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PREPARATION
Create a calm and clean space. Make sure any Christmas decorations are removed and try to give an impression of light and newness, perhaps by using lots of white muslin or by removing clutter. If this is the group’s first meeting back after a Christmas break, you will want to allow some time for catching up, sharing news and extending a welcome to each member of the group.
Introduce the topic of new beginnings and explain that there will be time for reflection on the year just passed and the year to come. Explain that you will use a written prayer, repeated three times, as part of the reflections. Either print the prayer out to give them, or teach the group the response (written in bold) by heart. If you provide a print-out or projection of the prayer, you may want to take turns being the ‘leader’ (in non-bold) for variety. The passages used in the prayer are: Lamentations 3:22b-23, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21:1, 2-5. Take time over the prayer each time you use it, making it purposeful and reflective.
Prayer of new beginnings:
Lord God, we hear your ancient promise: ‘The Lord’s compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.’
Amen! We welcome your new beginnings. Come Lord Jesus.
Lord God, we hear your present promise: ‘If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!’
Amen! We welcome your new beginnings. Come Lord Jesus.
Lord God, we hear your future promise: ‘Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away … God’s dwellingplace is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away. He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!”’
Amen! We welcome your new beginnings. Come Lord Jesus.
REFLECTING ON THE PAST YEAR
After praying, give each young person a piece of white A4 paper and a pen, and ask them to fold the paper into thirds (landscape), to create three columns. After everyone has settled down and got comfortable, put on some quiet background music and ask them to write the year just gone at the top of the first column (in our case, 2014). Encourage the group to write or draw what happened during the year in this column: what were the big events that they experienced? What are some of the memories? Which new people did they meet? What trips did they go on? What changes did they see in their lives?
Allow a few minutes for scribbling, and then move on to the second column. Ask the young people to write ‘Thanks’ at the top and encourage them to write down everything from the previous year that they are grateful for. When most people have finished writing or doodling, instruct the group to write ‘Regrets’ at the top of the third column. Ask questions like: Was there anything you never got round to last year? Were there things you said or did that you wished you hadn’t said or done? Give the young people enough time to reflect on and write down these issues.
At this point, some groups will find it helpful to share their reflections in small groups, but be sensitive to the fact that even the most extroverted members of your group may not want to share their regrets, so ensure that no-one feels pressured to share more than they wish.
Whether the groups share out loud or not, end this time by praying the Prayer of new beginnings for a second time. The passages used in the prayer speak indirectly into the issue of regrets, in that God’s compassion is new each morning and that he is in the process of making all things new (including our characters) for his glory. You may feel that some of the regrets brought up in the reflection time need addressing in a more direct way, for example by confession and assurance of God’s grace and forgiveness, or a time of lament for disappointments or bereavements. Be sensitive to God and the young people, and use your wisdom! Make a choice about what will be the most helpful treatment of the ‘Last year’ sheets – keeping them as memory or throwing them away.
ENVISIONING THE NEW YEAR
Give your group a light green sheet of A4 paper and a colourful felt-tip pen, and ask them to create three columns again. In the first column, ask the young people to write the new year (2015), and to add below what they expect to happen this year, for example planned trips, birthdays and school events. In the second column, ask the group to write ‘Hopes’ at the top and invite them to reflect on what their hopes are for the coming year: hopes for things that they want to happen, but also hopes for their lives with God and hopes for how their characters will grow and develop. Make sure you leave enough time and space for this.
Finally, ask the young people to write ‘Prayers’ at the top of the third column, and ask them to form prayers to God out of their ‘Hopes’ column: what will they ask God for at the start of this year? There may also be prayers about other people or global issues. End this time by praying the Prayer of new beginnings for a final time together.
You may want to end the session in different ways. If yours is a very chatty group, sharing freely from their ‘New Year’ sheet may be good, ensuring that each person gets space to share without interruption. Another ending could be to fold the ‘New Year’ sheets in on themselves to keep the inside private, but write each name on the outside. The group could then spend some time in silence listening to God for each other, passing the folded papers around to write Bible verses or encouragements on for each person.
