Wendy Claire Barrie

If I have name recognition in the very small world of the Episcopal Church, it’s most likely because of the backpack blessing I wrote in 2011 that was distributed on flash drives by Church Publishing at General Convention in 2012. Even my mother one September was surprised to find it on a bulletin insert in her small congregation three thousand miles from where I served! What I noticed when it was used in my ministry contexts over the next several years was that it wasn’t just children that came forward—high school youth and graduate students, teachers and professors all wanted to have their backpacks blessed and receive a backpack tag or pocket cross or compass carabiner, whatever it was that we were giving as a tangible sign of God’s love and presence.

A few years ago, I was asked to adapt the original prayer into a litany, and it seemed a good time to make the blessing explicitly intergenerational, to invite people of all ages to bring their backpacks, book bags, and briefcases to church, and to include in prayer those who do not have access to a good education. At Saint Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, we do this on the labyrinth at our annual All-Parish Picnic on the Sunday after Labor Day. 

A Litany for Blessing Backpacks and Briefcases

For schools and classrooms and for the teachers and students who fill them each day,

God of Wisdom,

We give you thanks.  

For homes and workplaces and everywhere we find ourselves thinking, creating, and experimenting,

God of Wisdom,

We give you thanks.

For the gift of making mistakes and trying again,

God of Wisdom,

We give you thanks.  

Help us to remember that asking the right questions is often as important as giving the right answers.

God of Wisdom,

Hear our prayer.

That our schools, homes, and workplaces may be places of safety, compassion, and inclusion,

God of Love,

Hear our prayer.

For education equity in this country and around the world, that all people everywhere might have access to knowledge and opportunity,

God of Justice,

Hear our prayer.

God our teacher, we ask you to bless your people of all generations gathered here with curiosity, understanding, and respect. May their backpacks and briefcases be a sign to them that they have what they need to learn and to grow this year. May they be guided by your love. All this we ask in the name of Jesus, who as a child in the temple showed his longing to learn about you, and as an adult taught by story and example your great love for us. Amen. 

When we intentionally include all ages in this blessing, we are inviting mutual support and connection among the generations, strengthening those gathered for our collective and ongoing work of becoming and being the body of Christ.