Dear Covenant Community,

When I first came to Covenant a few years ago, I was initiated into a spiritual practice which began with an interim pastor during Covid, when all church meetings were online. If you are not on a committee here, you may not have experienced this. At the end of a meeting, either online or online/in-person, the group says the Lord’s prayer “together”. The voices in this case will never be unified like they (mostly) are when we are all in person. The technology, which automatically picks up the speaker in a zoom meeting, isn’t quite sure what to do when everyone is praying, so different words come out clearly from different people- heaven, hallowed, kingdom, will, earth, bread, forgive, lead, temptation, thine, kingdom, power, glory. Sometimes it can make me giggle, this popcorn like Lord’s prayer. But a few times it’s brought tears to my eyes as I pause and listen to the murmuring of prayer, the varied tone of voice, accent, volume. 

This ancient prayer that Jesus taught us is as subversive as it is true. This prayer which claims that God’s kingdom is above all earthly kingdoms; this prayer which asks only for enough bread for the day and enough strength to resist temptation. The plea for forgiveness as we forgive one another. The bold request to be delivered from evil because thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. As we walk through our days this Thanksgiving week, may those words come to mind either through our intentional prayers, or the quiet disjointed prayers of God’s people all over the world like a murmur just below the surface, underneath all the noise. Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.