How the Prayer Book Society came about

In the later part of the twentieth century, new books of services were authorised in the Church of England: the Alternative Service Book in 1980 and Common Worship in 2000.

These new forms of service did not replace or supersede the Book of Common Prayer; but unhappily they led to some hostility to the traditional services. This meant that, in some parishes the BCP fell out of use, or was relegated to 'off-peak' times such as 8.00 a.m. and Evensong. It remains a sad fact that very few parishes now use the BCP for their main Sunday service, so most churchgoers, especially young people and newcomers to the Church, never have the opportunity to experience it.

A number of people who were disturbed by this tendency came together to form a group for the protection of the Book of Common Prayer, which led to the establishment of the Prayer Book Society. Through speaking, writing and representation, often at the highest levels, its early officers and members worked to restore the respect which was in danger of being lost.

The aim of the Society is still to ensure that the Book of Common Prayer is still used and honoured, available for worship wherever it is desired. It has a Branch in every diocese of the Church of England, and it is through the Branches that its members are represented and find their principal activities in meetings and services.

The Society also works from its central organisation, notably through journals sent to all members with articles on the history and present use of the Prayer Book, and by publishing books and pamphlets to make it more widely known and understood. There is an annual residential Conference with distinguished speakers and an opportunity for members to meet one another.

An important activity is the annual Cranmer Awards competition, with prizes for recitation from memory by schoolchildren of a passage from the Prayer Book. To make the traditional words known to the next generation is one of the principal aims of the Society.

The Society is a Registered Charity and is honoured to have the Prince of Wales as its Patron and the Bishop of London as its Ecclesiastical Patron.

The Society is not hostile to new forms of service but seeks to ensure that they shall not come to be regarded as the norm for the Church. Antagonism to the Book of Common Prayer has decreased, largely through the work of the Society, but there is still need to protect and affirm our traditional services.

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