Chapel Services
Sunday Worship in the Chapel is at 5.45pm
Churchill College and religion
The majority of the Colleges of the University of Cambridge are religious foundations; at least that is how they originated. Many of them demonstrate that in their names (Christ’s, Jesus, St John’s, Trinity, Magdalene, Corpus Christi, and so on), and in the fact than many of their formal ceremonies take place in their chapels. Churchill is not like that. We were founded without any specific religious mission, and the Chapel at Churchill College was not part of the original foundation of the College. Churchill is a tolerant College, where people of all religions, and of none, can feel at home, and will find others of similar persuasions.
The Chapel at Churchill College is ecumenical and provides a locus for worship for all Christian people in the College community. Members of the congregation are encouraged to take part in shaping the worship within the Chapel. All who seek, who worship or who are in doubt are welcome. Services are generally held at 17:45 on Sundays in term.
Any Christian group seeking a venue for prayer, Bible study or discussion, and other groups wishing to use the Chapel should approach Dr Martyn Johnson, Chairman of the Trustees. Please feel free to come to the Chapel at any time for private prayer and as a place for quiet reflection. Baptisms, weddings, funerals and memorial services may be arranged by speaking to the Chaplain.
Music
Choir
The choir sing alternate Sundays at each college, leading the workshop in Choral Evensong as the Chapel Choir to the ecumenical Chapel at Churchill, and hosting a unique ‘Music and Words’ event in Murray Edwards that combines choral music, poetry and a short address on a topic pertinent to the human experience. ‘Inter Alios’ literally translates as ‘among others’ and speaks to our collective spirit; we are proudly inter-faith, inter-collegiate, and international.
Our weekly alternation, under the musical direction of conductor and composer Dr Ewan Campbell, exposes the choir to probably the broadest and most diverse repertoire of any Cambridge college choir. In addition we seek to juxtapose well-known choral works with contemporary repertoire, and particularly music by female composers. In recent years we have premiered works by Errollyn Wallen, Stef Conner, Anna Semple and a host of student composers.
The choir’s annual schedule increasingly includes trips outside of Cambridge to perform in nearby cathedrals. We have been regular contributors to the Brandenburg Choral Festival, in venues such as St Martins in the Fields, and have made recordings in the Churchill College recording studio, both a cappella, as well as with the Orchestra on the Hill. Within our colleges the choir sing at important feasts and dine on high table once per term at each college.
Term time schedule:
- Thursdays 5:30 – 6:30pm: Rehearsal
- Sundays 4:00 – 5:30pm: Rehearsal
- Sundays 5:45 – 6:30pm: Performance
Concerts
The Chapel is also used for music practice, concerts and occasionally for dramatic productions at the discretion of the Trustees who are Fellows of the College.
Organ & Piano
Members of the College are able to use the Chapel organ and grand piano.
