At the convention in January where representatives from all the Diocese of Washington churches gather to conduct legislative and administrative business, worship is woven throughout our time together. When it came time to say the Lord’s Prayer, Bishop Mariann invited all those present to say the prayer in “the language of their hearts.” The people of the Diocese of Washington come from exceptionally diverse backgrounds, so many languages were used in that moment: English, Spanish, French, Haitian Creole, Arabic, American Sign Language…. I do not know all the languages named, but I do know that I love that moment in Diocesan events because it is a moment when our desire to be welcoming of all of God’s children becomes incarnate; it takes on flesh. This moment that sounds a bit cacophonous is why I am okay with saying the Lord’s Prayer together with a small group over Zoom on Wednesday at noon, and why I think it is okay that we don’t all say the same version of the Lord’s Prayer during our Sunday morning worship.

Our prayerbook gives us two options—they are titled “traditional” and “contemporary designations that I am not sure are helpful. What is helpful for us to remember is that the Lord’s Prayer comes from our Holy Scriptures; it is the prayer that Jesus oered when his friends asked him to teach them to pray. On Wednesday, April 15 at 7:30 pm, I’ll oer a 1 hour Zoom discussion on these two options from our prayerbook. During services, Sarah, Michelle, and I intentionally all say different versions, but if you listen carefully, you can hear when we meet up on certain shared words; the text is formatted in the bulletin so that we can say these certain words together.

A couple years ago, I recommended learning the Lord’s Prayer in another language as an Easter discipline, and we said this prayer Jesus taught us together and yet all in different languages during our Pentecost celebration. I’d like for us to take this up again, but with a particular focus on strengthening connections that are currently strained and weakened. Consider learning the Lord’s Prayer in Spanish, Haitian Creole, or Somali as a way to pray with our migrant and refugee siblings. You could learn the Lord’s Prayer in a language of an area of the world affected by war: Ukrainian or Arabic. Learning the Lord’s Prayer in Russian, Mandarin, or Cantonese may help remind us that none of God’s children is our enemy, even if their leaders make decisions we disagree with.

This prayer that Jesus gave us is a true gift and contains within it much guidance about what it means to live as a follower of Jesus. This prayer has been prayed worldwide and for millennia. It has the power to remind us that we are all connected and all beloved children of God. This Easter season, during the 50 days between Easter Sunday and Pentecost Sunday, take up the practice of learning the Lord’s Prayer in a dierent language in thanksgiving and praise that God made us all, loves us all, and gives us to each other as a gift and blessing.