Chaplaincy and Local Churches
'The Academy enjoys a strong relationship with local churches and representatives volunteer to form a chaplaincy team who minister regularly to students and staff. They deliver worship, give pastoral and spiritual support, and lead the students’ Christian Union.' (SIAMS)
Our Chaplaincy Team
We have a healthy, thriving chaplaincy team, working in partnership with our local Churches. The team is led by Mr Ascroft, the school Worship Lead. It includes a Youth Worker from one of the local churches, Clergy Chaplains, Diocesan Board of Education Advisers, members of SLT and the Governing Body. School chaplaincy is a distinctive and vital ministry in our schools. Our school is a varied and diverse family which is served by chaplains who seek to minister to the students, their families and staff. Chaplains work to plan and deliver worship in the school. They also work to better to support students in their exploration of the Christian Faith.
Below are the details of those church leaders we work with on our chaplaincy team:
- Father Marc Wolverson - Fr Marc is the Vicar at St James in Leyland and Area Dean.
- Steve Lamin - Steve is one of the associate pastors at Hesketh Bank Christian Centre.
- Reverend Sue Guénault - Sue is our local Methodist priest and part of the Lancashire West Methodist Circuit. Croston has a unique covenant agreement between the Methodist Church and Church of England. This is a covenant that we understand and welcome as a source of unity and ecumenism.
- Alex Woodfield - Alex is the youth worker at Hesketh Bank Christian Centre and local You for Christ worker. He runs the school's weekly Christian union 'The Hub'.
- Fr Mark Soady - Fr Mark is the Rector of Rufford and Tarleton parishes.
We have a long standing relationship with Trinity and Saint Michael’s parish church and St Mary the Virgin in Eccleston.
The Chaplain Role
The role of the chaplain is varied but their job consists of the following elements:
- Pastoral: Caring for the needs of the whole school community. The chaplain is available for everyone, not just Christian staff or pupils.
- Liturgical: Leading prayer and worship, preparing resources for collective worship.
- Spiritual: Leading the spiritual life of the community and upholding the school’s Christian ethos.
- Prophetic: Speaking truth and promoting Christian values.
- Missional: Commending the Christian faith, supporting faith development and working with the local church and other faith communities.
The Church of England has been providing and supporting schools for centuries through the work of school chaplains – discover more through the Church of England website.
Extra-Curricular
Various clubs and groups will be running throughout the year these include: Christian Union “The Hub” run by a local Youth Worker, pastoral drop-in times. We have a Worship band that leads worship and Upper & Lower school choirs. More information can be found in school and on our extra-curricular page: https://bishopr.co.uk/parents/extracurricular
