The Anglican Family Prayer Book

A.J. Pell is rector of Christ Church in Hope, B.C., editor of the
Canadian Evangelical Review, and an instructor of Liturgy, Anglican
Studies Programme at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C.

This little book is intended as a resource to help make the family home
a place of prayer and worship. It is child-friendly, using large print
and sized for a child to hold easily. It is parent-friendly, with short
notes scattered through the book to help parents understand the various
ways of praying and of communicating that understanding to their
children. Arranged in logical sections such as “Praying Through the
Day” and “Prayers for People and Occasions,” it provides simple
prayers, both classic and modern.

Yet for all its wonderful features, it has a startling omission that
undermines its intent to help a family worship through the day, the
week, and the year. The section “Prayers for the Church Year” has no
mention of Holy Week—the days beginning with Palm Sunday and ending on
Good Friday. Easter suddenly appears as the day “Christ has risen from
the dead.” When did he die? How did he die? Why did he die? There is
no help for parents seeking to incorporate the central Christian reality
of the Cross into family worship in a way appropriate for their
children. This important omission makes this book a questionable
investment.