Reviewed in: ANVIL Volume 19 No 4
Review date: 2002
The Kenyan Service of Holy Communion 1989 is one of the most significant liturgical developments in the Anglican Communion. There has been much talk of inculturation in churches but here is one concrete example that has caught the imagination of many. It was used to open the Lambeth Conference and while yet to be translated into the vernaculars is regularly used at English speaking servies in Kenya. This book provides a commentary onthis rite and on the other Modern Services. The text of the Holy Communion is included and comments are made about the origins of the prayers. While based on the 1662 BCP, an unusual starting point in current liturgical revision, much has been included from African sources. This book shows that a variety of factors have contributed to the service, Anglican tradition, African Prayers, the contemporary context, the East African Revival, and original local composition. The book is a great help to those looking at contemporary Anglican worship in Africa. It is set in the wider context of Anglican encouragement of inculturation and African themes e.g. walking in the light, and the place of ancestors. It might have been improved by setting the whole enterprise in a wider context. Some comparison with the Anglican and Roman Catholic work in the Congo would have been helpful. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church could have provided comparative examples of interrogatives in prayer. Pointing to further work on the place of ancestors e.g. Benezet Bujo, or even a contrast with the Zaire Mass might have shown the Kenyan position more clearly.
In the second half of the book there is some interesting discussion of services observed in fieldwork. This helps give the book a flavour of Kenya. It would have been significantly improved if this method had been reflected on more. This is a key area in liturgical studies that is worthy of more investigation.