The Ministry Lab: Faith Formation: Backpack/Back-to-School Sundays

Books

Liturgical Elements

Download a Free Liturgy for Celebrating the Bible!

This liturgy acknowledges and celebrates some of the many kinds of stories that are in the Bible—everything from adventure stories to miracle stories. Each kind of story carries a message of God’s love for us. This could be used as a children’s message that leads into a celebration of scripture. Find more content like this on Sparkhouse Digital!

Backpack Blessing Wise Owl

From Karen Ware Jackson of Storytelling the Scriptures comes

Scriptural Storytelling for Psalm 111:1-10 (great for worship and it’s the RCL psalm for August 18, 2024)
Purchase includes editable Canva files for:

backpack blessing
print-your-own luggage tag or sticker
presentation slide
notecard / postcard
instagram post

You’ll get a scriptural storytelling for Psalm 111:1-10 which explores what we mean when we say, “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” Wise owl reminds us that the start of everything is God’s love. This BIG, POWERFUL God has a BIG, POWERFUL love for you. How big is it? Infinite.

Illustrated Ministry's Be Curious. Ask Questions. backpack tags are 'designed to inspire both children and adults to embrace their inquisitive nature and explore the world around them' and are accompanied by a free Back-to-School Worship Liturgy.

Prayers for Volunteers

Backs of three children walking together wearing backpacks. BACK TO SCHOOL BLESSINGS & PRAYERS free download from The Rev. Jennifer McNally (St Anne's Episcopal and dinner church Table 229; St Paul, MN) and The Rev. Anna V. Ostend Moore (St Mark's Episcopal, Minneapolis)

Traci Smith offers an entire toolkit for preparing for Blessing the Backpacks, including:

Instruction Sheet
Liturgical Elements (3 simple prayers and printable blessing card)
Parent Letter
Family Promo Postcard
Social Media Images

See also Smith's Back to School Festival of Blessing and Celebration: Liturgy and Guide, which includes:

Call to Worship
Prayer of the Day
Assurance of God's Grace
Hymn Suggestions
Scripture Readings
Responsive Liturgy for the Beginning of the School Year
3 Children's Sermon Ideas
Simple Event Outline

Available as a digital download for single congregation use.

Blessing of the Devices, a blessing by Dr. Elizabeth Drescher.

Faith at Home author, Wendy Claire, shares the excerpted Backpack Blessings.

A Service of a New School Year by the Rev. David Henson, Trinity Episcopal Church, Asheville, NC; abbreviated and adapted by St Paul's, Chattanooga, TN to include a greater emphasis on social action.

Pillowcase Prayers

Instead of backpack tags, this church gave away pillowcases with a bedtime prayer in hopes of encouraging family prayer practices at home.

Back to School Blessings & Prayers: A Handout

for use at church or at home

Kara Root from in the hereandnow blog offers this Hedgehog Blessing (for Back to School).

Going back to school is always accompanied by a swirl of emotions. This is especially true in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Stephanie Crowder offers this Spirit-inspired prayer to bless the fall season and the return to school.

Rev. Angela Denker offers this ABC Prayer for those going back to school - and the parents and communities supporting them.

MennoMedia offers this free Blessing for Teachers and Learners.

Rev. Elsa Anders Cook (Cooking with Elsa) shares Pandemic Prayers for Labor Sunday, Blessing of the Backpacks and Briefcases, and Backpack Blessings in Coronatide.

From Illustrated Ministry: a FREE Blessing of the Backpacks and Back-to-School Worship Liturgy - includes a Call to Worship, Opening Prayer, Blessing of the Backpacks Liturgy, Prayers of the People, Closing Prayer, and a Benediction.

Vibrant Church Communications offers Blessed with Hope Stickers, and Joy + Peace Stickers, Backpack Tags, and Digital Assets (for welcoming everyone back to the church program year).

Judicatory Resources

BACK TO CHURCH & SCHOOL

Pray, bless, support: Ideas and aids for back-to-school ministry

By Kathy Noble

Back-to-School Resources & Ideas

If you want to get your fall kickoff Sunday off to a great start, consider teaching your community an upbeat new song, “Welcome Home.” Check out the lyric video here.

There are many options for accessing this music and teaching it to your community:

Share it from Apple Music or Spotify
Purchase the sheet music and chord charts from us here
If you have a CCLI license, you can access the song on SongSelect
Purchase stems and different mixes for this song on MultiTracks

Blessing of the Backpacks: 6 Tips for Success

Churches should absolutely honor and bless students and teachers at this important time. One popular method is a “Blessing of the Backpacks” ceremony. This is a very simple event which can make a HUGE impact. Here are our tips and suggestions:

Back To School Donation Tree Apples

Many parents, grandparents, and other caring adults are happy to donate items for classrooms but don’t know what teachers really need. Putting out these apples allows teachers to get the items specifically needed for their room.

We've collected a number of Blessing the Backpacks/Back-to-School Great Ideas, including:

New Beginnings, New Challenges: Recognizing Excitement, Anxiety, & Everything In Between When Blessing Backpacks

Stickers & Tags

Hand out bags of Smartfood Popcorn with THESE tags on them at a back to school fair. They can be edited to have your church name at the bottom. Give out extras at your Blessing of the Backpacks Sunday and encourage students, teachers, etc., to share them with others on the first day of school.