Authorization
New Patterns for Worship comprises
* alternative services and other
material authorized for use until further resolution of the General
Synod;
* services which comply with the
provisions of A Service of the Word and other authorized
services;
* material commended by the House of
Bishops;
* material, the use of which falls
within the discretion allowed to the minister under the provisions
of Canon B 5 and by the rubrics and notes in authorized forms of
service.
For details, see page 480.
Canon B 3 provides that decisions as to which of the authorized
services are to be used (other than occasional offices) shall be
taken jointly by the incumbent and the parochial church
council.
Note
Throughout this volume references simply to Common
Worship refer to the main Common Worship volume,
Common Worship: Services and Prayers for the Church of
England. The other Common Worship volumes are
referred to bytheir full titles, for example Common Worship:
Pastoral Services.
Preface
Patterns for Worship was first published in a Synod
edition in 1989, but was published in a commercial edition until
1995. The Synod draft contained what some people considered fairly
revolutionary proposals about alternative structures for the
Eucharist and Eucharistic Prayers, and the House of Bishops said it
was 'mindful of those who want a period of stability in the
liturgical life of the Church, and who might be anxious lest the
Commission's
proposals extend the bounds of choice and variety of liturgical
provision more widely than has been customary in the Church of
England'. The 1995 edition established the principle followed in
Common Worship of publishing both commended and authorized
material in one volume. It included the newly authorized Service of
the Word, Confessions and Absolutions and Affirmations of Faith,
but no Eucharistic Prayers were included. This present volume
contains the same range of material, and includes the outline for
the Eucharist, authorized as A Service of the Word with a
Celebration of Holy Communion, together with provision for using a
number of thanksgivings extended prefaces with some of the new
Eucharistic Prayers.
What is the difference between New Patterns for Worship
and Common Worship? There are two important features about
New Patterns which distinguish it from the Common
Worship volumes. These have led to the publication of a new
edition of this book, brought up to date so that it is entirely
compatible with Common Worship.
First, it is organized in a completely different way from
Common Worship. It is a directory of resources, organized
in such a way that those looking for material for different
sections of the service can find and compare possible texts and
ideas, all cross-referenced for 'secular' themes as well as for
major doctrinal themes and seasons. This is not a new idea. The
introduction to Lent, Holy Week, Easter in 1984 said, 'We
are providing a directory from which choices may be made.We think
of this book as a manual to be used with selectivity, sensitivity
and imagination.' In 1985 the report by the General Synod Standing
Committee, The Worship of the Church, called for 'a
directory with a wealth of resource material including
supplementary material for each of the many points in the service
where there is room for the individual's own words. The directory
would need to set boundaries to the proposed freedom, and points
which might be theologically divisive would have to be watched.'
The introduction to Common Worship says that the provision
for the combination of old and new 'provides for the diverse
worshipping needs of our communities, within an ordered structure
which affirms our essential unity and common life'. This continued
provision for diversity within an authorized structure continues in
Common Worship, both in the outline structures provided
for A Service of the Word and other services, and also in the notes
and rubrics which frequently use the phrase 'these or other
suitable words'.
Second, New Patterns for Worship is designed to educate
and train those who plan and lead worship. There are training
elements built into each of the resource sections, together with
discussion material for PCCs and worship planning groups. Some of
the items in the Resource Sections have been deliberately chosen to
illustrate different ways of doing things. So there are different
ways of handling the Prayers of Intercession, and a number of
examples of the same psalm or canticle treated in different ways
both for singing and for speaking. At the end of the book there are
Sample Services, covering quite a wide range of thematic and
seasonal occasions. Sometimes they will be exactly what the user is
looking for, and can be copied for local use. Sometimes they are
simply outlines illustrating different shapes and creative ideas.
The principles behind the basic outline of A Service of the Word
imply the need for those who conduct and lead the services to be
aware of the theological models that shape our worship, both in the
patterns of the services and in the structures of the component
parts. These patterns draw worshippers from where they are by means
of encounter with the story of what God has done for his people to
where we might hope they would be. But the main reason they are
there is to illustrate the theory and methods explained in the
earlier part of the book, and to stimulate those who plan services
locally to produce better worship. Again, one of these services is
deliberately dealt with in a number of different ways, so that the
effect of different approaches may be seen.
The Liturgical Commission's aim in producing Patterns for
Worship in 1989 was to meet some of the current needs of the
Church's worship, reflected most acutely in Urban Priority Areas
and in services (often called 'family services') at which all age
groups, including children, are present.We used the already
established principle of flexibility to provide forms of worship
which could still be recognizable as belonging within the Anglican
tradition, while encompassing the enormous variety that exists
within the Church at present. Time has moved on. Much of the
flexibility and variety is enshrined in Common Worship,
and this book provides some complementary resources to encourage
that. And we now speak of 'all-age worship' rather than 'family
services', reflecting the social changes which still continue. But
many of the needs are still the same: the need to explore different
ways of recognizing and celebrating the presence of God in worship,
the need to maintain the unity of the Church while doing so, the
need to train more people to share in the planning and preparation
of worship, and the need to enjoy God in worship in such a way that
others are attracted and join in.
+ David Sarum
Chairman of the Liturgical Commission
November 2002