Activity time: 20 minutes

Welcome participants as they arrive and ask them to put on their name tags. Invite them to put their special objects on the cloth around the chalice. Encourage them to chat over lunch. As lunchtime draws to a close, share these words of Caroline Joy Adams, used with permission:

Life is a continual process of letting go…and moving forward…and letting go… and moving forward.

For there are times when our souls are set on fire, and deeply cherished dreams must die...and we are forced once again to create new visions…to weave new tapestries from the fragments of the old…

Yet these new visions born from the fire of wisdom at the deepest level of our soul, may well become far more powerful, more expansive, than what once was…

And as we weave and mend, rearranging the pieces of our lives into patterns that reflect our newly won strength-gained-through-struggle…we shall survive, go on, and ultimately…thrive…not despite our immense challenges, but truly, by living through and with them…