By Brian Cummings

Like many people I first came across the Book of Common Prayer in a church pew; I must have been in my late teens. But it felt as if I already knew the book: many things in it were already familiar, like the marriage vows ‘for better for worse, for richer for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death us do part.’ To me, brought up an atheist, other parts seemed very strange. Yet even as a non-churchgoer, the book felt as if it belonged to me. It announced itself as ‘common’ prayer, and also as somehow quintessentially English, everyday, ubiquitous. The Book of Common Prayer wasn’t just a church book; it contained so much else that was evocative of our culture and history – prayers to be said at sea, ways of calculating Easter dates, lists of members of the family you were forbidden to marry.

When I was a student, I was surprised to find that there wasn’t an edition of the text available which also explained the history, interpretations and significance of the Book of Common Prayer. The book was still in print, of course, but only in church editions. By now I knew that what I had thought of as a book of the 1660s was in fact much older, going back to Thomas Cranmer and the beginning of the English Reformation; and also that it had existed in a number of different forms. My favourite guide to this was a huge two-volume book called The English Rite by F.E. Brightman, by now long out of print. This printed different versions of the Book of Common Prayer in parallel text, and also contained a monumental introduction. It had the sprawling, hefty form of old-style scholarship which nobody seemed to author anymore, and no publisher could afford to print in any case. There was also an Everyman edition comprising the 1549 and 1552 texts, which I found in a second-hand bookshop and I continued to treasure for many years, using it in teaching in due course.

When asked by OUP if I was happy to prepare a new edition of the Book of Common Prayer, I immediately accepted despite foreseeing that the work would be very time-consuming. It just felt like something you don’t say no to, and I couldn’t help but think of this new edition also ending up in second-hand bookshops in time. The sense of familiarity and commonness I had developed with the text over the years also inspired me to provide an edition for the common reader; one which would explain its contexts, controversies and historical importance as well as the unnoticed ways in which the book has been part of shared experience and lived emotion over several centuries.

I print the text in three versions – a little like Brightman’s old book, only my choice of texts is different. In between the first edition of 1549 and the Restoration text of 1662 my edition contains the Elizabethan version of 1559. This was the text Shakespeare would have been familiar with – and also the one used by John Donne when he was Dean of Old St Paul’s in the 1620s. I also include more or less a small book of explanatory notes, in which I endeavour to explain the politics which brought it into being, the religious motivations which inspired it, its revisions, and how it caused trouble right through the Civil War and beyond.

In my mind, I fostered the simile of the Book of Common Prayer as an English church building such as St Paul’s Cathedral. There is what you see at first sight – how this monument appears today; but there is also a kind of visible archaeology of

I’m not a religious person. I don’t even go to church on Sundays. I often question whether or not I even believe. What I do know is that when someone I care about is hurting, upwards is where I turn. So, I call upon Him now. #pray4Alex

Izzy’s Popstar Plan

 Marestaing, Alex (2011) Izzy’s Popstar Plan. Thomas Nelson Publishing. ISBN 9781400316540. Author recommended age: tweens. Litland.com recommends age 13+, with parents discerning if appropriate for younger readers.

 Publisher’s description:  Izzy Baxter has big plans-popstar plans. Ever since she was six, she’s dreamed of becoming the world’s next singing sensation. Now sixteen, her singing career is on the rise, and she’s been selected to compete on the hit TV show International Popstar Challenge. As Izzy performs in far off locations such as Tokyo and Paris, it seems as if her plans are coming off without a hitch. But God has plans of His own, and Izzy will soon discover that living for Him is “way cooler” than megastar fame.

 Our thoughts:

 Living in the world but not of it…that is what many of us try to do. It means to take part in the world, enjoy the good, and stay away from that which is bad for our well being.  If your family enjoys those American-idol type reality shows, then here’s a book for you.

 With dialogue uniquely formatted as a blog, we follow Izzy’s adventure into stardom, complete with its struggles. Healthy choices, redefining the meaning of friendship, setting boundaries, and learning from mistakes all come into the picture. The blog entries are short but poignant in a quick-to-read format. This makes it of interest to all tweens and teens, advanced and reluctant readers alike. Although focused on a female character, boys in the crowd might enjoy it…nothing too mushy or girlie—after all, she is a rock star!

