I am an evangelical looking for an Anglican congregation which still values the Prayer Book (PB).
Australian Anglicans have three major prayer books dated: 1662 (Book of Common Prayer), 1978 and 1995 but it's hard to find evangelical congregations which use the PB. Some will use tiny bits out of the PB but it's hard to describe their liturgy as dependent on the Anglican Tradition; what is presented could equally be found in any non-conformist denomination.
Usually members of such churches will boast about this absence of Anglican liturgy as if this is a good thing. (I suppose it can be if the formal liturgy has become lifeless and routinised but this process can happen within non-conformity too.)
Last Sunday I finally found an evangelical Anglican church where good expository preaching was given and the PB liturgy was used. My, it was good! I had almost given up hope.
The church is the Church of St Edward the Confessor in Blackburn South, Melbourne, Australia.
I'm not saying that other Anglican services don't have a place in the Anglican fold. I'm sure they do and that many join these churches from other denominations because the Anglican character is often non-existent.
But I wonder then why be Anglican at all. Why not just be non-denominational?
Australian Anglicans have three major prayer books dated: 1662 (Book of Common Prayer), 1978 and 1995 but it's hard to find evangelical congregations which use the PB. Some will use tiny bits out of the PB but it's hard to describe their liturgy as dependent on the Anglican Tradition; what is presented could equally be found in any non-conformist denomination.
Usually members of such churches will boast about this absence of Anglican liturgy as if this is a good thing. (I suppose it can be if the formal liturgy has become lifeless and routinised but this process can happen within non-conformity too.)
Last Sunday I finally found an evangelical Anglican church where good expository preaching was given and the PB liturgy was used. My, it was good! I had almost given up hope.
The church is the Church of St Edward the Confessor in Blackburn South, Melbourne, Australia.
I'm not saying that other Anglican services don't have a place in the Anglican fold. I'm sure they do and that many join these churches from other denominations because the Anglican character is often non-existent.
But I wonder then why be Anglican at all. Why not just be non-denominational?
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