Flourish worshipping communities

Our diocese has been chosen to help pilot a new style of worshipping community. Flourish will link church and school together to form new worshipping communities that meet midweek in school. These will be voluntary groups meeting at lunchtimes or after school, and will involve local churches in helping to lead activities.

There will be 40 such communities launched in September 2024, across 12 dioceses. Four of them will be within our diocese, at the following schools:

• Bembridge C of E Primary School, in Bembridge on the Isle of Wight (supported by Holy Trinity Church)
• The Bay C of E School primary site, Sandown, Isle of Wight (supported by Christ Church, Sandown)
• The Bay C of E School secondary site, Sandown, Isle of Wight (supported by Christ Church, Sandown)
• Horndean C of E Junior School, Horndean (supported by Clanfield and Catherington parish)

There are five core principles behind the launch of such worshipping communities:

1. Young people’s voices are instinctively at the centre of all leadership decision-making and implementation.
2. There is a clearly articulated and shared purpose to grow a younger and more diverse community of Christian disciples.
3. Strategic leadership partnership between school and church.
4. Intergenerational faith development experiences involving children and their families of all ages
5. Worship that is fully integrated into the regular rhythms, practices, structures and resources of the school’s vision for flourishing of children and adults.

This initiative is just one part of our diocese’s vision and strategy for the future, which includes the aim of rejuvenating our worshipping communities across the diocese. To read more, click here.

New Flourish lead workers

We have now recruited three new workers who can lead this work in those four schools. They will start, develop and lead the new worshipping community at the relevant school, embodying the five core principles outlined above, from September 2024.