Prayer book bridges old and new worlds

St. Anne's Church gets 1849 tome from departing parishioner

By Jamie Stiehm
Sun reporter
Originally published March 25, 2007

In the nave of St. Anne's Church in Annapolis is a new gift, one even older than the historic church itself: a leather-bound Book of Common Prayer, elegantly printed in 1849 by Oxford University Press.It comes compliments of an 81-year-old woman packing up to move to Connecticut. Mary Knight, a widow who has retained her British diction and manner through nearly 40 years of living in the state capital, said, "I'm clearing the decks, you might say. I hate throwing anything away."

1849 Book of Common Prayer

New life out of death: a message for Easter

By Katharine Jefferts Schori

I write at the close of our recent House of Bishops meeting. On the way from the airport to the meeting, we saw a few wildflowers, of one or two varieties. They stood out from the grass, just beginning to turn to the green lushness of spring. During the week we met in Texas, the trees went from mere hints of green in the topmost branches to having leaves unfolding on all their branches. And on the way back to the airport a week later, the riot of wildflowers was astounding. The new life of resurrection can be just as surreptitious -- we look and things seem quite dead, we look away, and when our focus returns, we discover that God has been at work making all things new. Anyone who has grieved the death of a loved one will recognize the pattern. Those who experience the loss involved in moving away from a beloved community will know it as well. As this Lent draws to a close, take a careful look at your life. Where has God been at work during this fast? What new life can you discern?

Bishop Jefferts Schori Easter Message

ENGLAND: In London, Anglicans mark 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade

Anglican Communion News Service] As the Procession of Witness reached Lambeth Bridge, London, as part of a commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade in England, a large choir sang Amazing Grace, the hymn written by John Newton, himself a reformed slavemaster. It was from this bridge that some 2,700 ships set sail on the first leg of a journey which would ship slaves and other cargoes between Britain, America and the West Indies. Two out of every 10 slaves died on the ships.

200th Anniversay of Abolition of Slave Trade Observance