A responsive litany asking for forgiveness and fresh blessing with virtue for the year ahead
God of all beginnings and all endings,
of all moments and all lifetimes:
you called forth the first day,
blessed it with the gift of light and saw that it was good.
Forgive us for all the lights we have put out, carelessly, selfishly, cruelly:
the light of the dignity of the poor,
the light of hope for the imprisoned,
the light of freedom for the minorities,
the light of friendship for the displaced,
the light of justice for the persecuted,
the light of childhood for the abused.
Re- kindle in us the light of your love:
that we may bring others out of darkness.
You created all living things,
plants, creatures, people,
and you saw that they were good.
Forgive us all that we have destroyed
through indifference, fear and greed:
the soil of the fragile,
the habitat of the beautiful,
the freedom of the wild,
the homes of the defenceless,
the futures of the voiceless,
the livelihoods of the powerless.
Nurture in us the seeds of your love,
that we may bear fruits of healing.
You blessed the world through the birth of your Son:
bless us afresh at the birth of this New Year,
with the vision,
and the courage and the compassion to work for
reconciliation not security,
justice not expedience,
integrity not popularity,
peace not privilege,
and always for the children of the future not just for ourselves.
Embrace us with the new born hands of your love
that we may embrace one another.
Amen.