Readings:
Joel 2:12-17
Psalm
133
Galatians 6:14-18
John
17:20-26
Preface of Baptism
[Common of a Monastic or Professed Religious]
[Common of a Pastor]
[For the Ministry III]
PRAYER (traditional language)
O Lord our God, we thank thee
for instilling in the heart of thy servant William Reed Huntington a fervent
love for thy church and its mission in the world; and we pray that, with
unflagging faith in thy promises, we may make known to all people thy
blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth
and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
Amen.
PRAYER (contemporary language)
O Lord our God, we thank you
for instilling in the heart of your servant William Reed Huntington a
fervent love for your church and its mission in the world; and we pray
that, with unflagging faith in your promises, we may make known to all
people your blessed gift of eternal life; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and
ever. Amen.
Lessons revised at General Convention 2024.
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WILLIAM REED HUNTINGTON
PRIEST (27 JULY 1909)
W R Huntington, although never a bishop, had more influence on the Episcopal
Church than most bishops. He was born in Lowell, Massachusetts, in 1838,
the son of a physician, studied at Harvard, and was ordained a priest in
1862. In each of the thirteen General Conventions (held every three years,
in years that have a remainder of 2 when divided by 3) of the Episcopal
Church that met between 1870 and his death, he was a member, and indeed
the most prominent member, of the House of Deputies. In 1871 he moved for
the restoration of the ancient Order of Deaconesses, which was finally
officially authorized in 1889. His parish became a center for the training
of deaconesses. Huntington's was the chief voice calling for a revision
of the Book of Common Prayer (completed in 1892), and his the greatest
single influence on the process of revision. The prayers he wrote for it
include the following, used during Holy Week and on Fridays.
Almighty God, whose dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; through the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord.In his book The Church Idea (1870), Huntington undertook to discuss the basis of Christian unity, and he formulated the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral, a statement adopted first by the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in 1886 and then, with slight modifications, by the Bishops of the world-wide Anglican Communion assembled at Lambeth in 1888. The statement set forth four principles which Anglicans regard as essential, and offer as a basis for discussion of union with other Christian bodies.
[See the 1979 US Book of Common Prayer, p. 876-7, for this statement.] Note: this link is to a document in Adobe Acrobat (PDF) format.
A personal observation: The reader will notice that the four points of the Lambeth Quadrilateral: Scriptures, Creeds, Sacraments, and Ministry, correspond roughly to the points listed in Acts 2:41f, where Luke speaks of those who received the Gospel as it was preached on Pentecost.
So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.These early Christians were in the apostles' doctrine. That is, they believed what the apostles taught about the Resurrection of Jesus, and about His victory on our behalf over the power of sin and death. That is to say, they believed the doctrine summarized in the Creeds.
And they continued steadfast in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers.
[For background articles on the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds, consult the web at http://elvis.rowan.edu/~kilroy/CHRISTIA/library/subject-index.htm#CREEDS ]
They were in the apostles' fellowship. That is, they did not seek to serve God as unattached individuals, nor did they form groups of persons of like minds with their own in whose company they might worship. They joined themselves to the existing band of believers, whose nucleus was the apostles. That is, they were united by participation in the ministry of the apostles and those whom the apostles deputized to carry on their work.
They participated in the breaking of bread. That is, they were regular participants in the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. (That they had received the Sacrament of Holy Baptism has already been specified.)
They participated in the prayers. As far back as our records go, Christian services of worship have consisted principally of two things: (1) the reading of the Holy Scriptures and preaching based on them, accompanied by prayer, and (2) the celebration of the Lord's Supper. The pattern was set by Our risen Lord at Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35), when He first opened the Scriptures to His companions, and then "was known to them in the breaking of bread." The former part, the prayers and readings and sermons, would often be referred to simply as "the prayers."
End of personal observation.
Despite his involvement in the national affairs of the Church, Huntington was
foremost a parish priest, for 21 years (1862-1883) at All Saints' Church
in Worcester, Massachusetts, and for 26 years (1883-1909) at Grace Church,
New York City. He died 26 July 1909.
by James Kiefer
Note: We have online the text of a short book written by William Reed Huntington on the history of the Book of Common Prayer. An extended version is online at archive.org. Several other texts are online thanks to the Anglican History Project.