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Higher education chaplaincies merit greater support, says CoE report

A MAJOR report, commissioned by the Church of England and supported by many of the main faith communities in the UK, offers a tutorial in the valuable work of university and college chaplains.

Faiths in Higher Education Chaplaincy calls on Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and the Government to continue to invest in chaplaincies to help them further their significant contribution to social cohesion, at a time when 43 per cent of young people in England and Wales have experienced higher education.

Examples of good practice include setting up inter-faith societies, organising visits to places of worship and mounting a 'faith week' to raise awareness about different world faiths.

The report points to the key role such projects play in fostering good relations between the future leaders of different faith communities in the UK.

Revd James Ramsay, chaplain to the University of East London (UEL), who contributed to the report, has said: "I hope this report will help to raise the profile of university chaplaincy in both Higher Education Institutions and the Church.

"A university chaplain's ministry is to academic and service staff as well as to students, and has three
main aspects: pastoral, educational, and institutional.

"Chaplaincy offers support for ‘the whole person', including the vital dimension of spiritual needs. It is educational at a deep level - with particular focus, appropriate to a university context, on exploring what it means to love God ‘with all your mind'.

"And it contributes in the role of 'critical friend' to the institution's understanding of its own values and purpose, and to its relationship with the local community.

"UEL enjoys exceptional religious and cultural diversity, and this brings challenges and insights that are far from narrowly academic.

"At present we are looking for volunteers to help develop our multi-faith chaplaincy, and would be
keen to hear from anyone who would like to know more about what this might entail."

Copies of the report can be downloaded from www.cofe.anglican.org/info/ education/hefe/fihecrep.pdf

For more information about volunteering at UEL email jamesaramsay@surefish.co.uk

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