Chapel Report
It has been a hugely encouraging and fruitful year in the life of the Chapel. It has also been an enlightening year in a very special sense: we now have a new Chapel lighting system, which has further enhanced the beauty and intimacy of the space, especially for late-evening services and events.
Sunday Evensong services, providing a weekly opportunity to hear world-class music, to engage with thought-provoking addresses, and to find a space for peace, conviviality and friendship, continue to be the heartbeat of our Chapel community.
In Michaelmas Term, we were packed to the rafters each Sunday for a sermon series on ‘The Precious Pearl’, taking its cue from the famous line from Lady Clare’s statutes, and from the Gospel parable to which our foundress alluded. Just as that parable points to the all-surpassing value of the kingdom of heaven, and the great joy that comes in finding God, so our guest speakers reflected on how divine truth and beauty might be found amidst the complexities of our academic studies. This included Professor Jeremy Begbie speaking on ‘Finding God in Music’, Dr Chloë Reddaway on ‘Finding God in Art’, Dr David Randall on ‘Finding God in Medicine’, and the Bishop of Loughborough on ‘Finding God in Bewilderment’ (a catch-all topic for most Tripos disciplines!). For Lent term, our sermons took us on a suitably Lenten journey, following in the steps of the Gospel narrative as Christ makes his way to Jerusalem, and to the events of Holy Week and Good Friday. We welcomed, among others, Professor Simon Gathercole, one of the country’s foremost New Testament scholars, The Rt Rev’d Paul Williams (the Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham), and Ally Barrett (the Dean of St Catharine’s College, and a Clare alumna). And for Easter Term, we continued the story, with a series of addresses on themes of resurrection from a diverse range of preachers, all of whom were united in being Clare alumni. It has been a particular joy this year to see so many Clare students, from a huge variety of backgrounds and convictions, engaging with Chapel life, and finding it a place of welcome and solace. Chapel Collections this year have helped to support Jimmy’s Night Shelter, Bede House, and Cambridge Women’s Aid, and a special Compline service helped to raise awareness around refugees (tying into the University’s ‘Sanctuary’ affiliation). Indeed, I was able to visit Bede House earlier this year, and to see the marvellous work being done by their Director, Mahua, and by our most recent Clare placement student, Anna Hardy.
You can read more about Bede House here.
Beyond Sunday evenings, and the regular rhythm of Tuesday and Thursday Evensong services, there have been a number of special services and events this year.
Late night Choral Compline continues to be a real treat for many in our College community – and a beautiful way to end a busy day. In Michaelmas Term we held a special service for All Souls’ Day (featuring Howells’ Requiem), and for former Clare Fellow and martyr Hugh Latimer, plus a Choral Eucharist for Christ the King, and our hugely popular Advent Carol Services in late November. We have also been cheered by the ever-strengthening ties of friendship with Clare Hall, who have joined us in large numbers for special Evensong services each term, and with Fisher House, the Roman Catholic Chaplaincy to the University, who celebrated Mass in Chapel in Lent Term. One especially jolly innovation this year was the Staff Christmas Carols sing-along in the newly-opened River Café, which revealed some impressive descants from unexpected quarters! Chapel life has, indeed, been thriving outside the Chapel itself, with Dean’s port evenings and afternoon teas for students, a regular faith discussion group, and a lovely private tour of the Wren Library for College staff in February. Most touchingly of all, there have been a number of Baptisms and Confirmations in Chapel this year, as several Clare students have taken an important step in their own faith journeys.
I am hugely grateful to our faithful team of Chapel Wardens for their camaraderie and good humour, to our outgoing Decani Scholar Hannah Fytche, who has served in that role with such sensitivity and grace over the last two years, and to the Head of the Chapel Office, Gabrielle Bell, who has been amazingly skilled, efficient and devoted in keeping everything ship-shape. And I am in daily admiration of the energy, commitment and delight that Graham Ross, our Director of Music, pours into his work with the College Choir. I could not hope for a more supportive and inspiring colleague.
All Clare alumni are always warmly welcome to Chapel services and events, including Sunday Evensong (after which supper is served in Hall). You can find the Chapel Termcard on the college website at the start of each term, and it would be wonderful to greet you in person soon!
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