ABC picks up controversial prayer book

A Year of Grace, a collection of 365 mealtime prayers that was dropped by its Canadian distributor following complaints from some readers about its inclusion of non-Christian prayers, has been picked up by the Anglican Book Centre (ABC).

Rev. Bill Kervin, author of the book and professor of worship and liturgy at Emmanuel College, at the University of Toronto, said the back cover of his book does not hide the fact that some prayers have been drawn from other faiths besides Christianity.

ABC general manager Dan Benson said he contacted the American publisher who had acquired the U.S. rights to the book (first published in Britain) and offered to distribute it in Canada. “It’s a serious issue of censorship,” he said of R.G. Mitchell Family Books’ decision to drop the book.

He said that ABC has no trouble selling books such as A Year of Grace “because we tend to have a broader view of what Christianity is and how it intersects with other faiths.”

The book is selling well at ABC, Mr. Benson added.