PRAYER BOOK INTERLEA YES by William Palmer Ladd
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PRAYER BOOK INTERLEA YES by William Palmer Ladd Foreword by Massey H. Shepherd, Jr. Prayer Book Interleaves SOME REFLECTIONS ON HOW THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER MIGHT BE MADE MORE IN FLUENTIAL IN OUR ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD BY WILLIAM PALMER LADD LATE DEAN OF THE BERKELEY DIVINITY SCHOOL FOREWORD BY MASSEY H. SHEPHERD, JR. NEW YORK Copyright 1942, 1943, by Oxford University Press © 1957 by The Seabury Press, Incorporated 260-563-MU-3-1.5 Printed in the United States of America FOREWORD WHEN WILLIAM PALMER LADD passed through the gates of larger life, on July 1, 1941. he bequeathed to the Church in Prayer Book Interleaves a testament and a prophecy, the full import of which we are only beginning to realize. It was a pioneering work, in a form designed to reach clergy and laity alike, on the opportunity and responsibility before the Epis copal Church of liturgical reform within its own ranks and of leadership in the wider, ecumenical revival of liturgical life that was stirring throughout Christendom. Had it been only a pioneering effort cast in popular style, it might well have had an ephemeral effect or have been quickly superseded by writings of a more apparent thoroughness. We ]X>ssess in these papers of Dean Ladd no work of a beginner, but the mature insight of an extraordinary priest, prophet, and scholar, who knew how to distinguish the things that differ. The reader recognizes at once that he is reaping the fruit of long years of study and research, refined by pro found meditation and reflection, tested by practical experience with a keenly observant eye, and undergirded by a sturdy piety patient of all things except sham and pretense. These papers are not the musings of a dreamer. They are replete with very concrete suggestions. They are not proposals of passing inter est, but are always illustrative of basic principles. The Church may not ever acc,ept some of his detailed projects of liturgical usage and adaptation. The Church can and must, however, strive to measure up to his ideals of reality, relevance, and fit ness in the practice of corporate worship. For in these matters we know that Dean Ladd speaks to our conscience the truth. iii IV FOREWORD When Dean Ladd wrote these papers the Fascist powers were rushing the world into the bloodiest war in history. The Dean was one of the few churchmen who foresaw from the beginning the tragedy that would engulf mankind. Yet he was serene and confident that a book on worship was not out of place at the time. He knew that the world would undergo revo lutionary social changes that would make the aims of the Liturgical Movement all the more needful for its healing and reconciliation. But if he had lived to our present hour, he would doubtless have been astonished to behold how rapidly his prophecies would begin to be fulfilled-see, for example, the brief notes in his chapter 'The Next 150 Years.' In the Roman Catholic Church, where the Liturgical Movement has had the most intelligent and persistent leader ship, the progress of liturgical reform in the past two decades has been, to say the least, miraculous. The Calendar and Missal are in process of revision in ways that would have delighted the Dean's heart. The Easter Vigil has been re stored to its proper observance. Most of the Roman Ritual is now allowed in the vernacular. A new text of the Psalter, critical in scholarship and intelligible in rendering, has been provided for the Breviary. The celebration of evening masses, begun during the war, to increase opportunities of lay partici pation in the Sacrament, has developed with surprising popu larity. Vernacular versions of the Bible, based upon im peccable scholarship, have been encouraged and fostered. Much of this vast reform has been stimulated by the annual Liturgical Weeks now held in most countries. Since 1951, the. papacy has permitted its outstanding liturgical scholars to meet in annual international conferences on the liturgy to advise and discuss projects of reform. The first of these was held at the Abbey of Maria Laach-a monastery FOREWORD v where Dean Ladd had many friends who helped him become conversant with the pioneering liturgical scholarship in pre war Germany. He would have rejoiced to witness its survival, and continuing influence tbrough the trying years of war and reconstruction. One of Dean Ladd's passionate convictions concerned the centrality of the liturgy as a focus for ecumenical endeavor. This conviction is also winning acceptance. Since the forma'" tion of the World Council of Churches at Amsterdam in 1948, its several commissions on ways of worship have made notable progress