Liturgical Book of The Presbyterian Church (USA) - Book of Common Worship (1993)

Book of Common Worship (1993)

In 1980 the General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. approved an overture from the Presbytery of the Cascades calling for “a new book of services for corporate worship.” In adopting the overture, the General Assembly expressed the fervent hope that the new book would be “an instrument for the renewal of the church at its life-giving center.” Immediately the Presbyterian Church in the United States and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church approved participation in the project.

The process leading to a new service book called for the publication of trial-use resources prior to the finalization of the service book itself. Between 1984 and 1992 seven trial-use resources were published, each including proposed text for a portion of the service book. The trial-use volumes were published under the series title: Supplemental Liturgical Resources. Each volume was prepared by a task force chosen for the task. From fifty to one hundred congregations were invited to review testing drafts of each of these resources prior to its approval for publication. Suggestions received from these evaluations greatly contributed to the preparation of the final drafts, and thus to their usefulness in the church. Following the publication of each volume, evaluations and suggestions were received. These responses, based on their use, were carefully considered and were a valuable aid in revising the liturgical texts for inclusion in this book. In revised form the liturgical texts of the seven trial-use resources are included in this book.

During the course of the development of this service book, the reunion in 1983 of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S. and the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. to form the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) occurred. This resulted in the preparation of a new Directory for Worship. In the years that followed reunion, until the adoption of the new Directory for Worship in 1989, the preparation of the directory and the development of the service book followed parallel tracks. Because the work was concurrent, there was a creative exchange between the two tasks. Each influenced the other. Appearing four years after the adoption of the revised Directory, the final Book of Common Worship is consistent with the provisions of the Directory.

This book does not include some liturgical resources that ordinarily are included in the previous service books, namely, ordinations, installations, and occasional services such as dedications. At the time of its publication, a major study on ordination is before the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). This had precluded the finalization of an ordination rite. The decision was made to do as other churches have done and produce a book of occasional services separate from the Book of Common Worship, which would include additional liturgical resources needed by the church, such as ordinations, installations, dedications, and other occasional services, and liturgies needed by presbyteries to fulfill their responsibilities.