The Lord's Prayer

Songs have a funny way of staying with you. The songs we learn as children tend not to go away, even into later years. Some of them we might prefer to forget! 


Using songs as an educational tool to aid the memorising of important material has a long-standing and successful record. The Bible tells us that Moses was given instructions to give to the people in the form of a song, specifically so they wouldn't forget. There were plenty of us, no doubt, who learned the alphabet, or times tables - or even the books of the Bible, through songs.


Today we decided to add our names to the long list of song-writers who have set the Lord's Prayer to music (Matthew 6). Probably, a couple of hundred years ago, children would have all been able to recite this passage as a matter of course - not that that was the point for it being given to us. But these days it's unlikely many children have even heard the Lord's Prayer, let alone know or understand it. A retired Head Teacher was recently bemoaning his experience at a funeral, when children were unable to join in the Lord's Prayer because the words weren't included in the order of service.


In an assembly project that considers healthy living - whether physical, spiritual, emotional or social well-being - the prayer Jesus taught as a model is an invaluable one for us to learn and consider. So, should we keep to the original King James? Or paraphrase it in a way that could be more accessible, but might not be recognised as the Lord's Prayer? We decided to steer a route that navigates, as deftly as we could, through both paths! Two lines of the original, followed by a couple of lines that seek to unpack something of the heart of those words. 


It's a been a good day - challenging for sure, but hopefully this song will go somewhere towards teaching and facilitating some creative thinking and fresh understanding.


This landmark song sees us two-thirds of the way through this exciting new project!