CAPTION:
FLOURISH to Put Young People at the Heart of New Devon Worshipping Communities
Two Location Leads have been appointed to help establish new worshipping communities in Devon as part of an innovative Church of England project.
Rev’d Tandy Ruoff and Vicky Burton will lead local delivery of the three-year FLOURISH project, which works with churches, schools and colleges to create new intergenerational worshipping communities.
FLOURISH is an innovative project created by the National Society for Education within the Church of England.
Rev’d Tandy Ruoff, who is Associate Minister at St Philip and St James’ (Pip & Jim’s) Church in Ilfracombe, will be working to develop and establish two FLOURISH worshipping communities. One of these will be in Ilfracombe Church of England Academy, and the other in Berrynarbor Church of England Primary School.
Vicky Burton will be working to develop and establish a FLOURISH worshipping community within All Saints Church of England Academy, Plymouth.
The FLOURISH project is built around five key priorities: youth-led decisions, shared purpose, strategic partnerships, intergenerational faith and integrated worship. Together, these aim to place young people’s voices at the heart of decision-making, build younger and more diverse Christian disciple communities, strengthen links between schools and local churches, engage families across generations, and embed worship into everyday school and college life.
Rev’d Tandy Ruoff, said, “As the Year 11 Chaplain, and now also in my new role as Flourish Lead Worker, I have had the opportunity to spend time chatting with students, listening to their stories and simply being present as they began a new school year.
“Sometimes it is in those ordinary conversations that the most important things happen.
“I can already see the Spirit at work in Berrynarbor and Ilfracombe, and I am so excited to see what God is going to do in the year ahead as we seek to build relationships, create new worshipping communities, and help children and young people flourish.
“What a privilege it is to be part of what God is already doing.”
Debbie Clinton, the Church of England’s Co-Director of Vision and Strategy, said, “Becoming a church that is younger and more diverse requires us to think in new ways and imagine new possibilities to ensure there is a flourishing worshipping community within reach of every child in the country.
“FLOURISH offers a highly creative and innovative way of connecting with large numbers of children, young people, and their families by locating these worshipping communities in educational settings, while grounding them in strategic partnerships with local churches.”
