The first month of the year is a time to begin something new.
Many cultures think of the new year as a time to make a significant change, not just because a calendar tells us but because they believe that all creation responds to changes in the amount of light and darkness that are available or the angle and pull of the moon against the tide. Do you wonder how the changes in weather or the length of time between sunrise and sunset affect your faith? Does the calendar inspire us to make changes to the spiritual practices we rely on?
In the “Hymn of Promise,” one of the music suggestions this week, speaks about the “promise of dawn that lies within the deep night.” If you find yourself holding on t negative associations with the night or the darkness, remember that God created us to need both light and dark, day and night. We cannot know the future, but we plan and hope and dream.
As your faith community looks ahead at the calendar for the new year, encourage one another that we are more than our busy schedules and routines; we are children of God and part of creation.