Children, Youth and Family Blog

Welcome to autumn, to a brand new term and to the start of the new school year. 

How do you feel about September? Delighted that the nights are beginning to draw in and the time has arrived for candles and woolly jumpers? Or a slight sense of sadness that the summer days are now behind us and the new school term has arrived? 

Perhaps your school days really were the happiest days of your life? Or perhaps you still have those slightly odd dreams that you’ve arrived at the school gates without your shoes. 

Many children and young people will be returning to school over the next few days. Of course, our friends north of the border have already been back a while (my own children used to take great delight in this on our August bank holidays spent in Scotland!) Many will carry with them a mixture of hopes and fears for the year ahead. For some, the return to school can be a painful experience, whilst for others it signals a return to safety. 

Father God knows every single one of these children; the excited ones, the nervous ones, the home educated children, the unable to get a foot through the school gate children, those starting school for the first time, those approaching their final year or next stage of education… 

As they prepare, this is a very important time for us to bring them before God in prayer, and ask for his blessing and protection over them. Do you include your school and school children in your weekly intercessions? Many churches take the opportunity to have ‘book bag blessing’ over the children on the Sunday closest to the return to school. This is a great way to ensure the children know that they are noticed, remembered and loved. 

This week, there will be another opportunity for us to pray for schools and school children, as Wednesday 9th September marks the National Day of Prayer for Schools. This combined event has been taking place over many years and encourages us all to take time to pause and pray for our local schools. You can find more information about how you can get involved here. 

We really do encourage you to pause, this September and bring before God all those children and young people currently enjoying, or enduring their school days, that our schools would be places of peace, for good learning, for all children and young people to have the opportunity to fulfil their God-given potential and for them to discover the greatest teacher of all.