More Than A Backpack

Every August, our family has the same conversation.

Do we need a new backpack this year, or can we make last year’s work?

Backpacks have become an essential part of school life. With lockers becoming less common, they carry just about everything students need for the day. When our kids were little, the big decision was always which character would be on the front. Superheroes. Princesses. Legos. Hot Wheels. Favorite animals. They wanted everyone to know what they loved.

Now those conversations sound a little different. It’s less about the design and more about whether it has enough room for an iPad, notebooks, chargers, water bottles, athletic shoes, and everything else they’ll carry from one class to the next. Somewhere along the way, backpacks stopped being about characters and started being about capacity.

There is one back-to-school tradition, however, that my kids have always looked forward to.

Back to School Sunday.

Definitely not because school is starting. They’d gladly take a few more weeks of summer. But because every year they receive a new backpack tag.

It might seem like a small thing, but those tags end up hanging from backpacks, sports bags, instrument cases, and even key rings. They become a quiet reminder throughout the school year.

People sometimes ask why we bless backpacks at church.

The answer is simple.

We’re not blessing backpacks.

We’re blessing the people who carry them.

We believe God cares about what happens on Monday just as much as what happens on Sunday. God is present in classrooms, hallways, cafeterias, choir rooms, football fields, offices, and every place our lives unfold.

This year’s backpack tag features our church’s logo. Whether you clip it to your backpack or your keys, I hope it becomes more than a decoration. I hope every time you reach for your bag or unlock your car, it reminds you of two simple truths:

You belong to God.

And wherever you go, God goes with you.

This Sunday is one of my favorite Sundays of the year. We’ll pray for children, students, teachers, administrators, school staff, college students, and everyone beginning a new season. We’ll celebrate the start of Sunday School, Kool Club, and Aldersgate Youth Ministries.

Most of all, we’ll remind one another that none of us walks into a new school year alone.

So bring your backpack. Bring your work bag. Bring your hopes, your excitement, and maybe even a few nerves.

We’ll pray together, receive God’s blessing, and step into this new season trusting that the One who calls us will also walk beside us every step of the way.

With Gratitude,

Rev. Rodney Whitfield
Senior Pastor
Aldersgate UMC