The Book of Common Prayer
Worship at Christ Church
The Book of
Common Prayer
A treasury of Scripture and prayer that has shaped Anglican worship for generations—and remains a living language of faith at Christ Church today.
A shared language of faith
Scripture carried
into prayer
The Book of Common Prayer gives Anglicans a common pattern of worship, doctrine and devotion. Its language is saturated with the Bible, joining confession and grace, thanksgiving and instruction, silence and praise.
At Christ Church it shapes our Sunday and weekday services, Holy Baptism, Holy Communion, marriage, funerals, and the daily offices of Morning and Evening Prayer.
You do not need to know the Prayer Book before you visit. A printed order of service is provided, and you are welcome simply to listen and take part as you feel comfortable.
What the Prayer Book holds together
A whole pattern
of Christian life
Holy Scripture
Psalms, readings, canticles and prayers immerse worshippers in the language and story of the Bible.
Grace received
Baptism and Holy Communion proclaim God’s promises and draw the Church into the life of Christ.
Faith practised
Morning and Evening Prayer form a steady rhythm of repentance, thanksgiving, intercession and hope.
A brief history
One book, shaped
across generations
The Prayer Book brought the Church’s public worship together in English and became one of the enduring foundations of Anglican faith and identity.
The first Prayer Book
Published during the English Reformation, principally under Archbishop Thomas Cranmer.
A revised form
A further edition clarified the theological and liturgical shape of reformed worship.
Common worship restored
A new settlement established a shared order of prayer for the Church of England.
The enduring edition
The classical Prayer Book received across Anglicanism and used at Christ Church today.
A living pattern of worship
Ancient words,
prayed together
The Prayer Book leads the Church through the saving work of Jesus Christ across each day, each week and the Christian year. Its worship is unhurried, spacious and deeply communal.
Its words continue to unite Anglicans across generations and nations, while giving worshippers at Christ Church a dependable pattern in which faith can deepen over time.
Come and experience it
You are welcome
to begin with us
If the language or pattern is new to you, the Rector and congregation will be glad to help you discover its riches. The best introduction is simply to join us in worship.