By Rev. Diane Rollert
September 25, 2022
Spirit of Life,
Source of hope and renewal,
tonight* as the sun sets
the earth will be reborn.
For every people,
in every place,
the hour strikes,
the calendar restarts,
the new year begins,
at different times,
as ordained by faith,
or determined by human calculation.
We take for granted
the steady rhythm
of the second hand
counting out the silence.
Here in the quiet,
before the next moment is marked,
may we welcome this day
as the first day,
for whatever we need to begin,
for wherever we need to return,
for whenever we need to start a new life.
Let this be a time of hope,
a gathering in of a people ready for renewal,
holding together
a wish for sweetness,
a moment of gratitude,
that our heaviest burdens may feel a little lighter,
and our smallest joys a little brighter.
Here, in time suspended,
may we be surrounded
by the hopes, dreams,
songs of praise
and ageless wisdom
of every generation,
here, now, in the past,
and at the beginning.
A breathing in
and a breathing out of sacred breath,
for each new day
of every new year.
*Rosh Hashanah began at sundown on Sunday, September 25