Book of Occasional Services, The (BOS)

Book of optional services and texts prepared by the Standing Liturgical Commission in response to a directive from the General Convention of 1976 to replace The Book of Offices (third edition, 1960). The services and texts of the BOS are available for “occasional” pastoral and liturgical needs of congregations. The BOS includes special materials for the church year (such as forms for Seasonal Blessings, a Christmas Festival of Lessons and Music, and a service for All Hallows' Eve); Pastoral Services (such as forms for Welcoming New People to a Congregation, the rites of the Catechumenate, and a form for the Blessing of a Pregnant Woman); and Episcopal Services (such as forms for the Reaffirmation of Ordination Vows and the Welcoming and Seating of a Bishop in the Cathedral). The Preface to the BOS notes that “None of it is required, and no congregation is likely to make use of all of it.”