11 December 2025
Whereas, the General Convention has authorized multiple liturgies for use throughout the Church in addition to those printed in The Book of Common Prayer; and,
Whereas, some of the liturgies authorized for use by General Convention require the approval of the Ecclesiastical Authority; and,
Whereas, the Canons of The Episcopal Church, in particular II.4.4, provide that liturgies not authorized by General Convention may be used for a season, including on Sundays for the primary Eucharist of a parish, but that such liturgies must be submitted in writing to the Ecclesiastical Authority for approval prior to their use; and,
Whereas, one of the criteria that the Ecclesiastical Authority will use to determine if the liturgy not approved by General Convention is suitable for use in a parish is whether or not the culture from which the liturgy originates is shared by those in the parish, or not, and whether, therefore, use of the liturgy could be construed in any way as cultural appropriation; and,
Whereas, one of the criteria that the Ecclesiastical Authority will use to determine if a liturgy not approved by General Convention is suitable for use in a parish is whether or not the parish has obtained a written copyright license/permission to use the proposed liturgy; therefore be it,
Resolved, that the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes, affirms that those liturgies authorized for use by the General Convention but that are not contained within the Book of Common Prayer (e.g. all volumes of Enriching Our Worship, The Celebration and Blessing of a Marriage II, The Blessing of a Civil Marriage II, An Order for Marriage II), as found on the official website of the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music of The Episcopal Church , are available for use by all communities gathering for worship within this Diocese; and be it further,
Resolved, that the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes authorizes the clergy and licensed lay worship leaders of this Diocese to use all of the Alternative Liturgies authorized by General Convention that require the permission of the Ecclesiastical Authority (i.e. The Good Friday Alternative Liturgy); and be it further,
Resolved, that the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes authorized the clergy and licensed lay worship leaders of this Diocese to use The Psalter for the Christian People: An Inclusive Language ReVision of the Psalter of the Book of Common Prayer as an alternative text for the appointed Psalm(s) at all liturgies conducted within this Diocese; and be it further,
Resolved, that the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes affirms that all liturgical texts, prayers, and music used at any public worship service within this Diocese may only be used after first obtaining a written copyright license, or written permission from the copyright holder, if the liturgy is held under copyright; and be it further,
Resolved, that the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of the Great Lakes commends to all the clergy and licensed lay worship leaders of this Diocese that attention to the cultural origins of a liturgy, and the cultural context in which it will be employed, must both be considered carefully when selecting a liturgy for use in public worship; in particular, liturgies developed by, or collaboratively including, indigenous people are likely not appropriate for use by congregations without a significant presence of indigenous members (unless the liturgy is explicitly for use by such congregations).