 The real world of the American teen/tween today is full of cable TV shows creating (or cloning?) one pop star after another Lizzie McGuire style, from which come the cd’s, concerts, clothes and books. The scripts have formulas:  cute girl faces typical teen problems and, with help of friends, makes decisions independently. In the process, parents and other authority figures typically exist as props to be manipulated, bumbling fools believing any lie. Even boys the same age as the main character often play a secondary role. In these shows and books, friends and family exist to serve the girl.  Many parents are tired of this entertainment forming the attitude of their kids.

 In walks Izzy the pop star, just as cool but better. She misses her mom, loves and respects her dad and brother, family and friends are everything. On the road to stardom, she learns that respect and integrity are non-negotiable. This author is “in tune” with today’s teen and Izzy’s Popstar Plan meets kids where they are at…in their real world. She deals with real teen issues such as lying to her father to sneak out of her hotel and go on a date, her first kiss, the onslaught of materialism badgering teens today, the world’s definition of beauty vs. true beauty, etc. Don’t let the blog format fool you; the life lessons are poignant and run deep. She is faced time and time again with the challenge of being self-serving or selfless, often with adults putting pressure on her to make the wrong choice. It is not Disney babies, and I disagree with Amazon’s listing this for sale to 9-year olds. Because this 16-year old character deals with issues rather than childhood problems, Litland.com recommends this book for age 13+. Families should use discretion with younger readers.

Slowly catching up. Posted below are my five daily poems from April 20 through April 24. I'm already imagining the editing process on these poems. But for the time being, they will have to do. Consider them simply ideas captured---place holders awaiting final revision. Sometimes that's as good as it gets.


April 20—Write a message in a bottle poem. Imagine your poem is being rolled up and put in a bottle for someone to find and read.

To Whom It May Concern
By Bill Kirk

Hello out there—anyone.
This is my last recently emptied bottle.
I’ve been here a while—waiting.
The days I’ve counted number 173.
But I can’t be certain
I haven’t missed one or two.

Please hurry—well, at least
Get here as soon as you can.

I used to think everyone
Ought to have a chance
To be alone—solitary.
You know, to spend some quality time
Getting in touch with one’s self.
Been there. Done that.
No—Am here. Doing that.

Guess I can take that
Off my bucket list, right ahead of
“GET RESCUED.”

Please hurry—well, at least
Get here as soon as you can.


April 21—Write a second thoughts poem. You could have second thoughts about something you’ve done or thought in the past. You could write something about someone (or something else) having second thoughts. Or you could even take a poem you wrote earlier in the month and flip it in a new direction.

On Second Thought
By Bill Kirk

Second thoughts have pros and cons;
They have their goods and bads.
A second thought can save the day
Or turn your glads to sads.

Second thoughts for some are weak.
They say we hesitate—
As if allowing time to think
Suggests we’ll be too late.

Others say the best approach
Is leaving ample space,
For second thoughts to bounce around
And win the thinking race.

Just remember, if in doubt,
It’s wise to heed the id.
Its best advice? “On second thought,
Let’s not and say we did!”


April 22—Today is Good Friday and Earth Day. Write an “only one in the world” poem. This only one in the world might be a person, an animal, a place or an object. Think of someone or something else and write.

Earth As An “Only One”
By Bill Kirk

Granted, what I know
Has its limitations.
But wouldn’t you have to agree,
Earth in its unitary form is, indeed,
The only one of its kind in the world,
And that earth and the conditions
That make it possible,
Are universally singular?

In fact, how can it be any other way?
For nothing can be exactly
And precisely duplicated,
On earth or elsewhere.
So, everything
On the earth,
In the earth,
Of the earth and
Beyond the earth is
Totally,
Inexorably,
Unquestionably
Unique.
The End.


April 23—Write a quit doing what you’re doing poem. This could be about something you need to quit doing or that someone or something should quit doing.

Ode To Inertia
By Bill Kirk

Inertia is a funny thing,
Whether a body’s
At rest or in motion.
If inertia comes into play,
By its very nature,
It always involves
The quitting of some particular thing.

For example, overcoming
The inertia of running
Means you will slow down
And maybe stop.
Taking a nap? Time to
Wake up and move,
And so forth and so on….

Figurative inertia gets even better.
Movement, or lack of movement, notwithstanding,
That meal you are eating or
That game you are playing or
That dissertation you are writing or
That job you would just as soon not be doing
Will hopefully, eventually, end