webmaster posted on November 02, 2009 13:26
The first day of school each summer can be scary, whether it’s preschool, elementary school, high school or college. The unknown can be unsettling for everyone.
First Baptist Church in North Platte, Nebraska, prepared a “Blessing of the Backpacks” to send its students and teachers off to school on a prayerful note.
Students were encouraged to bring their backpacks and teachers to bring their briefcases or totes to church August 16th. During the prayer time, they – and the students’ parents – were asked to come to the front of the church while the congregation participated in this prayer, written by Pastor Tom Wiles.
PRAYER FOR OUR STUDENTS & OUR TEACHERS
At the beginning of a new school year, oh God of wisdom, we offer thanks and praise for the gift of new beginnings and for the opportunity to learn and to wonder.
We pray for these students and teachers that this year might be rewarding for all.
We see them gathered with their backpacks and notebooks, their pencils and paper, their tools for learning and teaching.
Thank you for the challenges and encouragement you have prepared for these students, the strength and hope you offer to these teachers and the resources and opportunities represented by these items.
Be with them all as they face the excitement of new days, the stimulation of fresh tasks, and the joy of renewed minds.
May they be aware of your loving and guiding presence in times of celebrated success as well as in times of temporary frustration.
In their learning and in their teaching, may they always grow in service to others and in love for you.
We pray this, on their behalf, to you, our gracious God, the father of all wisdom, the lord of all knowledge and the spirit of all learning. Amen.
The students were asked to leave their backpacks at the front of the church throughout the rest of the service as a reminder of the new challenges and adventures facing the students and teachers through the new school year.
As participants returned to the pews, Assistant Pastor Greg Mamula handed them a small coin and card to keep in their backpacks as a reminder of God’s blessings and Christ’s love.
As part of the Blessing of the Backpacks celebration, members of the congregation were invited to purchase supplies to fill four backpacks for children whose families had registered with the Salvation Army in North Platte, helping to prepare their children for the new school year.
Patricia Dannatt
First Baptist Church
North Platte, Nebraska