Why Don't #Episcopalians Do Morning Prayer Any More?

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A parishioner asked me, “When I was a child in this parish we always did Morning Prayer on Sundays.  Why don’t we still do that?  I kinda miss it.”

Here's my response:

I am glad you asked. I have been looking for folks to help in our effort to get the entire parish to rediscover the habits of the "Threefold Rule." You are absolutely right about the importance of morning prayer. But they all go together and we lose a great deal if we don’t keep them in balance - (1) we all need to do the Daily Office, (2) we all need to develop the habits of daily private devotion, and of course (3) we all need to meet each Sunday and on Feast Days for the Lord’s Supper.
In our parish, we actually do Morning Prayer every morning at 8:45 a.m. and Evening Prayer every on weekdays at 5:15 p.m. If you can’t make those times, maybe we should talk about whether you might have a call to ministry at your workplace or in other settings to lead your friends in a simplified prayerful gathering in the morning before work or perhaps during the lunch hour. That’s a wonderful way to offer your gifts to your friends and God.
In the midst of this dialogue I was interrupted.  For the parishioner meant that he misses doing Morning Prayer in lieu of Eucharist on Sundays.  I know that some parishes still use the Order for Morning Prayer as their principal service on an occasional basis. So I offered the following:


Yes, you are right in recalling that some parishes used to do Morning Prayer in lieu of the Eucharist.  Some still do. But we’ve learned what a mistake that was. The two liturgies are intended for different things and, indeed, emphasize different things.

The Threefold Rule we inherited from our Benedictine forebears consists of our (1) private devotion, and (2) Daily Office, both of which are allied to and consummated by (3) our weekly Eucharist.

Episcopalians receive from our Anglican tradition the habit of private devotion which has as its goal the recollection of God's guiding presence with us throughout the day.  Our private devotion might draw upon psalmody "Lord, make haste to help us..." or it might be as simple as plain-language, spontaneous prayers of thanksgiving and intercession.  For some it includes spiritual exercises such as reflection on Scripture or various forms of prayer.  The important thing is that we have some form of daily private devotion that draws us as individuals closer to God.

The Daily Office is the common work each of us is supposed to do, every day. Each day we devote a short time to simply praising God, especially God the Father (the Morning Prayer liturgy emphasizes our thanksgiving for God's creation). This is structured prayer used throughout the world; it presupposes and nurtures our common belongingness to one another through our shared participation in the Body of Christ. The Daily Office is communal prayer historically shared by small family-like gatherings. There's a simplified version for use at home or work beginning on p. 137 of the Book of Common Prayer.

The Eucharist consummates our daily devotion and common prayer. On Sundays especially God the Spirit gathers us as a people to remember the Resurrection by bringing us into the presence of God the Son (our Risen Lord), where we sup with him, are reminded of his absolute demand on our lives, and through which we receive all that we need to be friends with him and each other. Then we go into the world to do what he sent us to do.

As the people sent, we live within this three-fold cycle. Everyday and throughout the day, we invite God the Spirit into our lives through private devotions that meet us right where we are; we connect with others throughout our community and the world,  similarly called by Christ, to share in common prayer; and, each week, we gather as a particular people called to be the Body of Christ in our community through our celebration of the Eucharist.

So that’s why we always celebrate the Eucharist on Sundays, and try to do all three parts of the Threefold Rule so that it becomes the holy rhythm of our lives. Each week we rehearse the habits of a forgiven people, and in the process we are transformed.