Preparing Your Spirit for the New Year

Reflective practices for clergy and congregations entering 2026

December offers a natural threshold—an opportunity to pause, reflect, and prepare for what lies ahead. Before launching into planning meetings and new initiatives, clergy and congregations can benefit from intentional spiritual grounding.

Reflecting on the Past Year

Ask yourself and your leadership team:

• What brought life this year?

• What drained energy or joy?

• Where did we experience God’s presence most clearly?

• What needs to be released?

• What longs to be born?

Honest reflection allows ministries to move forward with clarity rather than carrying unexamined patterns into a new year.

Practices for Entering the New Year with Purpose

• Choose a “guiding word” or theme. Let it shape your planning and discernment.

• Engage in communal prayer or fasting. Invite the congregation to seek God’s direction for the year together.

• Schedule rest before planning. A refreshed mind discerns better than a depleted one.

• Create a blessing ritual. Offer a prayer or anointing service for leaders stepping into the new year.

Looking Ahead with Hope

You do not enter the new year alone. The God who has carried you thus far walks with you still. Let that assurance inspire courage, creativity, and compassion as you step into what is next.

May the new year greet you with fresh strength, renewed vision, and deep peace.