Blessing of the Backpacks — This Sunday in Worship
As a new school year begins, we know that backpacks are being filled with pencils, notebooks, and lunchboxes; but they’re also carrying big feelings: excitement, nervousness, anticipation, and questions about what this new school year might hold.
This Sunday, we want to pause and make space for something even more important to be packed – a blessing.
During both our 9:30am and 11:00am worship services, we’ll take a few special moments to pray over our preschoolers, elementary kids, and students as they begin a new year of learning and growth. This has become a wonderful tradition in our church family, and we’re excited to continue it again this year with some small but meaningful touches.
We’re inviting all children and students to bring their backpacks to church with them. During the service, we’ll speak directly to them—about their hopes and worries, about the God who goes with them, and about how they are deeply loved and never alone.
Each participant will also receive a special backpack tag to clip on their bag, a small reminder they can carry with them each day. This tag represents something important: that God goes with them into every moment of the school year.
During the blessing, we’ll say a phrase together, one that we hope echoes in their hearts when the days feel overwhelming or uncertain: “God is always with me.” Because more than a tag or a ritual, this moment is about reminding our kids (and ourselves) that they are never alone.
And this blessing isn’t just for students! Teachers, administrators, school staff, and educators of all kinds – we also invite you to bring your own bags or totes to be blessed as well. We know that you are carrying more than just lesson plans. You’re carrying the emotional weight of classrooms, the challenges of leadership, and the opportunity to impact lives in big and small ways. We want to recognize that sacred work and cover you in prayer.
As part of the service, we’ll also take time to lift up the parents, caregivers, and families who are preparing for the rhythms of early mornings, late homework nights, and everything in between. We’ll ask God to give strength, patience, peace, and joy to every home.
This is one of the most beautiful things we do together each year: as a church, we name and claim that God goes with us – from the worship center to the school building, from preschool classrooms to high school hallways, and everywhere in between.
So don’t forget – bring those backpacks, teacher totes, work bags, or whatever you carry into this new year. And if you don’t have a bag with you, that’s okay too. The blessing is for you. Because what we’re really sending you out with is the presence of God, the prayers of your church, and the knowledge that you are deeply loved.
Let’s start this school year with faith, with purpose, and with the confidence that we are not alone. We’ll see you Sunday!