The Diocese of Bristol newsletter has featured the work that Julie Gardner has done as Schools Chaplain to grow the links with our local schools. Plenty to give thanks for here!
Since June 2024, Julie Gardner has been working closely with these schools to reestablish old links and implement new ways to serve the needs of teachers and pupils. Her appointment has led to closer connections between church and schools and positive feedback from teachers, volunteers and pupils.
Christ Church’s vision for employing a Growing Faith Chaplain was to connect more closely with local schools as part of its three-year vision to grow younger, deeper and wider. This links with a wider national church vision of schools and churches working together for the benefit of children and families in their local communities. Julie began by establishing what the links were between the church and schools and investigating children’s spirituality as a natural route into schools, to meet their needs. The schools’ work had started in 2023 through the work of church volunteers that included an LLM, Julie and the church children’s worker. Since then, approaches have been adjusted for each school depending on its journey and how to best meet their needs.
Read the full article below: