Tradition - a story for children, young and old

This is based on an old apocryphal story. I told this version in church last week. 

There was once a small kirk in the countryside. There was an old woman who lived in a cottage next door. Mrs G was a sort of caretaker or beadle. In return for looking after the building she was given her cottage rent free.
In those long ago days mice were a big problem and to keep them under control most people had a cat. This old lady was no different. She had a big cat called Meg who lived most of the time in the church.
The people who came to the church loved to see Meg. They would stroke her and pet her as she went round greeting them during a service.
Then one day they got a new minister. Mr James was straight from a preachers college and he was quite serious. Everyone liked him and he liked the people in the village but every time he took a service he started sneezing.
Outside the church he was fine but when he went inside he had a sneezing problem.
The doctor in the village knew what the problem was. 
"Cats fur" he said. “You are allergic to cats”. 
He knew that Meg the old cat who kept the mice away from the church was always there during the service. It was Mrs G's cat.
The minister went to see Mrs G and told her of his problem
She offered to shut the cat in her cottage while the service was on and Mr James agreed. But the congregation complained. They had become very accustomed to Meg. They wanted to see her. They liked to pet her and stroke her as she walked round the church greeting them all during the sermon.
Mr James and Mrs G had an other chat and came up with a brilliant idea. She would tie her cat on a piece of string outside the front door of the church when the service was due to start and then all the congregation could greet Meg as they went into the church.
And so it was and everyone was happy. Eventually a big brass cat ring was fixed to the church wall just beside the front door to attach Meg's string.
Years passed. Mrs G died. Mr James moved on. Meg the cat died and was replaced with a new mouser. The caretakers cottage was demolished. But the tradition still continued. Before each service the caretaker would take the church cat and tie him or her on the ring fixed to the wall by the front door especially for the purpose.
And everyone had forgotten Mrs G and Mr James. All they remembered was that it wasn't a proper service without a cat tied with a piece of string to the brass ring on the outside wall.
And that is how traditions start. We do something and then forget why we are doing it and no longer think about what we are doing.
Our bible reading today is about Jesus teaching his disciples the prayer we call the Lords prayer.

Those familiar words can be so well known that we repeat them without thinking about their meaning. Today in our service will think about those words to look beyond the tradition.