A Service for Today's Church has its origins in "A Modern Liturgy", an experimental form of service prepared by the General Synod Prayer Book Commission and published in Prayer Book Revision in Australia in 1966. A Modern Liturgy was intended as the principal service of Sunday, whether morning or evening, when the congregation as a whole came together and the Lord's Supper was administered: it was also to be used when there was no communion. As such, A Modern Liturgy was designed in one order of service to do what in 1662 was done in the three services of Morning Prayer, the Litany and Holy Communion, or ante-communion where there was no communion.
It was John Mason who conceived of a return to A Modern Liturgy as a way ahead in liturgical revision. Over several years, in consultation with others, he prepared several versions of A Service for Today's Church. It has been used extensively and adjusted in light of comments and reactions.
The particular features of A Service for Today's Church are that it is adaptable, flexible and can provide cohesion within a parish. It is able to be used as a Morning or Evening service and as a service of Holy Communion without the Communion section being an appendage. Likewise, it has been used in a formal, traditional Anglican context where people value having every word printed out to follow and join in, as well as in congregations where a formal liturgical service is perceived as unfriendly and unedifying. Moreover, in church life today there is rarely one meeting time where the church of a given place can be said to gather. The norm is that different congregations meet at different times and adopt different service patterns, ranging from the formal to the informal. As a liturgical resource, ASTC can be used to meet the needs of both formal and informal styles of gathering. The single resource, with its recognisable framework and common prayers, can enhance the cohesion and sense of unity between the congregations that constitute a local church.
Download A Service for Today's
Church - Morning / Evening Church
Download A Service for
Today's Church - The Lord's Supper Or Holy Communion
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