Sweet Hour of Prayer

Let's admit it, very many, if not most, Jamaicans know nothing about Anglican spirituality. Worse, neither are they interested in what we do or believe, seeing we and other "society church" people aren't "saved" anyway - though they'd admit you may find a few "true Christians" among us. After all, we don't really walk around with big Bibles, have tent crusades, use our schools as conversion sites, engage in theological sound clashes and the like. Worse we play secular music, don't forbid drinking alcohol an all dem worlian tings!

To some extent, mi no wrong dem! Wa mek? Well, I don't think we've done a good job at challenging the stereotypes people have of us - but that's for another blog. The truth is that we've got a pretty decent spirituality: it's deep, not surface; it's heavy, not superficial; there's nothing pyaa-pyaah about it!

Here, I'd like to highlight one aspect of the richness there is to our spirituality - our Church's way of doing morning and evening devotions. The stush expression for this is  "The Daily Office." How we go about doing morning and evening devotions is outlined in our most important book - other than the Bible, I guess -  the Book of Common Prayers, aka  "the Prayer Book." Take away the Prayer Book and the Anglican church ceases to exist! OK! Now you know how to destroy us!

Anyway, our morning and evening prayers begin and end with a sentences from Scripture, they contain confessions, invocations, readings from different sections of the Bible and the Apocripha, whole heap a prayers, a recitation of the Apostles' Creed and  final blessings. The order in which these occur is ordered and they conspire to provide us with an oasis of peace in our otherwise busy lives at the beginning and at the end of every day of the week!

1. Opening Sentence (pg 32-35). Reflects the season the Church is in.  
2. Call to Worship (pg 35)
3. Confession of Sin (pg. 36)
4. Canticle of Praise/Invitatory (pg.36-38)
5. Prayer of Absolution (pg.38-39)
6. Morning Hymn (pg.39)
7. Psalm(s) for the Day (pg.39)
8. First Lesson: Old Testament or Apocrypha (pg.39-40)
9. Pray the Benedictus (pg.40) or pick any of the Canticles on pg. 49-58.
10. Second Lesson: New Testament (pg.41)
11. Gospel Reading for the Day (pg.)
12. Read the Apostles' Creed (pg.42)
13. Pray the Lord's Prayer (pg.42-43)
14. Pray Suffrage A, B or C (pg.43-45). You may add your personal prayers of intercession/thanksgiving after the suffrage.
15. Pray one of the Collect for the Day (pg.45-46). Particular kind of prayer that collects or puts together the themes/topics of a service, particularly a Sunday service. 
16. Pray one of the Prayers on (pg.45)
17. Sing a Hymn 
18. Pray one of the prayers on pg 75-86 )
19. Say the Prayer of Dedication (pg.47)
20. Say the Closing Sentence (pg.47-48)

Opening Sentence

Confession of Sin

Invitatory

Psalms

First Lesson

Canticle - options recommended in PB. Magnificat

Second Lesson

Canticle - Song of Simeon (pg.55)

The Apostles Creed

The Prayers: the lord's prayer, the suffrages; collects; prayer of dedication  

Closing Prayer