For a “traditional Episcopal” church, St Stephen’s can be a bit unorthodox. Actually, we prefer to think if it as being ultra-orthodox. For example, we don’t always hold fast to the 1928 Book of Common Prayer. We actually reach back in time and use the 1662 Prayer Book for Holy Communion.
(We use the 1662 Prayer Book for Mattins and Evensong, too. But lots of parishes do so, without realizing it. All of the common settings of the Preces and Responses—Byrd, Smith, Rose, Leighton—, and for that matter, the obscure ones, use the 1662 text. There’s one response that was changed in the 1928 Prayer Book. And there are almost no full choral settings of the 1979 version.)
So why the 1662? The Rector explains why, in a two–part essay: the reasons are both practical and theological. After reading about our liturgy, why not join us some morning to see what it’s all about? This Sunday is supposed to be a scorcher, so an expeditious service will get you home earlier, before the heat really gets oppressive.
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