Prayer Book Society (England)
The Prayer Book Society is a charity in England that "is established for the advancement of the Christian religion as set forth in the Book of Common Prayer; and, in furtherance of this Object, for the promotion of the worship and doctrine enshrined in the Book of Common Prayer and its use for services, teaching and training throughout the Church of England and other Churches in the Anglican tradition".[1]
Activity
The Prayer Book Society was founded in 1972, largely through the efforts of Anthony Kilmister,[2] as a conservative reaction to the Church's experiments with liturgical reform in the Alternative Services Series 1, and Series 2, and just prior to the publication of Series 3.
In 2012 the Charity Commission for England and Wales permitted the society to simplify its objects in order to allow it to undertake a number of new activities closely related to its previous work.[3]
The society is a sister society of the Prayer Book Society of the USA, the Prayer Book Society of Canada, the Scottish Prayer Book Society and the Prayer Book Society in Australia. As Prince of Wales, King Charles III served as patron of the PBS from the year 2000 and the ecclesiastical patron is Richard Chartres, the former Bishop of London.
Membership
According to the Society it has over 4,500 members, and 51 branches throughout England.[citation needed]
More than 80 Church of England churches are corporate members of the society. These include:[4]
- All Saints' Church, Lullington
- St Andrew's Church, Covehithe
- Christ Church with St Ewen
- St Laurence's Church, Winslow
- St Michael, Cornhill
- St Mary's Church, Hull
References
- ^ "The Society". The Prayer Book Society. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Church Times: "Obituary - Anthony Kilmister", 8 April 2022".
- ^ "gov.uk". Prayer Book Society: Charity Commission decision. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
- ^ "Corporate Members". The Prayer Book Society. Retrieved 26 December 2017.