Chaplaincy handbook

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, VISIT:

www.cumbria.ac.uk/ chaplaincy

YOUR CHAPLAINCY LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS www.cumbria.ac.uk/chaplaincy

The chaplaincy service actively contributes to the university’s work to promote fairtrade

CONTENTS WELCOME 01 CHAPLAINCY PROVISION 02 WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH? 06 OTHER FAITHS 07 CHURCH OF ENGLAND FOUNDATION 08

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, VISIT:

www.cumbria.ac.uk/ chaplaincy

YOUR CHAPLAINCY LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS The chaplaincy team are on hand to help you to discover what it means to live life in all its fullness, living out what God has in store for each of you, both during your time at university and beyond.

Your period of university education should be a fantastic time. You get to learn new things.

You get to make new friends. You get to discover more of all that God has created you to be and more of your place in this amazing world he has created.

Sometimes, though, things don’t always work out quite the way that you planned, but I pray that you will discover more of God’s presence with you—in the difficult times as well as in the very best of times.

In that context, I would like to commend to you the services of the university’s chaplaincy team who are always available to offer you encouragement, support, help and guidance, whether you believe in God or not.

The chaplaincy team are on hand to help you to discover what it means to live life in all its fullness, living out what God has in store for each of you, both during your time at university and beyond.

I pray that you will have a fantastic time at the University of Cumbria—with God at your side, everything is possible!

With every blessing, SENTAMU EBOR Archbishop of York and Chancellor of the University of Cumbria.

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CHAPLAINCY PROVISION The chaplaincy service exists to promote the flourishing of every member of the university community. The team is here to offer you encouragement, support, help and guidance, whether you believe in God or not. We would love you to see us as ‘your chaplaincy’, here to help you discover ‘life in all its fullness’. “ If you ever travel through Paddington station on a Friday evening you will hear the sound of the Paddington Brass Band. A group of amateur musicians who give up their Friday evening to help others to dance and sing on their journey home. The band are neither passengers nor crew, they have no agenda. They turn up out of love. haplains, too, are like roving musicians.

C Embedded in the university, but not really part of it, we exist as ‘ministers without portfolio’; tasked with helping others to dance and sing on their journey.

We separate ourselves from our religious institutions, to tell our story, and to hear the stories of others. We are ‘outsiders’ with a purpose. So we know how hard it is to leave home, or to be living a life which feels fragile and insecure, we understand the discomfort of change and the longing for new life and growth.

In the Christian tradition Jesus says that stepping out of our comfort zone - ‘losing our life to gain it’- is the only way to achieve ‘Life in all its fullness’.

So we have stepped out of our comfort zones, to see if we can share that journey together.

We are a bit like a brass band on a railway station. Playing and singing in the hope that others might dance …”

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“ In the Christian tradition Jesus says that stepping out of our comfort zone – ‘losing our life to gain it’ – is the only way to achieve ‘Life in all its fullness’.”

TO CONTACT A CHAPLAIN AND TO ACCESS FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT CHAPLAINCY PROVISION, CHAPLAINCY ACTIVITIES, UNIVERSITY FAITH SOCIETIES AND LOCAL FAITH GROUPS, SEE :

www.cumbria.ac.uk/ chaplaincy

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UNIVERSITY OF CUMBRIA CHAPLAINCY: LIFE IN ALL ITS FULLNESS Through a ministry of ‘Presence‘ and ‘Faithfulness’

Present in our values We have time:

We talk about what matters:

• To be available to talk, pray and listen.

• By loving all the big questions of life and not ‘sweeping them under the rug’.

• To be a ‘non—anxious’ presence around campus, who staff and students can approach confidently and in confidence.

• To offer hospitality and space to gather, or be alone.

• By offering ‘crisis’ support at times of bereavement or tragedy.

• By remaining ‘outside’ the system for students and staff to speak to us in confidence.

We celebrate good news: • We celebrate all the good things with you.

• We practice a lack of cynicism and a generosity of spirit, as a way of encouraging the university in its task.

• We take an idealistic stance on education as the means by which human beings empower themselves and transform the world.

