Backyard to the Universe
Small Group Ministries
SMALL
GROUP MINISTRY
NEW
YEARS: BEGINNINGS AND ENDINGS
Opening
Words: “The Ceaseless Flow of Endless Time”, John
Andrew Storey (Singing the Living Tradition #350)
The
ceaseless flow of endless time
no one can
check or stay;
we’ll
view the past with nor regret,
nor future
with dismay.
The
present slips into the past,
and dream
like melts away;
the
breaking of tomorrow’s dawn
begins a
new today.
The past
and future ever meet
in the
eternal now;
to make
each day a thing complete
Shall be
our New Year vow.
Check
in: How are you today?
Topic:
*New Year
began with the first New Moon after the Vernal Equinox (first day of
spring) .
*The
Romans observed the New Year in late March until 153 BCE when the
Roman senate declared January 1, when the newly elected senators
assumed their positions, to be the New Year.
*In
Vietnam and China, the New Year celebration is between mid-January
and mid-February.
*Agriculture
played a part for fall celebrations: the Jewish Rosh Hashanah, the
flooding of the Nile in ancient Egypt, and Celts (who lived in what
is now France and parts of Britain before the Romans arrived), with
Samhain, meaning 'summer's end', which is the basis for
Halloween.
*The
Muslim calendar is based on the movements of the moon, so the date of
New Year is eleven days earlier each year.
Regardless
of when New Years is celebrated, it is recognized as a day in which
rites focus on letting go of the past so there can be a rejuvenation
for the new year. January is named for the Roman God Janus,
who looks back over the last year and forward to the new year.
As
we are beginning the New Year, share accomplishments of your
last year. What positive things happened last year that you are
bringing forward into this year?
What
are you leaving behind? How does this feel?
What
are you beginning in this New Year?
What
do you need in this New Year and do you have ideas on how to
meet these needs?
What
qualities you have within yourself to make this year the kind of
year that you would like it to be?
Likes
and Wishes: How was this session for you?
Closing
words:
T.S. Eliot
said, “What we call a beginning is often the end and to make an
end is to make a beginning. The end is where we start from.”
So honor the beginnings in
life: Birthdays, new moons, the first day of each month, the
beginning of each new day, the inhaling of each breath….
Rev. Helen
Zidowecki, January 2008