For most students across the country, going back to class this fall will seem very different. Many schools and colleges are only offering virtual learning experiences, meeting in classrooms under enhanced precautions or giving families options on whether to send their children to school or continue learning from home.
As children, families and teachers deal with the changes and challenges of schooling during the pandemic, churches need to offer as much support as they can in form of prayer, congregational care and outreach
We have assembled a list of resources and suggestions developed by local churches, annual conferences, United Methodist agencies and other Christian organizations to support students and teachers during this particularly unique back-to-school season.
Prayer and worship resources
- Blessing of the devices guide (an alternative to blessing of the backpacks)
- A blessing of the devices
- Pray, bless, support: Ideas and aids for back-to-school ministry
- United Methodist back-to-school blessing
- “God of All Learning”, Discipleship Ministries
- A blessing of the backpacks and the school year, Discipleship Ministries
- Back-to-school blessing, Discipleship Ministries
- Back-to-School Blessing, 21st-century Africana liturgy
- Praying for teachers and children, North Carolina Conference
Outreach resources
- Ministering with Families in the Ongoing Pandemic, Lewis Center for Church Leadership
- Our Connection Matters: Back to School 2020, South Georgia Annual Conference
- Churches step up to help salvage school year
- Helping children process coronavirus
- Local Church Serves as Connection Point between Congregation and Tribal Community, Discipleship Ministries
- Churches Serve and Pray for Students, Schools, and Families in Their Community, North Georgia Annual Conference
- Helping Children Thrive, United Methodist Women