Activity time: 10 minutes

Model personal introductions for the group by sharing your name and age. Invite participants to introduce themselves. You might say:

As we go around the group, please say your name clearly and your years of life experience—also known as your age.

This sets the tone for talking about a person’s lifespan and life experience.

Call attention to the Group Rules of Respect. Ask participants to indicate agreement.

Invite a participant to light the chalice, while you say:

Lighting a flame can symbolize witness, sacrifice, testing, courage, hope, and illumination. We bring these together as an opening symbol, and I share these words of Richard Gilbert: “Come into the circle of caring. Come into the community of gentleness, of justice, and love. Come, and may you be comforted. Let hope infuse you. Let peace be the law of your heart. In this human circle, caring is a calling.”

Lead your group in singing “Come Sing a Song with Me,” Hymn 146 in Singing the Living Tradition.