Kent County Council has been led by the Reform Party since the local elections back in May 2025. However, after the most recent elections were held, the council have voted two things through for their Council Meetings: they will all end with the singing of the National Anthem, and they will all begin with the Lord’s Prayer. The National Anthem crops up all the time in civic events and meetings, so that’s not so controversial, but what do you make of the Lord’s Prayer being included?
I suspect that as a church fellowship we’ll have (as we often do) quite a wide spectrum of views on this. The UK is a constitutional monarchy with an ‘established’ church – the Church of England. King Charles III is the monarch and head of the Anglican church too. Those of you into antidisestablishmentarianism – sorry I had to get that word in – may be pleased it puts church and state alongside each other. (Very different from, say, our French neighbours, who keep church and state well apart.) So some may be pleased that a prayer is included in what would otherwise be a business-like, civic council meeting.
However, some have objected to the Lord’s Prayer’s inclusion on the grounds that a County Council today needs not just to reflect Christian beliefs but the variety of perspectives people have – various faiths as well as none. There have also been concerns raised that the Lord’s Prayer is not being prayer as an expression of faith, but said to express something of national identity. Of course, you can very easily find yourself on thin ice if you start assuming too much, especially as no-one but God alone can truly know our deepest feelings, including prayers.
What do I think? Here goes!
Well, the inclusion of prayers at civic events, council meetings and the like feels very natural to me. Having been Chaplain to the Mayor (our own Margaret Bannister) this last year, my role has included supporting the Mayor’s Harvest Service, Remembrance Day service in town, Civic Carols, the re-dedication of HMS Puncher. All these included worship of one form or another, or prayers being said – but to me feeling as if it was simply a matter of asking God’s blessing on Eastbourne and all its people, all its leaders and the most vulnerable. Our church meetings are (hopefully) infused with prayer, from opening to closing devotions to prayers within meetings themselves.
However, I also think that the inclusion of the Lord’s Prayer at any meeting – Kent County Council or otherwise – should never, ever be used if it’s intended as an expression of Christian nationalism. You know what I mean –the misappropriation of Christian faith, symbolism or identity to express not glory of God, but glory only of nation. Sadly that tends to be a perspective that quickly leads that sets one nation over another too. It’s only a few months ago that some US soldiers were complaining about being told that war against Iran was some sort of divine plan – see this article for more: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/03/us-israel-iran-war-christian-rhetoric
For any who would recite the Lord’s Prayer not as a prayer at all, but as some form of nationalist statement, I would be quick to remind them of the following: the Lord’s Prayer was initiated by a Palestinian called Yeshua (Jesus), whose first language was Aramaic and who was born poor to working class parents. As a child he fled his country as a refugee from persecution and sought sanctuary in a foreign land.
I’d also remind them that the Lord’s Prayer was recorded as being first taught by this man to a mixture of Jewish and Gentile people from the Middle East. It was also recorded by two writers – one probably from a Jewish background, the other Gentile – and both writing in a common form of Greek, the most used language of the eastern Mediterranean at the time. The earliest copies of these texts came from modern day Syria and North Africa.
Yes, I think that anyone using the Lord’s Prayer to express something about English national identity is going to have to work very, very hard to do so.
The Lord’s Prayer is unique, precious, and Jesus-given. Perhaps the best thing to do is to use it, say it, and pray it as much as Jesus intended his friends to do as possible. If we do, we won’t go far wrong.
Rev. Paul
Excerpt taken from Emmanuel Magazine June 2026. The magazine, published ten times annually, features articles contributed or authored by our members. It includes a delightful blend of testimonials, devotions, book reviews, prayers, jokes, upcoming events, and more. Grab your copy of the latest magazine at the church foyer. If you prefer to receive a copy by mail or email, feel free to reach out to us.