Important Announcement --- The PBS grows a new leg

(Note: due to problems with our server, this announcement is appearing here; it will be on our front page shortly--jg)

The Board of the Prayer Book Society of the U.S.A. has resolved to seek by God’s help and guidance to bring into being:

A FELLOWSHIP OF EPISCOPAL & ANGLICAN CHURCHES which use an edition of the historic BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER

There is no intention whatsoever that this fellowship shall be a denomination or an ecclesial jurisdiction.

Rather, the plan is that this fellowship promoted by the Prayer Book Society of the USA will be:

A voluntary association of parish churches, congregations and mission stations that are committed to the historic Anglican Way and united in using an edition of the classic Book of Common Prayer: e.g., the 1662 BCP, the 1928 BCP, or the 1962 Canadian BCP. It will be non-denominational and embrace the variety of Anglican groups.

The purpose is:

To create and to develop a means of contact and fellowship between churches from different jurisdictions and denominations in order primarily to encourage & support each other; and then, in fellowship, as the Lord leads and enables, to find in prayerful conversation and study improved ways to serve the Lord in such areas as worship, teaching, preaching, evangelism, church planting and music, and particularly how to commend the use of the classic BCP to others.

How it would work:

The churches – high and low, big and small – would be held together in the first instance by an annual meeting of representatives, a website, a mailing of a newsletter and by a semi-annual magazine.

The maintaining of the web-site, the production of the newsletter & magazine and the general administration would be initially provided by the Prayer Book Society until the Fellowship became mature enough to begin to provide its own minimal office space and organization.

The newsletter & magazine would be sent in bulk to the member churches for internal distribution there.

Each parish or congregation would pay an annual membership fee and having paid this, it would be eligible to send two representatives to the annual meeting of the Fellowship, where means would be gradually developed for the administering and growth of the Fellowship as need arose and opportunities came along.

It is probable that initially parishes of less than 50 members would pay $100.00, more than 50 but less than 100, $200.00, 100-200, $300.00, and over 200, $400.00 a year. For this they would receive bulk mailing of the newsletter and the magazine. (Initially these publications would be subsidized by the Prayer Book Society for the membership fee would not cover their costs while the Fellowship was small & growing.)

It is proposed that this Fellowship be inaugurated by Whitsuntide/Pentecost of 2004 and that the first annual meeting of reps from member churches be in 2005.

Hitherto the Prayer Book Society has been primarily a voluntary society of individual members. It has stood on this one leg for 30 years! Now it seeks to stand on two legs – providing both for individuals and for congregations.

In order to learn more and to become a member church, please call 1 800 PBS 1928 and leave your full name and address so that you can be contacted by a member of the Board.



January 28, 2004.

(The Revd Fr. David Kennedy, President, & the Rev. Dr. Peter Toon, Vice President)