Contest marks 350 years of Book of Common Prayer

Ottawa-Young essayists ages 17 to 30 are invited to enter an essay competition in honour of the 350th anniversary of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer and the 50th anniversary of Canada’s 1962 Book of Common Prayer.

Entries, which may be written in either English or French, must be submitted via email by June 30, 2012. On Dec. 31, three prizes of $2,500, $1,500 and $750 will be awarded to winners of 3,000-word essays on the relevance of the Book of Common Prayer in the 21st century. Three eminent Anglican theologians will serve as judges.

The contest is sponsored by the Ottawa branch of the Prayer Book Society of Canada. “The prize money comes from an endowment made by Laura D. Young in 1992,” says Frances Macdonnell, treasurer of the society’s Ottawa branch and former organist at Ottawa’s Christ Church Cathedral.

Interested candidates or their teachers should contact Macdonnell ([email protected] / 613 726 7984) or the Rev. Dr. Ronald Hunt, rector of St. Bede Church in Nolan’s Corners ([email protected] / 613 283 0740).