Many folks accustomed to reading Bible-in-a-year plans are delighted to find out that the Book of Common Prayer (2019) has a Daily Office lectionary that leads the faithful Anglican to read through the whole Bible in a year—at least, most of it. Those same folks are sometimes a little dismayed to then find out that…
The Rev. Ben Jefferies serves as rector of The Good Shepherd Anglican Church in Opelika, Alabama. He grew up in England and emigrated to the United States in 1999. He went to Wheaton College, and several years later, he discerned a call to ministry and went to the seminary at Nashotah House Theological Seminary. He was ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Duncan in 2014. He served on the Liturgy Task Force of the ACNA from 2015 to 2019 and was the lead designer for the production of the printed Prayer Book. He continues as the Assistant to the Custodian of the Book of Common Prayer (2019) and serves on the board of directors of Anglican House Media Ministries. He is married with three daughters.
Christian Feasting vs. Cultural Feasting: What’s the Difference?
Fasting is intuitively a bodily and a liturgical act. The Liturgical Year invites us to “days of discipline, denial, and special prayers” in Lent, Fridays outside of Christmastide and Eastertide, Rogation Days, and Ember Days (BCP, pg. 689). While intermittent fasting has recently been a diet fad, ordinarily fasting in our North American context is…
The Calendar of Saints: A Rookie Anglican Guide
Anglicans celebrate feast days for saints to honor exemplary Christian lives, rooted in biblical teachings on imitation. This practice evolved from early church commemorations of martyrs like Polycarp. While Reformation efforts simplified the calendar, Anglicans now recognize both historical and contemporary figures, maintaining focus on Christ as the central figure in worship.
4 Reasons Why I Now Celebrate Communion Facing The Altar, Not the People
Editor’s note: Here at Anglican Compass, we feature content from low church to high church, as long as it’s written with both clarity and charity. Even if you would never consider an “ad orientem” Holy Communion in your own church, I invite you to read about how and why Fr. Ben Jefferies has made the…
Designed to be Read: The Architecture of the ACNA Daily Office Lectionary
The Daily Office Lectionary went through several layers of development during the five years of its existence in trial form.
Designed for Mission: The Typography of the ACNA’s New Prayer Book
(Read our Rookie Anglican Guide to the ACNA’s 2019 BCP here.) If you went into an Anglican Church in South Africa, and were handed a Prayer Book, it would be in the Xhosa language. Moments after entering, the officiant starts praying, you glance down and your eyes see the following text: Aze ati, Nkosi, vula…
