Recent Events at the Chaplaincy Centre
April 1st
International Conversation Club
After some initial chaos it was a great success, with about 40-45 students: 10-15 from Sheffield University and 30 from SHU.!
A number of ISC members joined in, it was great to see them chatting with members of Sheffield Hallam University's International Student Society about things like their Cultural Evening. Working in partnership with SHU was great as the Club benefited from the existing energy of their group. The Hallam group brought so much energy and openness, and enjoyed coming to our Union.
Here is some of the feedback from some of the students who participated:
- Fatma, Libya, “Even though I have attended before, this is the first time I have enjoyed the Conversation Club”
- John, Mexico: "Can we organise more like these for UoS students too?"
- German PG, “otherwise how do you meet people? Its just from home to the library and home again”
The Chaplaincy Weekend Away
5th-7th March
A group of us took a few days out of the hectic Sheffield life to visit St Deiniol's library in Wales for a weekend retreat. It was a brilliant weekend revolving around the theme "Here we are you and I, and God is in our midst".
More details can be found on the Weekend away page:
22nd-26th February
Week of Accompanied Prayer
Fifteen students gathered together at the Chaplaincy for a week of exploration and sharing. Each student met a prayer guide for half and hour each day during the week. There were also three evening sessions where people came together to reflect on their experience, share a meal, or pray together. The week ended with a wonderful closing session altogether to pray for one another and to encourage each other to take the experience of the week into the rest of their lives. The students all talked of how much the week fed them spiritually, and how enjoyable the experience was.
Here's some feedback from students who took part:
- “For me, the Week of Accompanied Prayer was about trying to find a way to pray that suited me - to pray as I can, not as I can't. After being initially paired up with Mary as a prayer guide, we met every day for half an hour and chatted about different approaches to prayer, and then spent some time in quiet reflection or active prayer, or whatever the mood of our meeting required. It really was a truly fantastic week. It has helped me to realise that there are no 'oughts' or 'shoulds' in prayer; what's right for me is what's right for me!”
- “A particularly stilling and quiet week for me. The one-to-ones have allowed me to explore how a lifestyle of reflection doesn’t have to be incompatible to lots of activity, people and passion. Thank you!”
- “I had a wonderful time with Catherine, one of the prayer guides. I had many glimpses of how life could be free from obligations and expectations. I wish time and circumstance would allow this sort of thing more regularly. I found the evening session very useful, and again I wish I could make time for reflecting in this way more often. One thing this week has helped teach me is to take life as it comes.”
Carols at The Edge
Wednesday Dec 16th
This was a wonderful celebration with craft stalls, mulled wine, mince pies and lots of carols! The Gospel Choir and Brass Band from the music department were really great. There were quite a few local Broomhill residents as well as students, and everyone enjoyed the carols and generally had a good time.
Proud to be a Postgrad Week
Monday 9th – Friday 13th November
Jelly and Asha joined forces to get the Chaplaincy involved in the University´s Proud to be a Postgrad Week. Our events included a ladies trip to Cocoa, a local chocolate boutique. A group of seven of us tried many different teas and indulged in truffles, cupcakes and sweets. We were overwhelmed with the beautiful array of chocolates and other pretty-coloured things! A perfect setting for some girly gossip and pampering.
We also invited a bigger group to Shiraz, a tasty Persian restaurant. The evening resulted in some very good food, amazing company, and a very entertaining belly-dancer!
If you would like to find out more about provision for Postgrad students at the university chaplaincy please follow the link to Jelly's page.
Friday the 13th November
Christmas shoebox appeal day
We had a really successful day on Friday packing shoeboxes bursting with joy! Operation Christmas Child is the world´s largest children´s Christmas project, sending shoeboxes of gifts and goodies to children in disadvantaged situations in Africa, Eastern Europe and Central Asia. We filled 10 shoeboxes for boys and girls of various ages, and had a great time in the process!
Everything that went into the shoeboxes was donated by friends of the Chaplaincy. There were some lovely gifts: sweets, colouring books, duck-shaped sponges, and socks to name but a few! Primark donated lots of shoeboxes, which was really helpful! It was really lovely to get together and think about the gifts, and imagine how much they would be appreciated.
If you´d like to know more about the charity, or to donate, then visit: