p.m., Mary's Church, Burford, Tenbury Wells: Celebration of the 350th. Anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. Evening Prayer with guest preacher.

Leicester

Sunday, 1st July, 6.00 p.m, concert by the trio "Voice & Verse" to commemorate the 350th Anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer; St Peter's Church Oadby. Lance Pierson illustrates the BCP's influence; Belinda Yates and Heather Chamberlain provide music which has illuminated this unique book of worship.

Lichfield

Sunday, 20th May, 10.30 a.m., Bolton Parish Church: Choral Matins to mark the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 BCP. Music will include John Ireland's setting of the Jubilate and Te Deum in F.

London

Thursday, 17th May,, 5.45 p.m., Temple Church, Inns of Court, London EC4Y 7BB: Special service of Evensgong to commemorate the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. The Master of the Temple, the Revd Robin Griffith-Jones will officiate.

Manchester

Sunday, 20th May, 10.30 a.m., Bolton Parish Church: Choral Matins to mark the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 BCP. Music will include John Ireland's setting of the Jubilate and Te Deum in F.

Norwich

Sunday, 20th May, 3.30 p.m, Evensong to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP; Norwich Cathedral. Preacher: the Bishop of Norwich.

Oxford

Sunday, 6th May, 6.00 p.m., Holy Trinity Church, Headington Quarry: Choral Evensong with music by composers living in 1662—Henry Purcell, John Blow, Daniel Purcell, Richard Ayleward

Sunday, 13th May, 4 p.m., St. Mary's Church Whitchurch: Full Choral Evensong in celebration of the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. For more details please contact Dalby Landen: 01189 842414.

Sunday, 20th May, 6.30 p.m., All Saints, Rotherfield Peppard: Evening Prayer to mark the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer

Saturday, 2nd June, 11.00 a.m., Pusey House, Oxford: Choral Matins to mark the re-launch of the Oxford University Branch of the Prayer Boo Society, celebrating the Diamond Jubilee of HM The Queen and the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. This event is open to all, not just members of the University.

Saturday, 16th – Sunday, 17th June, 1662 Prayer Book Anniversary Weekend, Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford:
Saturday, 16th June: 3.00 p.m. Lecture by the Revd Canon Judith Maltby; 4.30 p.m. tea; 6.00 p.m. Evensong.
Sunday, 17th June: 10.00 a.m. Matins; 10.55 a.m. Litany; 11.15 a.m. Holy Communion.
Admission to the lecture and tea by advance ticket only (closing date Tuesday, 29th May). All welcome at the services.

Click here for full programme and ticket details.

Peterborough

Saturday, 25th August: Church Safari to commemorate first use of 1662 BCP on August 24th 1662, starting at 10.30 a.m. All Saints', Great Harrowden, and finishing at approximately 5.15 p.m. in Hannington. Total cost per person for coffee, lunch and tea is £17.50 – Advance booking required. Lunch numbers restricted; Peterborough PBS Branch members will be given priority. For full programme and booking details, contact mary.stewart@decomplexity.com.

Rochester

Sunday, 17th June, 5.00 p.m., Luke the Evangelist, Sidney Road, Gillingham ME7 1PA: Deanery Evensong to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Prayer Book, attended by people from other parishes in the Deanery and elsewhere. Preacher: the Revd Bonnie Appleton, Rural Dean of Gillingham and Team Rector of the parish of South Gillingham; tea and cake after the service.

Saturday, 14th–Sunday, 15th July, 11.00 a.m.–5.00 p.m., St Botolph's Church, Lullingstone, Eynsford, Kent: 'A Well-Trodden Path'—an exhibition to mark 350 years of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer. An exhibition of historic and interesting Prayer Books from Charles II to Elizabeth II at St Botolph's Church, in the grounds of Lullingstone Castle. Free entry to the exhibition. Normal charges apply for those wishing to visit the World Garden.

Sunday, 15th July, 11.00 a.m., St Botolph's Church, Lullingstone: Holy Communion (BCP) with sermon by the Ven. Clive Mansell, Archdeacon of Tonbridge. After the service, the exhibition of Prayer Books will re-open.

Friday, 24th August (St Bartholomew's Day), 7.30 p.m., St Michael and All Angels, Cuxton, Rochester, Kent ME2 1AF: Holy Communion in celebration of the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP.

St Albans

Sunday, 24th June, 10.00 a.m., Choral Mattins to celebrate the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP; Elstow Abbey, Elstow

St Edmundsbury & Ipswich

Sunday, 20th May, 5.00 p.m., 'O Lord, open Thou our lips'—Concert by the Cathedral choir to mark the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP; St Edmundsbury Cathedral.

Salisbury

Tuesdays 15th May, 29th May and 12th June, 7.30 p.m., Series of three lectures by the Revd Canon Eric Woods, Vicar of Sherborne Abbey, to mark the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP; Griffiths Room, Digby Memorial Hall, Digby Road, Sherborne. First lecture: Books of Common Prayer prior to 1662; Second lecture: the publication of 1662 and subsequent attempts at revision; Third lecture: the relevance and value of the Prayer Book today.

Tickets £4 each (or £10 for the series) from the Parish Secretary, 3 Abbey Close, Sherborne. DT9 3LQ; or email parishsecretary@sherborneabbey.com . Cheques made payable to Sherborne Abbey, please.

Southwark

Sunday, 2nd September, Warlingham with Chelsham and Farleigh: 3 in 1—Three BCP services in one Benefice.

Visit the Benefice on Sunday, 2nd September and you can follow all three of the BCP services at three medieval parish churches. Mattins is at 9.30 a.m. at St Mary's Farleigh. Holy Communion is at St Leonard's, Chelsham at 11.15 a.m.. During the afternoon you can return to St Mary's for tea and cakes, and then visit All Saints for Evensong at 6.00 p.m. You could also finish with a traditional service of Compline at 8.00 p.m. at St Mary's. Warlingham All Saints has a connection with the first Prayer Book: Archbishop Cranmer is said to have tried the 1549 book for the first time there, and there is a window commemorating this event.

Southwell & Nottingham

Tuesday, 19th June, 7.30 pm, 'What do we think Cranmer was doing? The 1662 Prayer Book 350 years on'—a talk by the Revd John Richardson; Thomas Cranmer Centre, Aslockton.

Wakefield

Saturday, 22nd September, 2.30 p.m., Autumn Festival for the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP, with Communion service in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham; Church of St Aidan, Skelmanthorpe HD8 9AF. The service will be followed by light refreshments.

Winchester

Friday, 14th September, 7.30 p.m., Romsey Abbey: PRAYERBOOK—An Oratorio Prayerbook is an oratorio about Tradition and Change. Set in three parts, Faith, Hope and Charity, most of the words are from the Book of Common Prayer, whose Prefaces across four centuries are a testament to the inevitability of change, and a witness to our enduring resistance to it. The full programme note is given at http://www.davidowennorris.com/compositions/prayerbook/

York

Sunday, 20th May, 6.00 p.m., Choral Evensong to celebrate the 350th Anniversary of the 1662 BCP; St Augustine's Church, Kirkby-in-Cleveland

Edinburgh

Thursday, 27th May (Ascension Day), Choral Eucharist commemorating the 350th anniversary of the 1662 BCP in St. Mary's Cathedral, Palmerston Place, Edinburgh. Details from 0131 225 3181 or e-mail office@cathedral.net