Give Us Grace: An Anthology of Anglican Prayers [Hardcover]

Christopher L. Webber (Author, Compiler)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

Give Us Grace provides an overview of Anglican prayers from the beginning of that tradition up to the present day. The contents are arranged chronologically, from writers such as Miles Coverdale and Thomas Cranmer, to the sixteenth-century, and continuing through contemporary writers such as Desmond Tutu, David Adam, Madeleine L'Engle, and others. Biographies of each writer are provided. An ideal gift book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Christopher L. Webber is an Episcopal priest and popular author whose many books from Morehouse Publishing include Love Came Down: Anglican Readings for Advent and Christmas, Celebrating the Saints, Welcome to the Episcopal Church, and Welcome to Sunday.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 528 pages
• Publisher: Morehouse Publishing; 1St Edition edition (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0819219622
• ISBN-13: 978-0819219626
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,235,802 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Cuba, New York, is my home town though I haven't lived there in fifty years. It's the kind of town everyone should be able to grow up in. It gave me the background to go on to Princeton and seminary and serve a variety of Episcopal Churches: urban, suburban, overseas, and rural. And ministry is a great school of writing with a weekly sermon and a monthly mailing to make sure you get plenty of practice. Marriage and family - four children and four grandchildren - rounds out the picture of a generally happy life. If writers are supposed to be unhappy, I don;t fit the picture!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Uncommon prayers..., July 18, 2004

By 

FrKurt Messick "FrKurt Messick" (Bloomington, IN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Give Us Grace: An Anthology of Anglican Prayers (Hardcover)

Christopher Webber is an author of several Anglican-related titles; among his best work are 'Welcome to Sunday' and 'Welcome to the Episcopal Church', which set the stage for newcomers as well as old-timers who want more background information about their church. This book, 'Give Us Grace' could be considered a natural companion to these volumes. It is an anthology of prayers in the Anglican tradition -- Anglicans are often described as 'people of the book', that book being the Book of Common Prayer. However, this book does change over time. Also, there are other writings by Anglicans, who are often influenced by the BCP in their own writing content and style.

Webber arranges this collection chronologically, beginning with the first major voice of Anglicanism, Thomas Cranmer. Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury is the father of Anglican liturgy, the prime mover behind the shape of the liturgy that continues as a primary influence to this day. Cranmer was also a biblical translator, one of the earliest to put the Bible into English, so the scriptural sensitivity of the litugry to the Bible derives from the duality of his role. From these beginnings, Webber traces others of the early Anglican period (including Elizabeth I), through the present day.

Webber does not confine his collection to the English, however, just as Anglicanism is not confined to Britain. Webber draws upon the wider experience of the Anglican communion, whose most recent enhancements to the spiritual and prayer life of its members include revised prayer books in Australia and New Zealand, as well as several generations of prayer book revisions in the United States. There are samplings from Native Americans, Africans, Asians, and other Europeans. Among still-living persons represented are Desmond Tutu, archbishop from South Africa and anti-apartheid champion, and Madeleine L'Engle, author and mystic in North America.

Anglicanism is in some ways a hybrid, taking nourishment from roots in Catholicism and Protestantism, Celtic and Roman influences, and the strong traditions of the English langauge which include both Shakespeare and the King James Bible. There are prayer structures that transcend the Book of Common Prayer and influence in profound ways the prayer development of others -- collect forms, even if not strictly adhered to, still manage to provide seed for inspiration that can often be seen. The cadence and rhythmic qualities of the Book of Common Prayer are pronounced in many of the entries here.

Webber is a priest who currently lives in Connecticut; he has served parishes in inner-city, suburban, and overseas/international settings. He brings his experience, his education, and his obvious spirituality to the writing tasks represented here.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Useful book for people interested in reading, using prayer, June 19, 2005

By 

Peter Menkin (Mill Valley, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Give Us Grace: An Anthology of Anglican Prayers (Hardcover)

This is a book that I read, but more I use for prayer. I grant many of the prayers by the well known and should be known Anglicans in this book are old. And their language may be unusual to us moderns, at least to an extent, but they are useful and meaningful.

I bought this hardback to have access to prayers. I had read a biography of Terry Waite, the Anglican held captive some years ago in Iran. He said of his captivity, that one thing that held him was staying with prayers he knew from his prayer book. Albeit I have The Book of Common Prayer, and I say those prayers from it as do many Episcopalians. I thought to myself that I needed more, and though I don't believe that Terry Waite, a devout man, only said those prayers from his prayer book, and none of his own, nonetheless it is a good idea to have a source of prayer like the Anthology as also starting point and inspiration. Those who wish to widen their scope will find this a useful book, one full of history of the Anglican Church.

Say you are perusing the book, rather than reading it from one cover to the other, you will find all kinds of interesting prayers. Some are long. There is John Donne, who says prayers before various sacraments, like marriage. He is of course giving a sermon at the marriage. Here is some text to give you a taste of the language you may encounter. This from the time of 1571 to 1631:

"O Eternall and most gracious God, who hast promised to hearken to the prayers of thy people, when they pray towards thy house, though they be absent from it, worke more effectually upon us, who are personally met in this thy house, in this place consecrated to they worship. Enable us, O Lord so to see thee..."

The language is to this reader most moving and lovely. The book has many such samples of prayer. Here is another sample, this from Jeremy Taylor:

"An Act of Contrition...Lord, thou shalt find my heart full of cares and worldly desires, cheated with love of riches, and neglact of holy things..."

I was introduced to prayers from the New Zealand Prayer Book by a minister, and I was happy to find some of those prayers in this book, which Episcopalians may find a good source of history and interesting reading. There is a text before the prayers of each person who is quoted that tells of that persons life, and the years they lived. The quotes from the New Zealand book are too lengthy for here, but this excerpt about the night:

"The night is dark/Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you." "The night is quiet./Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,/all dear to us,/and all who have no peace."

That is a modern, contemporary prayer from their book.

More prayers, or subjects for prayer are given. Elizabeth Goudge, a layperson who lived 1900 to 1984 has some of her prayers in this book "Give Us Grace:" "For the Crippled, For the Blind," "For the Dying," "For Political Prisoners,"

Frankly, I enjoy finding these prayers, and I think if you are so inclined to a need to get words to pray and connect with God on all sorts of topics, you will find this a treasure of such good things. A book to keep, the type is large enough for easy reading and the hardback binding seems sturdy. So one can put this book to use for a long time. One reviewer calls this book, a "Feast." I think it is that, too. The publisher is Morehouse Publishing, an Episcopal Church publishing house. Interestingly, the genre or category for the book is "spirituality," and that should tell you something of it, too. There is no harm in being introduced to a rich tradition. The book is compiled by a well known Episcopal editor, Christopher L. Webber. Congratulations to him for an eminent job. Rich in prayer, this book is a keeper for those so inclined to the spiritual path and religious reading.

--Peter Menkin, Mill Valley, CA USA