Koinonia is Christian fellowship or communion, with God or, more commonly, with fellow Christians. Koinonia is an important part of our daily school routine and enables children and staff to think about our overarching whole school themes and values, particularly Christian values, the impact they have on children’s everyday lives and to reflect on God and the teachings of the Bible.
Bathford Church School has strong links with our local church, St. Swithun’s and we are very lucky that once a week Reverend Lauretta from the St Swithun’s team leads our worship. This might involve sharing stories from the bible, special events for special occasions such as Harvest, Easter and Christmas, and supporting the children to reflect on Christian values.
Our aims for Koinonia are to:
- Provide opportunities for worshipping God.
- Provide opportunities for participants to develop a closer relationship with God.
- Encourage a sense of awe and wonder at the beauty, power and mystery of the world.
- Encourage resilience in the face of local and global current events.
- Encourage the development of a sense of spirituality.
- Encourage a sense of community within and beyond the school.
- Foster a sense of fellowship by bringing together pupils and staff to celebrate shared values in the school and in the community.
- Share experiences such as special occasions and events in relation to individual pupils within the school, to the school as a whole, or to the wider community.
- Enable children to develop their understanding of the Christian faith and of the teachings of the Church.
- Acknowledge, understand and respect difference and diversity, recognising that we are all unique and loved by God.
- Enable children to consider moral issues.
- Give time for quiet reflection, prayer and other appropriate responses.
Worship should be a positive experience for the children. We aim to allow them the opportunity to explore different approaches to Christian worship.
Here is our Collective Worship policy
Christian Values
Our collective worship is based on a Christian value each half term. We run a 3-year cycle, exploring the following values:
We encourage parents to talk to their children about the values we are thinking about each term and how they are reflected in your family.