On Sunday, September 10th, we celebrated our annual “WellCome Back Sunday” tradition at WellSprings, with a new twist! This service marks both the end of summer, and a return to the regular rhythms and schedules of our congregational year. If you missed it, you can watch the whole thing on our YouTube Channel.
Our band rehearsed a new song before the service began, as volunteers set up a bit of an unusual chair configuration, because we had exciting plans for the floor space in the center…
As our service began, we invited our new Ministerial Intern, Nick Sanchez, to come forward and light our chalice. Welcome, Nick!
Then, our Worship Leader, Chris, invited all the students (of any age!) to come forward and place their backpacks in the front of the room for our first-ever “Blessing of the Backpacks.” We had lots of backpacks to bless!
There was so much good energy in the room, and it was a gift to see so many of our families with us that morning. Our congregation stretched out their arms to begin sending some of that good energy out, to “charge up” these backpacks for a new school year.
This was an all-ages service, so Miss Carol, our YouthSpirit Director, read us the book “Bling Blaine” to introduce our Fall message series theme, about getting “off the fence” and showing up to support the people around us.
During the message, Rev. Lee led the congregation in a special blessing. Together, we all blessed the backpacks with Wonder, Fun, Courage, Safety, and Love.
After the service, all our backpack-wearers were invited to choose a special gift from the congregation. We had stickers and keychains with messages about kindness, love, and bravery – because just like we’d learned in Miss Carol’s story, it’s important to share our values out loud. We never know who we’re helping, just by being ourselves. Everybody who was blessed chose an item to take with them, to decorate their backpacks, and carry a little bit of love from our WellSprings community, into their day-to-day routines.
And of course, we ended the service with lots and lots of bubbles – sending the joy of our community ahead of us, as we enter the new year.
Thank you, WellSprings, for another wonderful WellCome Back Sunday!