BRISTOL SCHOOLS COMPETITION WINNERS CELEBRATE 350TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER
Pupils from Bristol schools as far apart as the St George, Westbury-on-Trym and Redcliffe areas of the city have won prizes in a competition organised to mark this years 350th anniversary of the Book of Common Prayer.
The contest formed part of a year-long programme of events announced earlier this year by Christ Church City in Bristols Broad Street, one of the few churches which still conducts services using the evocative time-honoured language of both the traditional Book of Common Prayer and The King James Bible.
The Celebrating Prayer in England competition organised by Bristols Diocesan Board of Education was open children aged between five and 16 in local authority and independent schools in Bristol. Duringthe prize giving ceremony on Tuesday 26th June at Christ Church City, the winning pupil in each category of the competition was presented with an inscribed copy of the Book of Common Prayer by Father Richard Hoyal, parish priest of Christ Church and a trustee of The Prayer Book Society, the national body which promotes continuing use of the Book of Common Prayer.
The winners were as follows (click on a name to see their work):
(7) of St Georges Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School who won the competition for Key Stage One children aged between five and seven. They were invited to create paintings on the theme Lighten our darkness, the opening words of the Third Collect spoken during the service of Evening Prayer.
(10) of Elmlea Junior School in Westbury-on-Trym who won the competition for Key Stage Two pupils aged between seven and 11. They were asked to produce posters and written work explaining Sin and what is it? The topic was inspired by the words which form part of the General Confession used at both the Morning and Evening Prayer services: We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, and we have done those things we ought not to have done.
(12) of St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School who won the competition for Key Stages Three and Four secondary school pupils aged between 11 and 16. They were required to write an essay on the topic War and Peace, a reference to one of the intercessions used at Morning and Evening Prayer: Give peace in our time, O Lord. Because there is none other that fighteth for us, but only thou, O God.
Each of the three schools won a cash prize of 500.
Commendations were awarded to runners-up in each category as follows (click on a name to see their work; asterisks denote 'highly commended'):
Key Stage One: St Georges Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School pupils
Miffy Ono-Stott* (7),
Henry Flanagan-Flint (6),
Jackson Tucker (7) and
Maya Kozak (6);
Key Stage Two: Elmlea Junior School pupils
Zulaikha van den Bos* (10) and
Maisie Witherden (10); St Georges Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School pupils
Ruth McKenzie (11) and
Eleanor Rogers (11), and
Poppy Miners-Smith (11) of Ashton Gate Primary School;
Key Stages Three and Four: St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School pupils
Reuben Staples-Burton* (14),
Matt Chapman (15),
Aaron Campbell (11) and
Elizabeth Muir (15).
Music at the prize giving ceremony was provided by Jonathan Price, organist at Christ Church City.
The Prayer Book written by Archbishop Thomas Cranmer who visited the church which stood on the site of Christ Church City in 1534 contains many phrases which have become familiar parts of everyday speech. Among those in common use are: 'til death us do part'; 'read, mark, learn and inwardly digest'; 'peace in our time' and ashes to ashes. After the Holy Bible, the Book of Common Prayer is the most frequently cited book in the Oxford Dictionary of Quotations.