Politicians are currently being consulted on the plans to change the passage, which is delivered at the start of each Parliamentary session.

The original prayer reads: “Almighty God, humbly acknowledging our need for Thy guidance in all things, and laying aside all private and personal interests, we beseech Thee to grant that we may conduct the affairs of this House and of our country to the glory of Thy holy name, the maintenance of true religion and justice, the honour of the Queen, and the public welfare, peace, and tranquillity of New Zealand, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

According to Radio New Zealand, is it understood MPs have already rejected a more radical rewriting of the prayer would have removed all religious references.

The suggested new version says: “Almighty God, we give thanks for the blessings which have been bestowed on New Zealand.

“Laying aside all personal interests, we pray for guidance in our deliberations, that we may conduct the affairs of this House with wisdom and humility, for the public welfare and peace of New Zealand.

“Amen.”

Read out by the Speaker of the House at the Parliament buildings in Wellington (pictured above), the parliamentary prayer is delivered in Te Reo – a Maori language.

According to the 2013 New Zealand census, 48 per cent of the population identify as Christian, while 42 per cent say they are non-religious.

The Queen remains the official monarch of New…

A rebuke by founder of the Christian website whyChristmas.com, James Cooper, came as John Lewis unveiled its eagerly anticipated 2017 Christmas campaign on Friday.

Here it is, our 2017 Christmas ad #MozTheMonster pic.twitter.com/c7qPyD9ICE

— John Lewis (@johnlewisretail) November 10, 2017

Mr Cooper told Premier: “All adverts are designed to sell things – big businesses have got their target markets – but I also think they could reference more of the real meaning of Christmas [and] actually do some homework.”

The latest festive John Lewis commercial is a two-minute tale of friendship which develops between a seven-year-old boy and his imaginary monster under the bed.

The clip, which is part of a £7 million campaign, came two days after the right-wing news website Breitbart criticised Tesco for its “politically correct” Christmas advert which offered “no visible Christianity”.

Mr Cooper, who created his website to promote the true meaning of Christmas, went on to say: “Christmas primarily does seem to be a commercial holiday here now; it’s lost a lot of its religion connotations.

“I think that’s a shame and that it’s time we reclaimed Christmas.”

Earlier in the year, Lidl released its “Cavalier Carver” advert, which centred on a man carving up a Christmas turkey, while Argos’ festive commercial features elves working in a futuristic workshop.

Frank Pomeroy told leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention earlier this week that it would be too painful to continue using First Baptist Church as a place of worship.

A national Southern Baptist spokesman said Mr Pomeroy discussed the plan with the denomination’s top executives, who travelled to the rural community in a show of support.

Sing Oldham said the pastor described the building as “too stark of a reminder” of the massacre. Mr Pomeroy expressed hope he could turn the site into a memorial for the dead and put up a new building on property the church owns.

On Wednesday, Vice President Mike Pence joined Texas Governor Greg Abbott at a memorial service for the victims of the gunman.

Mr Pence told the crowd that the attack was the worst mass shooting at a church in American history and called the gunman “deranged”.

“Whatever animated the evil that descended on that small church, if the attacker’s desire was to silence their testimony of faith, they failed,” the vice president added.

The governor said Texans come together at times of crisis and tragedy. “It’s what we do,” Mr Abbott said. People in the crowd responded “amen”.

He also proclaimed Sunday November 12 a state-wide day of prayer.

Mr Pence also visited wounded congregants at a San Antonio hospital and met with families of the dead in Floresville, not…

The pair was arrested in the southern city of Warri, an oil hub, on Wednesday, Delta state police spokesman Andrew Aniamaka said on Thursday.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) confirmed on Monday that Alanna Carson, David Donovan and Shirley Donovan had returned safely to the UK after their ordeal but a fourth Briton had died while being held in captivity.

Local media cited an unconfirmed report that 57-year-old Ian Squire from Shepperton in Surrey died after suffering from an asthma attack.

In a statement released by the FCO, his family said: “We are all deeply saddened by the loss of Ian, a loving father, husband, and devout Christian, who dedicated much of his life in the service of others.

“It’s clear that Ian had touched many hearts with his kindness and grace.”

The four missionaries were working for a Cambridge-based Christian charity providing free medical services to communities in rural areas around the Niger Delta creeks.

Kidnappings for ransom occur frequently in Nigeria; militants in the Niger Delta region and members of the Islamist group Boko Haram in north-eastern Nigeria have conducted several high-profile abductions.