in study and discussion- along these lines. Prejudices are being overcome, and the various denominations are more ready to admit that the impoverishment and one sidedness of much of their practice of worship are real barriers to Christian unity. He would have seen an amazing confirma tion of his principles in the way the liturgy, as also the episco pate, has become a vitally cohesive factor in the experiment in Christian reunion of the Church of South India. In our coun try, he would have been encouraged to witness the new liturgi cal service books put forth by the Presbyterian and Lutheran Communions. In the Anglican Communion, progress has been no less real, even if less spectacular. The spread of the 'parish communion' as the norm of parochial worship on Sundays has made no table advances; and in our American Church it has been closely linked with a program of Christian Education through out the Church touching its total membership. Prayer Book revision has been taken up anew in many Anglican prov inces-completed in South Africa, well on the way in India, Japan, and Canada. It will be a major object of dis cussion at the Lambeth Conference in 1958. The Prayer Book Studies, inaugurated by the Standing Liturgical Com- vi FOREWORD mission of the American Church in 1950, have aroused in creasing interest among both clergy and laity. It would be fruitful to compare these proposals, especially in the Study on the Eucharist, with the suggestions offered by Dean Ladd throughout his book. The Hymnal 1940 only came into use after the Dean's death. It h<rS profoundly affected the pattern of church music in our parishes, and greatly promoted congregational sing ing of simple service music such as Dean Ladd so insistently favored. There has been much new church building, and more readiness to experiment with contemporary styles and methods of construction. Where Dean Ladd in 1940 could point to but one notable example of bold experi ment (see his chapter, 'Ex Occidente Lux'), he could now list by the dozens the parish churches that would no longer deserve the name of St. Obsoletus. And in these churches, as in others, new patterns of ceremonial-free standing altars, offertory processions, restoration of Holy Baptism as a public rite-are bringing renewed awareness of the corporate principle in liturgical worship. It is good therefore that Dean Ladd's testament is now being made available once more to the Church, and to that younger generation that did not know him face to face. For at an appropriate time he recalled us to the true principles of our heritage, And. that was counted unto him for righteousness, among all posterities for evermore. MASSEY H. SHEPHERD, JR. Berkeley, California Purification, 1957 PREFACE My INTEREST in the important subject discussed in this little book has been long-standing, as many of myoid Berkeley students will testify. But, owing to various time-consuming tasks in connection with my administrative work at the School (of which my friends have been well aware), it has been impossible until recently to give the time to this subject which its very great importance de serves. And it was only three years ago, when the Reverend W.B. Spofford, editor of The Witness, requested me to contribute a column every other week to his paper, that I was able to begin writing the little papers here reprinted. I had in mind to write many additional Interleaves, but reasons of health demand that I leave the collection to stand as it is. All the Interleaves as they appeared are here reprinted, although it has been necessary to make some slight alterations and adaptations; unfortunately it has not been possible to avoid much repetition. To this collection I have added a few short papers published elsewhere during this period. In preparing the Interleaves to appear in book form I am in debted to many helpers-questioners and correspondents who have read them as they appeared, to my efficient and faithful sec retary, Elizabeth B. Raftery, to'my students, and to my assistant, the Reverend C.K.Myers. Above all lowe !\ debt of gratitude to my devoted wife, who has helped me to prepare the final manu script for the press, in which she has had the able assistance of my friend and pupil, the Reverend Massey H. Shepherd. My wife has also prepared the index. My hope is that the moderate price at which the publishers have been able to issue this little volume will increase the number of readers among that group who have the liturgical destiny of PREFACE the Church in their hands, i.e. the parish clergy; and that they will seriously consider the facts and ideas here set forth. W.P.LADD Berkeley Divinity School, New Haven Juns 1941 My husband left a large number of notes in preparation for Interleaves which he had hoped to write.