Time Flies – A Prayer for the New Academic Year

Time flies… the older we get the swifter its pace seems to be.
Time flies… so fast that we can miss the remarkable moments
only appreciating them in our memories once they are gone.

Author of time, help us to appreciate the time we have.
Help us to celebrate the continuous cycles
of seasons that seem to so steadily increase in speed:
the cycles of the academic year in which we are now being swept up,
the cycle of the semesters of planning and Power Points, of learning and teaching,
the cycle of the summerly leisure that is all too soon coming to an end as Labor Day draws near.

As we today experience the start of the all too familiar cycles
let us recognize that tomorrow a new class of students will arrive on campus.
Author of celebrations, help us to take note of and celebrate that which is new:
new students on our campus
new participants in our courses
new faculty as part of our team
new ideas worth embracing
new techniques for teaching
new visions for creating transformative educational experiences
new opportunities for us and for all.

The familiar and the new intertwine,
the young and the old enlighten,
the experienced and the unfamiliar lift up each other
And together we celebrate time… cycles… seasons… semesters..
creating a metaphoric Queens mosaic
which inspires and adds beauty to our lives and our world.

May our students and all students across the globe
be blessed to learn from capable teachers
in safe, supportive and inspiring schools.
Amen.

[This prayer was offered in honor and in memory of JoAnn Norris, Professor Emerita of Queens University of Charlotte who, for decades, brought her passion and wisdom to classrooms including those of our Queens’ campus, creating generations of compassionate and capable nurses.]