A new school year brings a new season. For some that means a new classroom, a new teacher, or a new school. For others, it may mean returning to a familiar place, continuing a journey already underway…or it may just mark the beginning of earlier mornings and the start of pumpkin spice season. Whatever it brings for you, each of us arrive carrying something different.
Some of us carry new bookbags filled with tech and supplies. Some carry well-loved bags that have been part of many school years. Teachers and staff, no doubt carry their classroom supplies and their responsibilities. Parents and caregivers carry schedules, hopes, worries, and all the “thousand little things” that come with caring for others. And some of us may not be connected to a school year at all, but we are still carrying our own hopes, questions, transitions, and new beginnings.
This is why this Sunday’s Blessing of the Bookbags touches everyone. You see, this Sunday, we’re beginning a new, intergenerational series with a little help from some familiar friends: Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and the whole crew from Toy Story. For more than thirty years, Toy Story has invited generations of children and grownups to laugh, cry, and wonder alongside its characters. But beneath the adventures are questions that aren’t just for kids: Am I loved? Where do I belong? Who am I? Can I be brave when I don’t know what comes next?
Those are questions that Jesus speaks to in John 15. Jesus reminds his friends to abide…to remain, stay connected, rooted…in his love. Before asking them to do anything else, Jesus reminds them who they are: people who are loved and who belong. So, as we begin this new school year, we’re exploring four simple reminders:
Be Loved.
Be Kind.
Be You.
Be Brave.
And we’re beginning with Be Loved, because everything else grows from Love. Being loved isn’t something we earn by getting the best grades, making the team, being the most popular, having the right answers, or getting everything right. We don’t have to prove that we deserve a place at the table. God already tells us we are beloved. That’s a message children need to hear as they head into a new school year. But it’s a message that grownups need, too.
That’s why children, youth, and grownups are all invited to participate in the Blessing of the Bookbags. Bring your bookbag, school bag, work bag, or whatever you carry with you because this blessing isn’t just about the bags, we’re blessing the people who’re carrying them.
These aren’t just empty words we offer to children either. They’re commitments we make to one another as a church community. We promise to remind one another that we are loved. We promise to practice kindness. We promise to make room for every person to be fully themselves. We promise to encourage courage.
So, whether you’re carrying a backpack into kindergarten, heading to college, returning to a classroom as a teacher, supporting education through administration and staffing, or something in between, you’re invited.
Come forward. Bring your bag. Bring your hopes and your worries, too. And together, we’ll begin this new season remembering:
Be Loved. Be Kind. Be You. Be Brave.
Because wherever we go, we do not go alone. We carry God’s love with us and we carry one another, too.
