The Lord’s Prayer: Jim Cotter’s Artful Reimagining

Rev. Jim Cotter’s version in the New Zealand Prayer Book brings a refreshing, inclusive perspective to The Lord's Prayer. By addressing God as "Eternal Spirit" and both "Mother and Father," it seeks justice, peace, and daily provision for all. Emphasising forgiveness, strength, and deliverance, it bridges traditional spirituality with modern concerns, concluding with a profound affirmation of divine love.

The Lord’s Prayer … (NZ Prayerbook)

Eternal Spirit,
Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver,
Source of all that is and shall be,
Mother and Father 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 all peoples on Earth;
Your heavenly will be done by all created beings;
Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain out 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 test, 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 forever.

AMEN

The Lord's Prayer - (an alternative version from the New Zealand Prayer Book 2005) ; written by Rev Jim Cotter (Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia).

Image Credit: Tarantula Nebula, Hubble Space Telescope (HST), European Southern Observatory (ESO), SS1024