Dear Good Samaritans,

It has been the tradition at Good Samaritan to switch from the traditional language Lord’s Prayer to the, other, contemporary version that we have in the Book of Common Prayer. And, so, this year we have continued in that tradition.

One thing you will notice is that the prayer is very specifically gendered; God is referred to as “Father.” While on the one hand this brings a level of familiarity and parental nature to God, it is also problematic. What about people who have a strained or hurtful relationship with their fathers? What about people who have two mothers, or grandparents, or even two fathers? How are they to use this prayer as a comforting way to reach out to God? While this is one of the most memorized and beloved prayers in Christianity, it can be extremely challenging for many people, and I want us to recognize that.

While not authorized for use in public worship in The Episcopal Church there are many more inclusive language versions of the Lord’s Prayer.

Perhaps the closest version to what we are used to is a version our diocese used in a liturgy for lament for gun violence in 2022:

Our Loving God in heaven,
hallowed be your Name,
Your kingdom come, your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Save us from the time of trial
and deliver us from evil.
For the dominion, the power, and the glory are yours,
now and forever. Amen.

The Rev. Bill Wallace, a retired Methodist Minister from New Zealand wrote this version:

O most Compassionate Life-giver,
may we honor and praise you;
may we work with you to establish your new order of justice peace and love;
Give us what we need for growth,
and help us, through forgiving others, to accept forgiveness.
Strengthen us in the time of testing, that we may resist all evil,
For all tenderness, strength and love are yours, now and forever.
Amen.

Parker Palmer, a prolific Quaker spiritual writer and educator offer another version that specifically refers to God as both Father and Mother:

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.

Neil Douglas-Klotz explains in his book Prayer of the Cosmos, “The traditional Lord’s prayer begins with “Our Father,” a translation of the word, “abba.” But the actual Aramaic transliteration is “Abwoon” which is a blending of “abba (father)” and “woon” (womb), This acts as Jesus’s recognition of the masculine and feminine source of creation.” He translates the prayer from Aramaic like this:

O Birther! Father-Mother of the Cosmos
Focus your light within us—make it useful.
Create your reign of unity now—
through our fiery hearts and willing hands.
Help us love beyond our ideals
and sprout acts of compassion for all creatures.
Animate the earth within us:
we then feel the Wisdom underneath supporting all.
Untangle the knots within
so that we can mend our hearts’ simple ties to each other.
Don’t let surface things delude us,
but free us from what holds us back from our true purpose.
Out of you, the astonishing fire,
returning light and sound to the cosmos.
Amen.

In their beautiful prayer book revision, A New Zealand Prayer Book, the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia provides an inclusive language version of the Lord’s Prayer in their daily office that also captures aspects of the indigenous component of their Province:

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.

As you are open, I’d encourage you to try exploring these different versions in your own prayer lives. Some you may find yourself loving, others you may absolutely hate. Both are perfectly fine responses (as well as everything in between). But, then I’d wonder: what language do you like/dislike and why?

I find that switching up which version I use periodically helps me to realize and appreciate aspects of my relationship with God that I may have forgotten. I hope it will do the same for you.

Happy praying!

Peace,

Fr. Chris