The offices for the sick and dying are the forgotten child of the Book of Common Prayer. The rubric has not been updated since 1549, but much has changed since then. People go to hospitals and nursing homes instead of taking to their bed. With longer life spans and modern medicine, people are living longer and often experience more and longer hospitalizations. Visitation of the Sick has been shortened to reflect use in a hospital or nursing home instead of at home. The Reserved Sacrament is usually preferable when ministering to the sick. The Communion Service is intended for use by chaplains and parish clergy during visits to hospitals, nursing homes, and assisted living facilities. It could also be used outside of chaplaincy. Chaplains have found that many of those who are dying like to have the Psalms read to them, so the Psalter has been included from the 1928 BCP (except for Psalm 23, which is KJV).
