December 31, 2023
In lieu of a worship gathering,
we offer this short service for reflection at the threshold of the New Year, crafted by Adam King.
Contemplate on your own, with your family, or with a small group of others at the time and setting of your choosing.
Opening Prayer
The following prayer, a contemporary version of John Wesley’s Covenant Prayer, describes the life of a participant with Christ in his mission. It is a practical description of what Jesus was talking about when he said, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Baptism marks the beginning of life in Christ and his ecclesia, a people who "profess to pursue holiness of heart and life; universal love filling the heart and governing the life." The Covenant prayer helps us remember what this Jesus-way of life looks like and what loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind and loving our neighbor as ourself requires of us. When we pray this prayer we remember that we are baptized. We renounce the spiritual forces of wickedness, reject the evil powers of this world, and repent of our sin. We accept the freedom and power God gives to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves. We confess Jesus Christ as our Savior, trust wholeheartedly in his grace, and promise to serve him as Lord, in union with the church. And we renew our promise to live as faithful members of Christ's church and serve as his representatives in the world. The Covenant Prayer describes missional life devoted to following Jesus and serving as Christ's representative in the world he loves and is working to redeem. It tells us that being a Christian is more a way of life than a system of beliefs. The Covenant Prayer describes the Jesus way of self-giving and self-emptying love. This way of living and loving is possible only in a community centered in the life and mission of the crucified and risen Jesus Christ.
Wesley encouraged the churches he helped found to pray this prayer each year at New Years as a rededication to the Way of Jesus. We invite you to open your New Year’s Reflection by reading this prayer out loud, either by yourself or with those with whom your have gathered, before moving into a time of reflection…
A Covenant Prayer in the Wesleyan Tradition
I am no longer my own, but yours. Put me to what you will, place me with whom you will. Put me to doing, put me to suffering. Let me be put to work for you or set aside for you, Praised for you or criticized for you. Let me be full, let me be empty. Let me have all things, let me have nothing. I freely and fully surrender all things to your glory and service. And now, O wonderful and holy God, Creator, Redeemer, and Sustainer, you are mine, and I am yours. So be it. And the covenant which I have made on earth, Let it also be made in heaven. Amen.
End of year reflections
We invite you to reflect — either alone in writing/journaling or in conversation with gathered family and friends — on the year past and set hopes for the year to come. Take as much time as you need with each question. There is no rush!
What have you celebrated, both big and small in 2023?
Who are the people that impacted your life this year that you want to thank?What have you grieved, both big and small in 2023?
Who are the people from this year who you may need to forgive or ask forgiveness of?What are you longing for in 2024?
Who can you bless in 2024?
Closing prayer
There is a time and a season for everything:
A time to gather together
and a time to depart.
A time to make promises
and a time to bring those promises to life.
A time to receive
and a time to share what we have received.
Be enfolded in the love of God,
emboldened by the call of Christ,
and empowered by the Spirit
to embrace the year ahead.
Amen.
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