As human beings, we all have our strengths and
weaknesses.
We may say the same of each church and denominational
group of churches: they all have their strengths and weaknesses.
One abiding strength of churches in the Anglican
tradition has been, since 1549, their Book
of Common Prayer.
One strength of the Book
of Common Prayer in use by the Episcopal Church since 1979 is its “Confession
of Sin” (p. 360). As Christians, any of us may easily find edifying a daily
repetition of this prayer, whether alone or with other members of our family or
congregation.
I reproduce it here using the boldface type of the
original:
Most merciful God,
we confess that we
have sinned against you
in thought, word,
and deed,
by what we have
done,
and by what we
have left undone.
We have not loved
you with our whole heart;
We have not loved
our neighbors as ourselves.
We are truly sorry
and we humbly repent.
For the sake of
your Son Jesus Christ,
have mercy on us
and forgive us;
that we may
delight in your will,
and walk in your
ways,
to the glory of
your Name. Amen.