The 1967 General Convention, the Episcopal Church’s governing body, authorized a “Plan for the Revision of the Book of Common Prayer.”[1] There were 14 drafting committees. One committee was charged with the revision of what it called “Pastoral Offices.” These included Marriage, Reconciliation, Ministration to the Sick, and the Burial of the Dead. It published its work in 1970, Prayer Book Studies 24.[2] This was not the first work on these rites. In 1959, Prayer Book Studies XIII described its work on the Burial Office this way, “It attempts to provide appropriately for the departed, the bereaved, and for the total congregation.”[3] In 1967, the Standing Liturgical Commission quoted these words as guidance for the new committee’s work.[4]
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