Commentary, History, and other Documents

• Information Sheet for Baptisms (PDF). Detailed information required for Services of Holy Baptism
• Information Sheet for Matrimony (PDF). Detailed information required for Services of Holy Matrimony
• Ecclesia Anglicana: A History of the English Church (goes to a new page). A monograph by the Rector, The Ven. Guy P. Hawtin. Also available as a downloadable PDF (suitable for printing as a booklet on legal-size paper).
• The Remarkable History of St Stephen’s Altar (goes to a new page). The altar at St Stephen’s is a truly remarkable example of 19th-century woodworking. This brief monograph details its origins and describes how it came to reside at St Stephen’s. Also available as a downloadable PDF (suitable for printing as a booklet on legal-size paper).
• Rubrician Coat of Arms (PDF). A Coat of Arms for "The Society for the Preservation and Observance of the Rubrics of the Book of Common Prayer", a.k.a. "The Rubricians".
• Choir Trifold (PDF). An advertising brochure for our Choir of Men and Boys. Copies are available at the church, or you can print your own.
• Saint Stephens Trifold (PDF) (ODT) An advertising brochure for the Parish. Copies are available at the church, or you can print your own. These are particularly made available at the Cookie Walk and the Garden Party, when we have lots of outside visitors.

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Liturgical Material

• Scripture Verses. The selected Bible Verses which appear in the box on the left side of this page are drawn from those used liturgically in the Prayer Book. You can find a complete list of them on this page.
  

  Prayers for Special Occasions

• Original collects. Our Chief Liturgical Officer has written a number of original prayers for various and sundry occasions—some of them more sundry than others. You can find all of them on their very own page.
• Collects for the Armed Forces (PDF). A Collect for the Armed Forces, along with collects for Times of War and for Those Wounded in War, from A Book of Offices: Services for Occasions Not Provided For in The Book of Common Prayer, published in 1917. We regularly use the first of these at the 11:15 AM Sunday Office of Morning Prayer.
• Collects for 9/11 (PDF) (ODT). These three Collects, For the Dead, For Our Enemies, and For Victory, were used at St Stephen’s Commemorations of the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11.
• Oratio choristæ (PDF). A Latin translation of the RSCM Chorister’s Prayer. St Stephen’s Choir of Men and Boys is affiliated with the Royal School of Church Music, and the Choir uses the Chorister’s Prayer as their preparation for every service, led by the Head Chorister. A previous Head Chorister indicated an interest in leading the prayer in Latin, and so we provided this translation. (Instead of downloading a file, you can read the prayer, along with the original English version, here.)

Service Resources

At St Stephen’s we use the 1662 Book of Common Prayer for Holy Communion, for Mattins on Sunday mornings, and at Choral Evensongs. Since the 1662 services differ somewhat from the 1928 version, and since we don’t have copies of the 1662 BCP in the pews for parishioners, we have a number of aids that we use (both for the congregation and for the various sacred ministers).

• To facilitate the use of the 1662 BCP at Eucharist services, we prepared an Altar Book containing the materials necessary for the celebrants an ministers at the altar. Recently we prepared an expanded version, which includes an extended selection of saint’s days, along with the propers (collects, Epistles, and Gospels) for all observances in the church year; a large selection of solemn sung prefaces; and an extended selection of prayers, collects, thanksgivings, and benedictions. Because of its size, the revised edition has been split into two version>
  

  Version	PDF	Editable Version
  Altar Book, Original 2011 version	PDF	n/a
  Altar Book, 2020 version, Volume I The Proper of the Season Propers for National Days and Civil Commemorations The Order for Holy Communion Propers for Special Occasions Prayers, Collects, and Thanksgivings Benedictions	PDF	ODT
  Altar Book, 2020 version, Volume II The Kalendar The Proper of Saints The Common of Saints Sources	PDF	ODT