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Faithful in our work To our Christian inheritance as an Anglican foundation university: • By offering opportunities to worship and to explore the Christian faith.

• By offering prayer and spiritual guidance to groups and individuals.

• By making the Christian faith, and its core values, accessible as a resource to the university community.

To the stories of others: • By supporting those in all established faith journeys to grow and develop their spiritual life.

To ‘life in all its fullness’: • By supporting the emotional and spiritual wellbeing of students and staff.

• By looking for opportunities to encourage creativity, curiosity and ‘poetic imagination’ as ways to find what’s meaningful and spiritually rewarding in our lives.

• By providing ways for staff and students to feel cared for and safe.

• By building a strong chaplaincy community as a source of friendship and support.

• By supporting the university community in its common life and stated values through partnership and mutuality.

• By challenging bullying and unkindness in all its many forms.

• By welcoming and supporting international students.

• Through engagement with the wider community including churches and faith groups.

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WHAT IS THE CHRISTIAN FAITH? By virtue of its Church of England foundation, Christian beliefs and values have an important place within the university’s corporate life. But what is the Christian faith?

Christians believe that life is lived in all its fullness if it is lived in relationship with God through Jesus Christ, in community with other Christians who are seeking to follow him. At the heart of that relationship is the knowledge that God can be trusted, a knowledge which is based on the death and resurrection of Jesus, which brings forgiveness and new life.

When we open ourselves to the gift of God’s love in Jesus Christ, we receive his Spirit and begin to breathe with his breath, which makes us more like Jesus, living more and more in tune with God. A life lived in this way will be a life of selfless generosity, as we use the gifts that we have been given to help other people to be more fully alive. This is the Christian life, which finds its centre, power and inspiration in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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INFORMATION ABOUT CHAPLAINCY SERVICES, SPACES AND UNIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY GROUPS WHICH RELATE TO THE MAJOR WORLD FAITHS CAN BE FOUND AT:

www.cumbria.ac.uk/ chaplaincy

OTHER FAITHS The University of Cumbria and the chaplaincy service are also passionate about creating space within our community for the voices and traditions of other faiths to be expressed, enjoyed, respected, listened to and learned from.

We are committed to values which are shared by many of the great world faiths, encompassing themes of emotional, creative and spiritual development, along with social responsibility, equality, diversity, inclusivity and environmental sustainability. Faith opens our eyes, hearts and minds to a bigger, grander and deeper world than we might otherwise experience, and we value its wisdom, which can richly inform the challenges we face in today’s world.

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CHURCH OF ENGLAND FOUNDATION As a reflection of the university’s heritage, our Church of England foundation informs the corporate life of the university.

The Church of England foundation is expressed within the life of the university in many ways throughout the year, as members of our community have the opportunity to participate in weekly chapel worship and fellowship, Remembrance services, Christmas carol services, memorial services, leavers’ services and graduation ceremonies in Carlisle Cathedral.

As the university pursues its mission and vision, spiritual development is one of its core values, since looking outwards with the eyes of faith can open us to a bigger, grander and deeper world than we may otherwise experience.

On a day-to-day level, the Church of England foundation is expressed through the life and ministry of the university’s chaplaincy service, which also includes provision for those students and staff who belong to other faiths.

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This document may be viewed in electronic format on our website and can be made available in alternative formats (for example Braille). Please call the enquiry line on 0845 606 11 44 09

A PRAYER FOR NEW STUDENTS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF CUMBRIA Almighty and everlasting God, who fills all things with your presence, may your blessing rest upon our university community, especially our new students.

Prosper their endeavours, promote their studies, and inspire their minds with the perfect knowledge of yourself; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

AMEN.

“Your period of university education should be a fantastic time. You get to learn new things. You get to make new friends. You get to discover more of all that God has created you to be and more of your place in this amazing world he has created.”

SENTAMU EBOR Archbishop of York and Chancellor of the University of Cumbria.

Copyright © University of Cumbria 2015 (UOC 530)

www.cumbria.ac.uk/chaplaincy