J. Chester Johnson at the main entrance to Lambeth Palace, London, England, where Thomas Cranmer is said to have compiled the first BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER in 1549. J. Chester Johnson was one of two poets (the other being W. H. Auden) on the drafting committee for the retranslation of the Psalms, contained in the current version of the BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, issued by the Episcopal Church (USA).