Anglia Ruskin University Chaplaincy

Photograph is of Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford.

ARU has won the University Of The Year accolade.

Well done ARU. Teamwork !

just a reminder that you can put your or anyone's name on our Buddhist prayer list for two weeks as of today. You may renew the
name being on the list every two weeks approximately, being full moon and new moon times. The service is free of charge.

Send as a DM to me with each person's:
Full birth name,
date of birth,
country of birth (and residence if now different)

The name will be added until the next prayers list is made, you may renew the name on the prayer list as many times as you wish, free of charge.

We hope to be of benefit to all

With many apologies that we have not posted on here recently. We have had a change of chaplains.
So let me introduce you to the Rev Alison who is the chaplain of the Cambridge campus, Steph is the continuing chaplain in the Peterborough campus and a new member of staff who will join us soon in the Chelmsford campus, the Rev Hannah.
We hope all is going well with all our face book friends.

A very warm welcome to all new students at ARU!
Your Chaplaincy teams are looking forward to getting to know you!

Some weeks ago, an interfaith prayer meeting was held at Beth Shalom Reform Synagogue. The Beth Shalom community hosted people of faith from Baha’i, Christian, Jewish and Moslem traditions. It was a moment of reconciliation in response to what was happening in and around Ukraine.

It was too important to be a one off, and so it is that another such opportunity will take place tonight.

Downing Place United Reformed Church, Cambridge, CB2 3EL

Photographs of Rev. Nigel Cooper's well attended retirement bash at ARU Cambridge campus.
Happy retirement Nigel !!!

Minstrels welcoming the International Students of Chelmsford with music and song !

What Christmas means to me

Reflections from some of our Chaplains

I am a Hindu and we celebrate Diwali but also equally we celebrate Christmas, not particularly in a religious manner but culturally, as both offer messages of hope, and highlights the important facets of what it is to be alive and more so what is significant in life, namely FAMILY. Each offers an abundance of lights and colours and not forgetting food of course which helps create a happy atmosphere. I don’t know of one single family that is without its issues, however, the atmosphere created by Diwali and Christmas offers hope overcoming adversity and our hearts are more full of JOY, and we want people around us to be happy, so we make a special effort because it is for sure, a time of goodwill towards all.

Merry Christmas,
Thak

A close up of a shiny red bauble on a Christmas tree branch
Writing as an ex-Christian and a now Buddhist I have to admit to still liking Christmas hugely. This surprises my Buddhist acquaintances and friends until I advise them I use the opportunity to observe and reflect on the actions of others before and on this very special festival of Christmas Day. Christmas appears no longer a holy day in the eyes of many but has turned into another opportunity to be exploited by the corporates and to appease the children.

Perhaps we could look at ourselves more deeply and observe if we are happy at the way we conduct our Christmas celebrations having re-affirmed it as being a holy day not an opportunity to cause ourselves fiscal misery throughout the new year? There is a balance.

Returning to prayer meditation and community in celebration of Jesus may be the best Christmas present your family could receive, not the latest xbox offering.

Happy Christmas to all my Christian friends and acquaintances,
Alex Crawford

It is the time of year where I celebrate the fact that God came to live amongst us ordinary human beings.

It is the time of year that I marvel at how baby Jesus grew up to be this shining example of how to challenge oppressive regimes.

It is the time of year that I am particularly thankful that we have this example of Jesus to follow, and I am filled with eternal hope that we can and will live in more a just and loving world.

Every blessing,
Gale

I suspect (and hope) that many Buddhists look forward to Christmas as much as anyone else. Although there can sometimes be rather stereotyped or idealised images of Buddhists (especially monks) as people who live austere, silent, minimalist lives, that is not the whole story. The Buddha's own path to enlightenment brought him to the realisation that extremes of self-denial do not assist us in our spiritual progress - and nor does self-indulgence. To be spiritually aware is to try to walk a 'middle way' by which we can be more awake to the complexity of experience, and that can include finding real pleasure in good food and good company.

The events of the Christmas narrative and the ways in which it is often celebrated today have ready connections with some central elements of Buddhist practice. The nativity story is about ordinariness and obscurity: Jesus is born in an outhouse and his birth is first celebrated by some local shepherds. The Buddha's reminder that profound experience is to be found everywhere, in the most mundane or overlooked bits of everyday life, has immediate resonance with that for me. There is no need to seek grandeur or prominence; the search for such things simply gets in the way.

The pattern of giving and receiving presents is an opportunity to practice generosity and gratitude, both central to Buddhist ideals. In being generous we seek to let go of grasping on to all that we have and try to be more open and imaginative in sharing with others. Our gratitude for what we receive allows us to feel the truth and necessity of our interconnection with others, and by extension with all living things.

