Faith Centre at Colchester Campus

The calm, friendly and supportive atmosphere of our Colchester Campus Faith Centre is a welcoming place for staff, students and the wider community to meet, interact and engage in a positive and peaceful manner.

Winter break arrangements

Space is available for you to pray or worship. Any faith group or chaplain may request use of the space faithcentreadmin@essex.ac.uk.

Please note; bookings can be taken by faithcentreadmin@essex.ac.uk until 18 December and then from the 4 January.

Mindful of the ever-present risk from covid-19 there are safety procedures in place.

1. If you make a room booking you are responsible for ensuring the Risk Assessment is followed. This has been completed following government guidelines. In confirming  your booking, you are agreeing you will follow the guidelines which will be sent as bookings are confirmed.
2. Tier 2 restrictions still apply, so you must not meet with friends and family indoors in any setting, including a place of worship, unless they are part of your household or support bubble. During prayer/worship, everyone must maintain social distancing guidelines at all times. This means people should be 2 metres apart or more than 1 metre apart as well as taking extra steps to stay safe (such as wearing face coverings) to reduce the risk of transmission.
3. Only University of Essex staff and students may access this space. The maximum group size is 30.
4. You must nominate an individual responsible for recording the names of those who attend. They are also responsible for ensuring all surfaces touched are cleaned.

We cannot guarantee all bookings can be agreed as we will need to look at the number of enquires we receive. We also have to consider the timings as we need time between bookings. We have also arranged for the room to be cleaned twice a day. Wipes will be available for users of the room to use to clean after use.

We also have a room available for booking for individual worship. If you would like details of this, please also email faithcentreadmin@essex.ac.uk 

Facilities

The Centre offers two spaces for worship, prayer and quiet reflection:

• a social space with kitchen area for reading, socialising and discussion
• a quiet space for private prayer, meditation or reflection

A variety of regular services, meetings and events organised by our chaplains and faith representativeschaplains and faith representativeschaplains and faith representatives are held in The Faith Centre Space 1.

The Faith Centre Space 2 is available for each of the five Islamic daily prayers. In addition, the Centre facilitates the Islamic Society in the larger gathering of Friday (Jummah) prayers each week, by arranging a larger venue elsewhere on Colchester Campus.

The Students' Union also facilitates a number of religious student societiesstudent societiesstudent societies. If there isn't a group representing your faith, you could get involved with setting one up. For more details please contact the Students' Union via socguild@essex.ac.uk.

• Faith Centre user guidelines and housekeeping information

Chaplain rota

If you'd like to speak to our Chaplains or find out more about their faith, you can visit the Centre Monday to Friday between 10am and 2pm. A rota of the chaplain’s availability will be updated shortly.

How to find us

The Faith Centre is located on Level 3 of the campus and is fully accessible. Find the Faith Centre location on Find Your Way map.

Booking

To book any of the facilities in the Faith Centre please contact us at faithcentreadmin@essex.ac.uk

News and events

Our Faith Centre hosts a number of events throughout the year, bringing together students, staff and the wider community from all faiths and backgrounds. To find out more about our Faith Centre and upcoming events, follow us on Facebook.