Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre, on the campus of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom brings together the many faith groups represented on the campus and in the wider community.
Lancaster University Chaplaincy Centre, on the campus of Lancaster University in the United Kingdom brings together the many faith groups represented on the campus and in the wider community.
When the university was being designed, the architect Gabriel Epstein suggested a site to the north-west of Alexandra Square for a chapel, potentially linked to University House. [1] The Anglican Bishop of Blackburn, the Roman Catholic Bishop of Lancaster, and the Rev. G. A. Maland (representing the free churches) held discussions together and agreed to retain the Preston-based firm Cassidy & Ashton, who specialised in religious buildings, as architects. [1] [2] [3] Later, these churches were joined by the Jewish community, and the University Grants Committee agreed to help with the cost of fees and fittings for the social areas. [1]
Built in 1968−1969, [2] [3] the Chaplaincy Centre consists of three circular lobes with a three pronged spire, intended to embody an aspirational ecumenical spirit and representing the coming together of the three Christian denominations of Anglicanism, Catholicism and Nonconformism. [3] [4] The Chaplaincy Centre's spire was the basis of the university's 1989 logo, [5] introduced in the university's silver jubilee.
Similar facilities exist at the universities of Dundee and Bath. However, very few universities in the United Kingdom have such purpose built facilities. Lancaster was the first such joint centre in the United Kingdom. [6]
At the insistence of the Catholic Diocese of Lancaster, the Catholic chapel is separate to the chapel used by Anglicans and Nonconformists, but moveable screens mean that both chapels can open up into the concourse for shared activities such as carol services. [4] A portable organ, with one manual and four stops, was installed in 1983, and can be moved for use in either chapel or the concourse. [7] Each chapel seats about 220 people. [7]
The Anglican/Nonconformist chapel is decorated with a wooden sculpture behind the communion table, entitled "The Battle". Constructed by local artist, Jan Thorn, it is reminiscent of a crown of thorns. [7] The wall behind the Catholic alter is decorated with a fresco-secco depicting the Transfiguration of Jesus, which was painted over 12 days in 2017 by the Eastern Orthodox iconographer Aidan Hart. [8] [9]
The centre also includes a Buddhist Meditation Room [10] and a Quiet Room used by Quakers. [11] The centre hosts weekly Mindfulness sessions [12] and serves as a meeting place for the Lancaster Jewish Society every Shabbat. [13] Opposite the Chaplaincy Centre in Ash House are the university's Islamic prayer rooms. [13]
The centre is also used as a polling station for local and national elections. [14]
In English church history, the Nonconformists are Protestant Christians who did not "conform" to the governance and usages of the established church, the Church of England. Use of the term in England was precipitated after the Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in 1660, when the Act of Uniformity 1662 renewed opposition to reforms within the established church. By the late 19th century the term specifically included other Reformed Christians, plus the Baptists, Brethren, Methodists, and Quakers. The English Dissenters such as the Puritans who violated the Act of Uniformity 1559 – typically by practising radical, sometimes separatist, dissent – were retrospectively labelled as Nonconformists.
A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common type of these. Second, a chapel is a place of worship, sometimes non-denominational, that is part of a building, complex, or vessel with some other main purpose, such as a school, college, hospital, palace or large aristocratic house, castle, barracks, prison, funeral home, cemetery, airport, or a military or commercial ship. Third, chapels are small places of worship, built as satellite sites by a church or monastery, for example in remote areas; these are often called a chapel of ease. A feature of all these types is that often no clergy were permanently resident or specifically attached to the chapel.
The Royal Army Chaplains' Department (RAChD) is an all-officer department that provides ordained clergy to minister to the British Army.
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster is a Latin Church Roman Catholic diocese centred on Lancaster Cathedral in the city of Lancaster in Lancashire, England.
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The Royal Air Force Chaplains Branch provides military chaplains for the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.
The Octagon Chapel, Liverpool, was a nonconformist church in Liverpool, England, opened in 1763. It was founded by local congregations, those of Benn's Garden and Kaye Street chapels. The aim was to use a non-sectarian liturgy; Thomas Bentley was a major figure in founding the chapel, and had a hand in the liturgy.
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St Peter's Church is a Roman Catholic Parish church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was built from 1803 and opened in 1804. It is situated on Justice Street between Peacock's Close and Market Stance, next to St Andrew's Cathedral in the centre of the city. It was the first permanent Roman Catholic Church to be built in Aberdeen after the Reformation and is a category B listed building.
Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy is based in the Old Palace, also known as Bishop King's Palace. The chaplaincy started in 1896 and moved into its current premises in 1920. The building was originally constructed in 1485 with another part added to it from 1622. It is situated on the corner of Rose Place and St Aldate's, next to Christ Church Cathedral School and Campion Hall. It is a Grade I listed building.
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