Those celebrations and excitements can also be reminders of those for whom Christmas is not a happy prospect because of loneliness, fear or deprivation, or because Christmas has painful personal associations. Those reminders awaken us to the Buddha's call for compassion and for generosity and concern extending far beyond our immediate family and friendship groups.

Most Buddhists celebrate the Buddha's birthday each year (with rather less agreement than Christians about the date). New life is always exciting; let us enjoy the party.​​​​​​​

Eleanor Richards

There is a bit of a competition between Christmas and Easter as to which is the top Christian festival. Easter was first off the block. I imagine the early Christians started to celebrate it the first year after Jesus’ resurrection. It also has a definite calendar date rooted in history (that the date of Easter moves about is merely a function of the fact that it is based on a lunar and not a solar calendar). Christmas was relatively late on the scene and cannot mark the actual birthday of Jesus, as that is not known.​​​​​​​

Today the popular vote I’m sure would be for Christmas, despite the attractions of Easter eggs, bunnies and daffodils. That is partly because the festival has attracted to it several other dimensions: light at the turn of the year, the family and its reunions, and feasting and present giving. Christmas ‘carols’ can be as much about reindeer as Jesus, so that very many people can feel they can join in, whatever their religious beliefs. It is a joyous celebration.

If Easter feels jealous of being upstaged by Christmas, it is not just down to the commercialisation of Christmas and the financial investment in the festivities which that brings. Arguably, Christmas marks a greater miracle. Easter celebrates the victory of Christ on the cross and miracle of his resurrection as the defeat of death and the offer of eternal life to all. This is the supreme work of Christ, bringing salvation and the forgiveness of sin. But this required the prior incarnation of God in Jesus. If you are familiar with the way the Creed is recited in a Catholic church, you may know that it is customary to genuflect (partly kneel) at the place where the birth of Jesus is described. This is an acknowledgement of its centrality in the story of our salvation.

And if believing in the resurrection of a dead person is challenging to us who live in such a materialist world, how much more is the belief that God became man! This throws into chaos all our preconceived ideas about both God and humans.

God is as he is in Jesus: not a remote, disengaged being, perhaps operating some levers on earth from afar, but someone who shared our worries about getting constipated. Someone prepared to get down and dirty at our level. Someone buffeted by all the woes of human life, dodgy friends, implacable enemies, workload stress (though he did set a good example in taking time out to root down); and its joys, meals with friends, sunsets and sunrises, a good glass of wine. He was also someone who shared life with social outcasts, who tended the sick, who told riddling stories, who was ready to forgive and to love. Someone prepared to risk all and to lay down his life for his friends (all of us).

And humans are as they are in Jesus: not grovelling, weak and pitiful, at the mercy of every social change, but someone who demonstrated the outstanding capacity of humans. Someone resolutely ethical, with the determination to see things through, with the necessary courage to stand up to political pressures and to handle death by torture. But someone also who was loyal to his friends, even when they hardly deserved it; someone moved by compassion at the suffering around him. A person through whom the spirit of God shone and communicated herself to others. This is the amazing capacity of the human, and to share the stature of Christ is within our reach. We can believe in the best of ourselves and others and grow into that greatness. And our destiny is to share in the life of God as adopted daughters and sons.

That, however inadequately put, is what, to my mind, justifies all the partying of Christmas. Have a great time!

Nigel Cooper

Join the CU for hot chocolate, cookies and carols this Monday 6th December 6pm.

In 92, Chelmsford. Book your free tickets via the SU Events page 👇

https://www.angliastudent.com/events/26174/9952/

Join the CU for Christmas carols on 9th December 5.00 - 6.30pm on the Ruskin Green, Cambridge.

We hope to see you there!

Come along to our Interfaith event on Chelmsford campus tomorrow!

Free event with teas, coffees and cakes.

18.30 for 19.00 start.

MAB404

A great opportunity for leaning about these two great faiths.

Upcoming event! ⭐️🥳

On Wednesday the 24th of November we will be hosting an event with ISOC which is the Islamic society at ARU!

It will be a great opportunity to ask questions, get to know eachother and grow in knowledge about each others faiths!

This will be in LAB026 at 5pm and refreshments will be included 🤠

Everyone welcome!!

Join us during Interfaith Week on Thursday 18th Nov, 6.30pm, Chelmsford Campus.
Together we will reflect on COVID-19 and hear from a variety of faith leaders.
It will be a good opportunity to learn from one another and teas, coffees and cakes will be provided.
The event is free but tickets need to be booked on Eventbrite.

Navrati details!

We will all be aware of the terrible crisis in Afghanistan and its impact on women and girls. At the same time, the generosity of people in Cambridge in wanting to welcome and support the refugees and to make Cambridge into a city of sanctuary has been truly remarkable. Friends working with refugees in Cambridge have reported numerous enquiries about how the public can donate money and help in other ways.


