The traditional song "Auld Lang Syne" poses the question: "Should old acquaintance be forgot and never brought to mind?" The weird thing is that usually that's all we know from the song - then we just sing "Auld Lang Syne" ad nauseum.Guess what? The answer to the question is: No. No, you should not forget your old acquaintances. The rest of the song is all about reminiscing and remembering the old days while sharing a drink with friends. Forgetting is not the goal, but remembering and celebrating the memories made together.
Perhaps it would be good to have a service where you spend time remembering the previous year. Reflecting on the memories you made together and the connection you share. One cool thing that I've seen is a year in review slide show where all the events of the year are set to music and shown to the church. This is a great way to share and celebrate everything that's happened over the year.
A few notes:
- Be aware of the time this can take - if you have a 15 minute slideshow you'll need to cut something out of the service.
- The larger your church the earlier you will have to start on this - it takes a long time to get photos from everyone.
- Make sure to include photos from as many groups as you possibly can.
- This doesn't have to happen in December - if you do this at the end of January it's still ok.
