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The Lord's Prayer Is Now Contemporary

As I listened to the reports of the hijacking of the United Airlines flight that crashed in Pennsylvania, I heard the account of a telephone operator who received a call from one of the passengers. In the midst of their conversation, he had asked her to recite the Lord's Prayer with him.

That conversation got my attention. In our attempt to be contemporary, many worship services have jettisoned familiar worship elements such as The Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed. But now a basic flaw in that thinking stares us in the face. In the midst of crises, The Lord's Prayer is very contemporary. When people in our culture think of Christianity, this prayer stands as a connecting point to the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

For a newcomer, The Lord's Prayer is suddenly a vital part of a national experience. The events of September 11 force each of us to ask what words of faith give us strength and hope in the face of evil. What for us symbolizes God's grace in the face of death itself?

One of the vital roles of worship is to teach and form worshipers using the prayers and creeds that have sustained Christian believers over the years. When we completely abandon them, we fail to give newcomers and believers touch-points that have connected Christians from one generation to the next.

As you plan your worship in the coming days, take a look at how to incorporate some of the key prayers and creeds of the faith as a natural part of the flow. Remember to provide the words for worshipers in some form by putting them on a screen, in the bulletin, or by asking people to turn to the correct page in the hymnal or the Bible.

At the top of the list would be The Lord's Prayer and the Twenty-Third Psalm. From The United Methodist Hymnal you might want to use the following:

  • "Apostles' Creed," number 881
  • "A Statement of Faith of The United Church of Canada," number 883
  • "The Prayer of Saint Francis," number 481

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