We have two local charities working with Afghan refugees as well as with refugees from other countries. They are the Cambridge Convoy Refugee Action Group or CamCRAG (https://camcrag.org.uk) and the Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign or CRRC (https://www.cambridgerefugees.org ). CRRC welcomes and supports refugees arriving in Cambridge whilst CamCRAG collects material aid and delivers it to refugees in camps in Europe and Lebanon and to those living rough in Calais and also supports NGOs working on the ground with refugees in those areas.

Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign Cambridge Refugee Resettlement Campaign helps those who have arrived in Cambridge seeking safety, in all ways from the practical provision of clothes and furniture, to helping with language learning and social differences.

Eid Mubarak
to those celebrating today

For those of you in Cambridge, this may be of interest.

ARU international student? Join us for our iCafe End of Year Garden Party next Monday at 6pm! Social distancing guidelines will be adhered to and hand sanitiser provided. For more details about the venue email me (Sofie) directly on: [email protected]
Looking forward to being together in person again! Bring your own snacks!

iCafe friends are now meeting regularly on Wednesday evenings at 5:30pm at the Box Cafe (just round the corner from ARU, 47, Norfolk Street, CB1 2LF). It's a lovely Turkish Cafe with indoor and outdoor seating and lovely Turkish food and snacks. All ARU international students are welcome to join us :) - a great chance to meet some new people in person!

We have had this message:

Recruiting residents for Lyn’s House, Cambridge

Are you a Christian student, recent graduate or a young adult looking for a place to live?

Live in Cambridge as part of a small, praying, ecumenical Christian community and share in a ministry of friendship centred on adults with intellectual disabilities, supported by volunteers and trustees within the wider Lyn’s House community.

Places are available from the end of August in a shared, 3-bedroom house with a communal lounge, with a large orchard and gardens. The house is situated on Grange Road, a quiet street close to the city centre.

Monthly rents range from £564 to £620. This includes all utilities, WIFI, use of shared lounge and outdoor space, and a weekly clean of communal areas. Council tax is not charged to residents. Limited grants may be available to assist with rent costs where applicants can demonstrate genuine need. More details are available on ‘Christian Flatshare’: https://tinyurl.com/3rcmfdnf For more information, or an informal conversation, email Carole Irwin [email protected]

The recent book A Kind of Upside-Downness written by members of Lyn’s House can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/vxf34xwa

https://lynshouse.org/ https://www.facebook.com/LynsHouseCambridge

Lyn's House A space of life-enhancing, transforming friendship amongst people of differing intellectual abilities

This is an exciting major project by Matthew McLaren, an ex-ARU student.
All the best, Matt!

Apocryphal: A Story of Mental Illness & Aliens Apocryphal is a science fiction horror film that follows a lost soul's struggles and retelling of a life changing alien encounter.

https://arustudentnews.blog/2021/05/26/chaplains-thought-for-the-week-by-nigel-cooper-listening-well/

Chaplain’s thought for the week by Nigel Cooper – Listening Well Chaplain’s thought for the week by Nigel Cooper, University Chaplain, Cambridge

https://arustudentnews.blog/2021/05/20/chaplains-thought-for-the-week-by-revd-jackie-thornton/

Chaplains thought for the week by Revd Jackie Thornton Chaplains thought for the week by Revd Jackie Thornton

Join us at iCafe on Monday (6-7pm) as we chat about our favourite books and why we like them. Former iCafe member, Philippa, will be joining us this week to share some of her insights on the book of the Bible. DM or email me (Sofie) at: [email protected] for the Zoom link 🙂

Eid Mubarak

Remembering Caron
7pm Friday 21 May
http://arul.ink/RememberingCaron
Join us to remember and celebrate our friend Caron. Students and colleagues from ARU will read poems and pay tribute to a teacher and writer whose inspiration will never be forgotten. We also invite you to post your tributes, memories and photos, in the Q&A box, during the event. You can click on the link or cut and paste it into your browser; it’s not necessary to download MSTeams.
[email protected]

https://arustudentnews.blog/2021/05/11/chaplains-thought-for-the-week-by-steph-pedlar/

Chaplain’s thought for the week by Steph Pedlar Chaplains thought for the week by Steph Pedlar, University Chaplain, Peterborough

Join us at iCafe on Monday night (6pm-7pm) as we share and discover the various cities we come from :) DM me or ping me an email ([email protected]) for the Zoom link!

https://arustudentnews.blog/2021/05/05/chaplains-thought-for-the-week-by-jackie-thornton-2/

Chaplain’s Thought for the Week by Jackie Thornton Chaplain’s Thought for the Week by Jackie Thornton, University Chaplain, Chelmsford

https://myaru.sharepoint.com/sites/i-ab/SitePages/Chaplain's-Thought-for-the-Week-by-Jackie-Thornton%2C-University-Chaplain%2C-Chelmsford.aspx

myaru.sharepoint.com