God of new beginnings,

you whose abundant faithfulness shines new every morning,

we come to you late in our cycle around the sun,

marking fresh starts in school and church.

You call us to experience life anew, wherever we are.

And here we are. However we are.

We come to this time with questions.

Help us to remember that we always do. And always will.

We come with uncertainties.

Remind us that your steadfast love is all that is assured.

And that is enough.

But when it feels as if it is not,

may we look to the great cloud of witnesses that surround us always,

not only saints gone before us,

but those saints also who stand with us, right here, right now.

All by your grace alone –—which promises never to leave us alone.

There is nothing new under the sun.

Every unknown tomorrow has

its hesitations and ambiguities,

its opportunities to trust and follow you.

God of new beginnings, begin anew in us. Amen.