Church turns the clock to 1811

From New York-

In 1811, at the communion service at Trinity Episcopal Church, the Rev. Samuel Fuller read from the 1789 version of the Book of Common Prayer. The minister wore a black academic robe and no vestments. Most of the worshippers were illiterate.

But the language of the prayers was as beautiful and dramatic as the empire waist dresses worn by the women of the congregation who recited the Our Father, one of the few prayers they knew, said the Rev. Jay North, now the rector at Trinity.
It was an "enlightening time," said North, who will lead a traditional 1811 Mass on Sunday to celebrate the church's bicentennial.

He will read from the 1789 prayer book and an 1815 Bible once owned by Philip Van Rensselaer, which was recently discovered in the church. Members of the congregation will don early 19th-century garb.

"In trying to better understand the past, we learn more about where we have come from and this helps us to better understand where we want to go," North said.

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