Struggling to make the change? - Canon B 2

Continued use of services which have ceased to be authorized: new provision in Canon B 2

Authorization of most of the Alternative Service Book 1980 ceased on 31 December 2000. (The Book of Common Prayer continues to be available for use and is therefore not affected.)

It was recognized that a minority of parishes faced difficulties in completing the changeover from the ASB to Common Worship by the end of the year. For example, if the benefice is vacant, parishes may wish to delay decisions about worship until the new incumbent arrives.

Canon B 2 has been amended to enable bishops to permit individual parishes to continue - for a limited period - to use forms of service that are no longer authorized generally.

Under the new provision parishes may petition their bishop for permission to continue using specific ASB services. They will need to give reasons, in respect of each individual form of service, why they feel unable to complete the changeover in time.

If the bishop decides to give permission, it will be for a limited period (the maximum is three years), which he may renew for one further period (maximum of two years). The House of Bishops recommends that this new provision should be used 'to provide a parish with the time and space it needs to make or complete the process of introduction of the new forms of service, and not as an opportunity simply to delay that process'.

Reasons why the bishop may consider it appropriate to grant approval include the following:

• a vacancy in the benefice;
• time needed to work out a satisfactory pattern of worship using the new forms of service;
• recent substantial expenditure meaning that time is needed to find the necessary finance. In this case, the parish may need advice on producing inexpensive local editions of the new forms of service that it will use;
• where a parish is part of a Local Ecumenical Partnership, time may be needed for consultations with ecumenical partners.

Application

The application must be made to the bishop by the minister (or, if there is no minister, the rural or area dean), following a decision of the PCC - ideally it should have been made before 31 December 2000. Applications cannot be made after 31 December 2001.

Applications should state:

• the particular places of worship within the parish to which the application relates;
• the period for which approval is sought;
• the specific forms of service for which continued use is sought (eg ASB Rite A Holy Communion);
• full reasons why the application is being made in respect of each of the individual forms of service.

For full details, including information regarding other places of worship, see the Guidelines issued by the House of Bishops. This booklet, which includes the application form and a model resolution for the PCC, is available from Church House Bookshop, priced at £1.90. Follow this link to order a copy.

© The Archbishops' Council of the Church of England, 2000
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