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 Summary
Many congregations celebrate the Sunday that kicks off the new school
year as Rally Day. Consider including this Backpack Blessing as a
concrete expression of your congregation’s support for the callings of
students, teachers, parents, etc.
Purpose
Support the callings of those involved with
the new school year (students, parents, teachers, etc.) in a concrete
and tangible manner.
Steps
- Announce in
advance that students should bring their backpacks to worship on
Rally Sunday.
- At the beginning of the service,
have all students (young and old) come to the front, asking those
who have remembered their backpacks to place them close to the
altar.
- Invite everyone else who is
involved in education to stand including, parents and/or guardians
of those attending school, teachers, custodians, cafeteria workers,
bus drivers, school crossing guards, school board members or school
activity volunteers, school nurses, social workers, and so forth.
- Wish everyone well at the
beginning of this new school year. Assure them that the congregation
is a community that loves and supports them in all that they do. End
by asking God’s special blessing on them all, using the prayer
included in the “Materials” section if desired.
- In your evaluation, offer one idea
for introducing this worship activity (and the idea of calling) in
your regular Sunday School or Youth programming.
Tips
Variant: Provide a more general “Blessing of the Bags” wherein all
congregants bring forward a bag representative of their daily work
(backpack, diaper bag, briefcase).
Resources
Print a copy of the Backpack Blessing copied below in the worship
bulletin.
Lord,
These backpacks remind us that a
new school year is about to begin. We pray your blessing upon their
owners and upon all students, young and old, as they begin this new
school year. We ask your blessing, also, on all who work with or
support them in their education. Let each person who stands before
us now feel the love and support of this congregation, and grant
this congregation the wisdom and means to meet their needs
throughout the coming year.
We all are called to be part of
your work in the world, Lord, and you have given each one of us
gifts and strengths to use in that work. Help each of these students
to discover and develop his or her gifts and strengths and know how
to use them for your purposes. Remind them, too, that whatever their
gifts, they are doing your work when they are kind and caring to
others, when they do their best in their studies and other
activities, when they respect others and themselves, and when they
contribute in even small ways to make things better or more pleasant
for others.
Bless also, Lord those who stand
here with the students. Whatever their task or role in education,
guide them to do it with a conscious effort to in some way make life
better or more pleasant for others. Give them pride in what they do,
reminding them and us that even the most ordinary task becomes
extraordinary when done in God’s name.
We ask this all, Lord knowing
that you love and hear us.
Amen.
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