A half-year in the prayer book

Contents

PAGB

1. Introduction 9

2. The Title Page— The Calendar 15

Preface

The object of this Preface is to indicate the design and plan of this work.

1. It provides for a course of instruction in the Prayer Book of six months in length ; that is, it supposes that this instruction will be given in Sunday-schools, and that twenty-five lessons will, practically, occupy one-half of a year.

2. Its design is to set forth a course of instruction in which the Prayer Book shall be the text-book. Systems which provide a text-book on the Prayer Book, the answers to whose questions are to be found in the former and not in the latter, are, it is believed, not the best. In the case of most of those who attend our Sunday-schools a certain familiarity with the Prayer Book may be assumed. This familiarity should be utilized in the instruction we give, and should, by our method of instruction, be extended and deepened. The Prayer Book should be referred to as frequently as possible. We should even strive to invent reasons for such reference, that acquaintance with its text and rubrics may be constantly furthered, and that as pupils are led to discover for

S

PREFACE.

themselves the many revelations of text and rubric a new devotion to the Prayer Book may be awakened — a devotion the stronger as it is the more intelligent.

3. The Prayer Book, the Bible, and also the Church Hymnal, should be constantly in the hands of scholars. These are our apparatus. It is, of course, true that a fully competent Prayer Book teacher is one who has read the history, by the help of works on the subject, acquired an insight of the rationale of the Prayer Book. But for the actual work, during the Sunday-school hours, the three books above named form an indispensable, and, it will be discovered, far from inadequate means of information and instruction.

4. References to the Bible are, of course, by book, chapter and verse. The uniform paging of all the more commonly used editions of the Prayer Book makes it possible to employ references to its contents frequently and largely. This possibility is made use of in this work as one of the most valuable features of method in teaching. Most of the references are to the more familiar portions of the services or to Collects, and in many cases, to Rubrics. The page only is indicated, it being felt that some exercise in ascertaining references will be a benefit to the student. All references are to be considered important. None have been inserted other than those calculated to shed light upon the passage under review and necessary to an appreciation of its meaning and bearing. As to the Hymnal, it should be recognized that the

PREFACE.

Hymns, although not bound between the covers of the Prayer Book, are an integral and most prominent part of the Church's worship, provision for which is made in the rubrics of the Prayer Book itself.

5. The Questions prefixed to each Lesson do not imply that other questions may not or ought not to be used. Many questions suggest themselves during a careful study of any part of the Prayer Book. It ought to be possible for the teacher to awaken such an interest in the scholars as will lead them to propound questions during the lesson. If this book is put into the hands of scholars of a more mature age the " Helps' ' that follow the Questions will, it is hoped, stimulate inquiry. If the book is used only by th^ teacher these questions (and others) may be copied and distributed beforehand; or, the part of the Prayer Book covered by the lesson may be assigned for study without questions.

Years ago the writer published a small work on the Prayer Book for the use of Sunday-schools. Repeated calls for this work, which has been for some time out of print, are the reason for the issue of this revision of that book.

Gambier.

Epiphany, 1899.

WESSON 1.