If you said The Lord's Prayer at school in the '70s...

[AgentProvocateur]

Apart from weddings and funerals, I am not a churchgoer, but I was at a service today and the Lord's Prayer was said. Now, I've not said it since primary school, but it came flooding back, except I said "Forgive us our debts" as the rest of the congregation said "Forgive us our trespasses". Has it changed over the years, or was my primary school out of line with everyone else?

It was trespasses in Ireland... Forgive us our debts?

Yes - we used to say "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors". I'm SURE we did!

It has changed.

It was always "debts/debtors". Last time I went to church (couple of years ago), it still was.

Trespasses in England, never heard of debts being said.

It was always trespasses/trespassers here (CofE school and church, mid 70s). I only came across it being debts/debtors as an adult and it sounds totally wrong to me.

We said trespasses in the mid 80s. But it has changed in places since then. I think they've modernised the language in places. Last time I had to say it I felt v out of touch.

Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.

It was trespasses in 80s/90s English school too if my experience anything to go by.

Trespasses/those who trespass against us for us. Catholic school in 70s/80s.

Not trespasser/debtor sorry, shouldn't post while distracted.

How odd, never heard "debts" before, is it a scottish thing?

Debts/debtors at school in 60s and 70s.

My church (CofS) says something different

"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us"

CoS use debt/debtors. The Roman Catholic Church and CofE use trespass.

debts is in the church of scotland version
trespasses catholic and coe versions

I was at Catholic school in the 90s, and we always said 'trespasses,' but DH went to Church of Scotland Sunday School in the 80s and they said 'debts.'

DH's brother got made an elder in his CoS church and I went along to the service. When they said the Our Father I said 'trespasses' and DH was knotting himself. He was like 'you've blown your cover, they all know you're a Tim now!'

Our Father, Harold be thy name.....

trespasses when I was a girl!

Debts/debtors at Glasgow & highland schools in 60s and 70s.

My church (CofS) says something different

"Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us"

In my experience trespasses is a catholic thing (we said trespasses at school RC school) Debts is a Church of Scotland thing (said at Brownie services in cos church))

It was always trespasses when I was at school but it got updated to sins.

I had to say it (much to my dismay) and I went to school in the 90's - its always been trespasses for me

No there are just variations of it (as in the bible). As there are different versions of the bible, King James, NIV etc, the Lord's Prayer is also from the bible and will vary depending on the translation, so different churches may say it differently. That's what I would suggest anyway :)

I learnt trespasses, but when i go to church (methodist) they say sins and the whole things diffrent.

Ive just asked dd1 to say it, and she said the version i know she goes to a catholic school.

I have never heard of the word debts used in the lord's prayer. I was at primary school in the 1960s and it was trespasses, and has remained so ever since. I'm C of E BTW.

What part of the UK uses debts?

Different bibles mean different wordings