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Variations on a Prayer

September 25, 2024

Versions of the Lord’s Prayer for the fall of 2024:

We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time.

~ T.S. Eliot

This fall we are using different versions of the Lord’s Prayer during our service, from both older and more modern sources.  We hope this is an opportunity and invitation to “hear anew” some of the profound insights and implications that are contained in this simple prayer that Jesus taught his followers to say.

Below are some of the prayers we have included this fall. If you have a version you would like to share, please reach out to the Minister.


Traditional Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name;
thy kingdom come;
thy will be done;
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation;
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
the power and the glory,
for ever and ever.
   Amen.


September 15, 2024

by the Rev. Jacob Trapp

O Thou, whose kingdom is within, may all thy names be hallowed.  May no one of them be turned against the others to divide those who address Thee.

May thy presence be made known to us in mercy beauty, love and justice.  May thy kingdom come to be in the life of all humankind.  May it come with peace, with sharing, and in a near time.

Give us this day our daily bread, free from all envy and alienation, broken and blessed in the sharing.

Keep us from trespass against others, and from the feeling that others are trespassing against us.  Forgive us more than we have forgiven.

Deliver us from being tempted by lesser things to be heedless of the one great thing: the gift of thyself in us.   Amen.


September 22, 2024

by the Rev. John Burciaga

God who is over all,
and yet inside each and every one of us,
we honor your Name.
May you rule in all hearts
everywhere.
We pray for our daily food
and to be forgiven our wrongdoing,
as we forgive the wrongdoings of others.
Guide us through temptation
and protect us from evil.
And all dominion, power and glory
be yours forever.
   Amen.


September 29, 2024

by the Rev. Jeffrey Barz-Snell

Gracious God, who is both the source and aim of our existence,
May your place in our lives be revered and kept distinct.
Thy kingdom come, may your will be done, through the work of our hearts and hands.
Grant us this day our portion of what we need to live,
And forgive us when we fall short (of who we can truly be), as we forgive those who have fallen short with us.
And let us not give in to our lesser selves,
But deliver us from both the inner and outer forms of darkness.
For you are the source of our hope and the light of our inspiration,
for as long we are and will be.   Amen.


October 6, 2024

Unattributed

God, lover of us all, most holy one.
Help us to respond to you. To create what you want for us here on earth.
Give us today enough for our needs.
Forgive our weak and deliberate offences, just as we must forgive others when they hurt us.
Help us to resist evil and to do what is good.
For we are yours, endowed with your power to make your world whole.
   Amen.


October 13, 2024

from The New Zealand Book of Common Prayer, inspired by the Maori Peoples

Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and that shall be,
Father and Mother of us all,
Loving God, in whom is heaven:

The hallowing of your name echo through the universe!
The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world!
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings!
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom
sustain our hope and come on earth.

With the bread we need for today, feed us.
In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us.
In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us.
From trials too great to endure, spare us.
From the grip of all that is evil, free us.
For you reign in the glory of the power that is love,
now and for ever.

   Amen.


October 20, 2024

by Parker Palmer
(inspired by Matthew 6: 9-13, Luke 11: 2-4)

Heavenly Father, heavenly Mother,
Holy and blessed is your true name.
We pray for your reign of peace to come,
We pray that your good will be done,
Let heaven and earth become one.
Give us this day the bread we need,
Give it to those who have none.
Let forgiveness flow like a river between us,
From each one to each one.
Lead us to holy innocence
Beyond the evil of our days —
Come swiftly Mother, Father, come.
For yours is the power and the glory and the mercy:
Forever your name is All in One.
   Amen.