Shattuck, Cynthia 1947-

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Shattuck, Cynthia 1947-

PERSONAL:

Born 1947.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Warwick, RI.

CAREER:

Writer, editor, and publishing executive. Morehouse Publishing and Church Publishing, vice president, editorial director. Cowley Publications, founding director.

WRITINGS:

(Editor, with Charles Hefling) The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey, Oxford University Press (New York, NY), 2006.

(Editor, with Fredrica Harris Thompsett) Confronted by God: The Essential Verna Dozier, Seabury Books (New York, NY), 2006.

Contributor to periodicals, including Anglican Theological Review. Anglican Theological Review, guest editor, winter, 2004.

SIDELIGHTS:

Writer and editor Cynthia Shattuck is an executive in the publishing industry and the editor, with Charles Hefling, of The Oxford Guide to the Book of Common Prayer: A Worldwide Survey. The guide contains numerous essays tracing the "origin and evolution of The Book of Common Prayer," noted Library Journal reviewer C. Brian Smith. The Book of Common Prayer originated in England in 1549. It spread quickly and widely, and was eventually found in all parts of the British Empire. Modern Anglicans still use a variety of prayer books based on the original sixteenth-century version. The contributors to Shattuck and Hefling's volume examine not only the British Book of Common Prayer, but other prayer books that were indigenous to Europe, North and South America, Asia, Africa, and elsewhere. Contributors also consider the future of the prayer book, as technology allows printed books to be supplanted by electronic versions. "This rich volume is sure to become the definitive source for studies of The Book of Common Prayer," commented a contributor to Publishers Weekly.

Confronted by God: The Essential Verna Dozier, edited by Shattuck and Fredrica Harris Thompsett, "honors the African American Christian educator" and lay theologian, noted a reviewer on TheLutheran.org. The editors present an extensive collection of Dozier's writings, along with additional material on the author and her times gleaned from interviews, oral histories, and other primary sources. Born in 1917, Dozier showed early academic promise and entered college early, eventually earning a master's degree. In her first career, Dozier spent more than thirty-five years as an English literature teacher and administrator in the Washington, DC, public school system. In 1975, however, she embarked on a new course as a workshop leader, Christian educator, and theologian with the Alban Institute. There, her skills as leader and inspirational speaker earned her recognition and acclaim, as did her abilities as a Bible teacher and a cogent voice for social justice. Dozier also supported the Alban Institute's mission of greater involvement of the laity in Christian congregations and ritual. Dozier "is honored in this wonderful collection of her writings," commented reviewers Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat on Spirituality & Practice. Shattuck and Thompsett's book "captures the essence of this proud, passionate, and pious woman," commented a Midwest Book Review critic.