• Horn Book for Holy Communion (PDF). This "horn book" is provided for congregational use during Holy Communion. The only change in the congregational part is the Lord’s Prayer, but there are also some small changes in the order of the sections of the Mass. The horn book is distributed as a laminated letter-size sheet printed front and back. It is also available in a large print edition on tabloid paper.
• Narthex Cards (PDF) (ODT). A prayer is generally said by one of the ministers before and after each service, either at the back of the church (for principal services) or at the side entrance (for weekday services). The pre–service prayer is generally one of the Sunday collects, but others may be substituted. The post–servics prayer is almost invariably the collect "In the Evening" (known as the "Hush" prayer, because of the tendency of the choir, and many in the congregation, to join in saying the ‘sh’ in the word "hush").
• Horn Book Prayer Cards (PDF) (ODT). There are a number of places in the Eucharist where the priest or other minister faces the congregation, rather than the altar. For the benefit of junior clergy (or, as appropriate, lay ministers) who haven’t memorized those sections of the liturgy, we have prepared these mini–altar cards. These are printed on letter–size paper (with the design on the back), trimmed, laminated, and then cut in half.
• Whole State Prayer Card (PDF). At St Stephen’s, certain parts of the liturgy—viz., the Prayer for the Whole State of Christ’s Church, the Prayer of Humble Access, and the Post-Communion Prayer—are, at the discretion of the celebrant, said by the sub–deacon of the Mass, who is on the far side of the celebrant from the altar missal. These cards are provided for the benefit of that minister. Note that, since St Stephen’s uses the 1662 BCP, there are subtle differences in the Prayer for the Whole State.
• Preparation at the Foot of the Altar (PDF) (ODT) The clergy regularly use this rite in the sacristy before the service. It was originally part of the Mass in the Tridentine Rite, but Archbishop Cranmer omitted it, retaining only the Lord’s Prayer. It is common, however, for clergy in Anglo-Catholic or in High Church parishes to use the rite as part of their communal preparations for the service. This version invokes Saint Stephen, the parish’s patron saint, but other parishes may wish to substitute their own patron, and any other saints who are particularly meaningful to the clergy or parish.
• Mattins Suffrages after the Creed (PDF) (ODT). Saint Stephen’s uses the 1662 BCP for its services, and there are several subtle differences in the Officiant’s parts during the suffrages after the creed. (The versicles and responses are also different for the congregation, too, but those are generally printed in the Order of Service.)
• Horn Book for Mattins (PDF) (ODT) (PDF without music). This "horn book" is provided for congregational use during Mattins. The only significant changes for the congregation are in the suffrages after the Creed. Plainsong versions of the preces and responses are provided for optional use.
• Intercessory Prayers at Mattins (PDF) (PAGES). As a convenience for the Officiant, this "horn book" provides the general structure for the intercessory prayers at the end of Mattins, with several of the standard prayers included.
• At the end of Mattins, after the sermon, the Officiant may read some number of intercessory prayers before the Blessing. There is a small collection of prayers which are especially popular with the Parish’s lay officiants, so they are collected here on a set of cards.
  

  Set	Contents	PDF	Editable Version
  1	For the Victims of an Act of Terrorism; For the Cessation of Violence; For the Victims of Hatred; For the Works of Faith; For the Refugees of the World.	PDF	PAGES
  2	For All True Martyrs; For the Victims of Oppression; For Control of Speech; For Safety from a Natural Cataclysm; For the Victims of a Natural Cataclysm; For Civil Discourse.	PDF	PAGES
  3	For the Victims of Genocide; A Collect for Purity; The Westminster Abbey Prayer; For Our Enemies; For a Soul in Distress; For Veterans Suffering from PTSD; For Faithfulness.	PDF	PAGES
  4	A Prayer of St Benedict; For Mission; For the Sick; For Memorial Services, and other occasions; After Worship.	PDF	ODT

  Services for Special Occasions

• Blessing of the Hounds (PDF). An order of service for The Blessing of the Hounds. Used in the past at parish picnics on Christ the King Sunday (the last Sunday in October), with members of the Carrollton Hunt in attendance.
• The Setting Apart of Sub-Deacons (PDF). An order of service for the Setting Apart of Sub-Deacons, adapted from the ancient rite for the Setting Apart of Deaconesses, to be used at Holy Communion before the reading of the Epistle. We have used this service to recognize those gentlemen who have been accepted as Postulants for Holy Orders.
• The Consecration of Holy Oils (PDF). An Anglican Rite for the Consecration of Holy Oils (viz., the Oil for the Sick, the Oil for the Catechumens, and Balsam and Oil for the Chrism).