Dear Friends in Christ,
My daughters go back to school this month—one on Monday, the other a week from Monday. It’s always emotional for me, but never quite as emotional as it this year.
In many ways, school promises going back “normal.” But, as with so many other things, there is no going back, only forward. And so my kids—all of our kids—will be learning to navigate a new world. We can see the outward signs of change—the masks, the changes in buses and cafeterias and every other routine. I can only guess at what’s inside. I know there’s anxiety. I believe there’s also hope.
It has become a tradition at Grace—as at many other churches—to bless children’s’ backpacks as they return to school. They need that blessing more than ever this year.
I invite students of all ages—and teachers, too!—to bring their backpacks with them on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. (They’ll receive a special tag to put on the backpack after church.)
Blessings should always flow over, and so this one will, as well: in addition to blessing our own kids’ packs this year, we will also collect backpacks for Community Lodgings, one of our outreach partners. (Grace in fact helped found Community Lodgings.) So even if you don’t have kids at home, you still have blessings to receive and to give.
Yours in Christ,
Anne+