Once again, here at the Church of the Epiphany, we are excited about the start of a new school year.
Sunday, August 7th, is the day when the school children’s backpacks will be blessed. We invite all children and young adults to bring their backpacks or briefcases to worship. During our worship services we will bless all the learners as well as the teachers.
The weekends of childhood fly by – what precious little time we have to teach them the amazing truth of God’s unrelenting love for all. Like a backpack, we carry around that love as we journey through life.
What else can help us cope with the challenges that come from fully living our lives except God’s love which has been poured forth into our hearts through the Spirit who has been given to us.
You may also use the prayer for the blessing of backpacks (see below) at home with your own children before the start of school, perhaps the first day they go back to class.
God of Wisdom, we give you thanks for schools and classrooms and for the teachers and students who fill them each day. We thank you for this new beginning, for new books and new ideas. We thank you for sharpened pencils, pointy crayons, and crisp blank pages waiting to be filled. We thank you for the gift of making mistakes and trying again.
Help us to remember that asking the right questions is often as important as giving the right answers. As we begin another school year, we pause to give thanks for these your children, and we ask you to bless them with curiosity, understanding and respect. May their backpacks be a sign to them that they have everything they need to learn and grow this year in their school. May they always be guided by your love.
All this we ask in the name of Jesus, who as a child in the temple showed his longing to learn about you, and as an adult taught by story and example your great love for us. Amen.
(Adapted from a prayer by Wendy Claire Barrie Director of Children, Youth & Family Ministries at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church in New York City.)