Be a Partner and Mentor

Stop.

Think of the one word that you most associate with God. Pick just one word. Close your eyes and reflect on that word: what it means, how you see it at work, how it speaks of God to you. Spend a few minutes simply meditating on that truth.

Listen.

Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. – Deuteronomy 6:7-8

Reflect.

In this passage from Deuteronomy, God reminds the people of exactly who God is and who they are. God knows that people can be forgetful and need reminding. In fact, it seems that the things that are most important in life are decisions we need to make daily. We must constantly be reminded of who God is and who we are as God’s people – and that means hearing those promises and reading those truths frequently. 

For students returning to school, there can be competing messages about what to value, what’s important, and who they are. While this is true for any human in the world, the stakes are especially high for young people as they navigate new classes, changing friendships, and an ever-shifting sense of self. It is enormously stressful to return to class, reorient to the world around them, and try to figure out what it all means. 

As a community of faith, we bear a huge responsibility to these young people. It’s why I hope you’ll participate in worship on Sunday, September 26 as we have a Blessing of the Backpacks. We’ll invite anyone going to school this fall to bring their backpack (or other important school item) to be blessed in worship. But in particular, we will invite students starting preschool or kindergarten to receive a special blessing as they start school for the very first time. Together, we can hold them in prayer and tell them the truth of who they are: beloved children of God. 

Together, as we worship, serve, learn, and grow, we remind each other daily that our Creator has made us beautifully and well, and that we are made to love each other.

Pray.

God, we confess that we so easily forget how you love and care for us. Draw us to those who would remind us, teach us, and guide us daily as we stay close to you in our faith. Grant us what we need to daily live in your grace. Amen.

Carry On.

How can you serve as a partner and mentor to a young person today? Can you volunteer to help with youth ministry or one of our service partners?