Opening

Activity time: 5 minutes

Light the chalice and share these words from the Omaha Nation:

No one has found a way to avoid death,
To pass around it;
Those old ones who have met it,
Who have reached their place where death stands waiting,
Have not pointed out a way to circumvent it.
Death is difficult to face.

Call attention to the covenant you have posted and ask participants to reaffirm their willingness to let it guide your time together.