Saint Helena Breviary

Book excerpt: Expanded-language texts for references to God General softening of language to avoid masculine nouns and images in Psalms and other texts Can be used by clergy and lay people, across denominations, who are looking for a daily regimen of prayer and Bible reading Special appeal to women and men who are sensitive to issues of inclusive language Offers the full beauty of structured monastic prayer in the Anglican tradition Designed for use with the Bible, in a translation of personal choice Can also be used as a manual of devotion without Bible readings The rich tradition of monastic prayer, dating back to the earliest days of the desert hermits in the third century, has been the foundational daily prayer of the Church for most of its existence. Many individuals who are not members of religious communities cherish this tradition and use elements of it for their own daily prayer, and adapted breviaries have been popular sellers to targeted markets for more than a century. Over the past several years, the Order of Saint Helena, a community of women in the Episcopal Church, spent a great deal of time and energy in revising their office book. High on the list of priorities for the revision was the broadening of language to avoid masculine imagery when referring to God. This personal edition of The Saint Helena Breviary has been adapted for use by individual readers who set aside one or more times for prayer in the midst of their busy lives. CONTENTS Daily morning prayer, noonday prayer, evening prayer, and compline based on the Book of Common Prayer, with enrichments from the Order of Saint Helena All prayers for the days of the week and the church year, from the Book of Common Prayer, adapted for expansive language All daily and seasonal canticles (song texts), adapted for expansive language The complete Psalter (psalms), in an expansive language adaptation from the Book of Common Prayer translation (also published separately by CPI as The Saint Helena Psalter) Complete two-year schedule of Bible readings, with all major and minor holy days, from the Book of Common Prayer lectionary, designed for use with a Bible of reader's choice