Dear friends in Christ: While Scott is on vacation this week, we bring you a cross-post from our team at RenewalWorks. This collaboration between RenewalWorks’ director Loren Dixon and contributor Adam McLain was originally posted on RenewalWorks’ blog.
This Advent season, Forward Movement’s newest pocket-sized prayer book, The Booklet of Common Prayer, has quickly become one of its most popular. In fact, as of today, nearly 2,500 copies have been ordered in just a few short weeks. A second printing is underway.
We are grateful to Adam McLain, who through his own spiritual study, developed this offering. Here is Adam’s first-hand account of the project’s origins.
It’s difficult for me to succinctly describe the origins of this project. I’m reminded of the quote by Carl Sagan: “If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”
The project came from my own desire for a compact physical version of Morning Prayer. I had just ended an experimental project that attempted to integrate the elements in Enriching Our Worship, Volume 1, in line with the Daily Office. The result was much too confusing to use practically, but I did gain understanding of the formatting and styling of the BCP.
I had recently come across a promotional booklet that was shaped like a passport and thought I might be able to use that format as a basis for a small prayer book with just Morning Prayer. During my work on the previously mentioned “Enriched” Daily Office I realized that much of Evening Prayer overlaps with Morning Prayer, and with proper rubrics, a single form could be used for both services. The goal was to keep all the original liturgical beats, but just to reduce the number of options available; for example, four opening verses instead of twenty. I spent a weekend creating a very rough draft to test the viability of the idea. The resulting booklet largely resembles the final project today: Morning and Evening Prayer, a week’s worth of lessons, daily devotions for individuals and families, and miscellaneous prayers.
I had intended to self-publish the Booklet to give out to friends, family, and fellow parishioners, but then I was put in contact with Scott Gunn, the Executive Director of Forward Movement. I was hoping to either give the idea to Forward Movement to run with, or to get some practical advice about publishing in such a small form. Scott gave me some wonderful feedback and shortly thereafter expressed interest in publishing the project. He put me in touch with their content editor, Kristin LeMay, who was invaluable to the final result of the project and whom I cannot laud enough.
My vision for the project was always to create a beautiful physical object that was personal and meaningful to the owner. The intent wasn’t for this to be someone’s main prayer book, but a way to still connect with the Daily Office while traveling, or on the go. I wanted it to feel approachable, with a wisp of playfulness; that it should honor the heritage and seriousness of the book it draws from. While a physical object, I also wanted it to disappear in a sense, such that its size and weight could be a rounding error, allowing someone to carry it in a pocket or bag without being aware of it.
Originally, my expectation was that there might be a few hundred people who—if they became aware of the Booklet—would “get it” and appreciate it. When the project moved to Forward Movement, they helped to broaden the potential audience to include people who may never have prayed the Daily Office before, as well as those who are more familiar with the prayer book.
If it is resonating with readers, I hope it’s because people are eager to connect with God in their daily lives.
I think we are living in a wonderful time for those who practice the Daily Office: There are so many wonderful websites, podcasts, live online zoom sessions, and smartphone apps that make it more accessible than ever. My hope is that the Booklet can be one more option.
RenewalWorks and Forward Movement wish you a blessed Advent. May you find a way to quietly deepen your faith and connect with Christ this season.