A Service for A New School Year
Pastor: As we begin this new school year, let us come together in
prayer and support for all students, parents, teachers, and
administrators. As we face the challenges of a new school year, we also
will navigate the challenges of COVID, online learning, and all the
challenges that will bring to families.
Litany of Beginnings
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old
has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to
himself through Christ. - 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
Pastor: It is the beginning of a new school year, and God is a God of
new beginnings and new creations. In the beginning, God created the
heavens and the earth, new life, blessed it and called it good.
People: We give thanks for a new year and for new
beginnings. We give thanks that you call us good.
Pastor: In the beginning, the heavens shone forth a star when our
Savior was born. In the beginning of his ministry, the heavens opened
up and called him God’s beloved.
People: We give thanks that you know our pathways and
what it means to be human. We give thanks that you call us
your beloved children.
Pastor: O God of new beginnings, new life, and new journeys, you
sent Abraham and Sarah into a new land; you led Moses, Aaron and
Miriam out of Egypt and into liberation; you led your Son our Savior
to earth, to the cross, and into resurrection. Walk with us, we pray, as
we enter into a new year, a new path, new opportunities.
All: Amen.
At this time, come to the lectern
Litany of Difficulties
23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24
Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept
over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke
him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!”
26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got
up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
27 The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even
the winds and the waves obey him!” - Matthew 8:23-27
Student: We will get overwhelmed by tests, homework, schedule
changes, online and on campus learning. We will wonder how we will
make it through.
People: Grant them quiet confidence and calmness, help
them to ask for help when it gets to be too much.
Student: Our teachers, parents, and friends will upset and frustrate
us. They will be unfair, they will hurt us, and they just won’t get what
we’re going through.
People: Give our students peace and rest in the midst of the
storms raging around and inside them.
Student: We will be measured, tested, and judged, and we will be
asked to measure our worth in how well we perform, the grades we
make, and the friends we have.
People: Comfort them in the knowledge that in Christ you
have found them to be good, made worthy, and call them
your child.
Student: We will be tempted to despair and see ourselves as
worthless and unlovable.
People: When they cannot find their way, remind them that,
to you, O God, the darkness is not dark, the night is as light
as day, and even when they find themselves in the darkest of
places, you will never leave their side.
Student: We will see darkness. We will see it in hate, exploitation,
mean- spiritedness, and bullying of our peers. We will be tempted to
join in.
People: Give courage to resist and empower them to be your
beloved people: loving others and sharing the promise of
Christ to all who suffer.
Student: We will want to hold grudges, gripe, and gossip when we are
wounded.
People: Empower them by your grace to forgive as you have
forgiven.
Pastor: Almighty God, to whom our needs are known before we ask:
Help us to ask only what accords with your will; and those good things
which we dare not, or in our blindness cannot ask, grant us for the
sake of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
You may be seated
Jesus was brought to the Temple as a child. There Simeon
blessed him and his parents as the prophet Anna praised
God. Scripture says that Jesus “grew and became strong,
filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”
(Luke 2:22-52). Here, too, is a sacred place where children
feel blessed by God, are encouraged to pursue wisdom, and
find support from a loving community to become
instruments of blessing for others. We take this time to pray
for our young people and commit ourselves to supporting
them, their families, and their teachers.
Pastor: Families who are guiding these young people, will you
recommit yourselves to providing these students both the
encouragement and accountability they need to succeed in their
intellectual and spiritual formation? Will you work for healthy
communication and cooperation with your child’s school? Will you
recognize their potential? Will you provide them the love and model
for them the self-discipline they will need for that potential to be
realized?
People: We will.
Pastor: Teachers who are educating our young people, will you
recommit yourselves to enlightening young minds and enabling young
hearts? Will you speak hope to the dispirited and inspire excellence in
all?
People: We will.
Pastor: Congregation, you who are like extended family to these
students, will you encourage our teachers, parents, and children? Will
you lend your wisdom and support, your time and your patience, your
prayers, and your resources to the communal work of guiding young
people? Will you further commit to recognizing that all children in
our wider community are our children? Will you seek ways to support
quality education for every student?
People: We will.
Pastor: May God bless all of us in the many ways each of us learns
and teaches. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the
truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast
obedience, for his dying, and for his rising to life again, in which we
are raised to the life of your kingdom.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know him and make him
known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give
thanks to you in all things. Amen.
Closing Blessing
Live without fear: your Father has made you holy, has always
protected you, and loved you. Go in peace, follow the good road, love
and serve one another, and let this tag serve as a reminder to you that
God’s blessing is with you always. Amen