Church Blesses Backpacks, Children Who Carry Them

[The Straight Story]

Church Blesses Backpacks, Children Who Carry Them

POSTED: 1:18 pm EDT August 29, 2005

HALIFAX, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania church has marked the start of a new school year with a service to bless backpacks and the children who carry them.

About 70 children at the Halifax United Methodist Church sat around the altar Sunday as church leaders used oil to anoint the backpacks and the students, who ranged in age from preschool to college.

The church's new pastor, Charles Sprenkle, said he likes to bless backpacks and students, as well as teachers, tutors, coaches, parents and other people in students' lives.

Seventeen-year-old Ashlee Still is starting at Harrisburg Area Community College, where she will be studying to be a cardiovascular technology specialist. She said she's been praying to get through her first week "and to get a handle on things."

http://www.local6.com/news/4910269/detail.html

[marbuc]

1. Community College can be rough

:sarcasm:

[Tace]

2. Blessings Are Wonderful

Why not?

[htuttle]

3. Are there any stories in the Bible about 'blessing' (as in 'enchanting')?

I mean blessing as in 'To imbue with magickal protection"?

I've read stories about Jesus healing people, walking on water, the fishes and loaves thing, etc, but I don't recall reading anything about him 'blessing' anyone, and certainly not any 'thing' like a backpack (or a weapon of war, etc...).

Seems to me the whole idea of 'blessing' something to protect it comes from superstitions that predate Christianity, and got incorporated in later (perhaps medieval priests wanted to offer an additional 'service'). The whole concept of 'enchanted items' seems very 'neolithic era' to me.

The way I read it, Jesus seemed to say you had to earn your own salvation -- you couldn't just get 'blessed' by one of his minions.

:shrug:

[Igel]

4. Matthew 19:13 is frequently called something like 'the blessing

of the children'.

"Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them." The church I was in long ago did it annually. One of the things the minister would ask for was the kids' safety.

Hence the vicar of Dibley's blessing of the animals. :-)

[onager]

5. Out here in L.A., there's a Blessing of the Cars.

In fact, there are several of them. The "blessing" is a regular event at some car shows.

No, I'm not making this up. Some of the low-rider clubs have a priest come by and chant his mumbo-jumbo over their hammered Chevies and Buicks.