The Chapel Society
MANCHESTER COLLEGE OXFORD CHAPEL SOCIETY
meeting for worship in the Chapel of Harris Manchester College, Mansfield Road, Oxford
An inclusive congregation
The Chapel Society of Manchester College is affiliated to the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free Christian Churches. We are called ‘Unitarians’ because of our belief in divine unity, the oneness of God; and because we affirm the essential unity of humankind and of creation. Our members range from humanists, theists, and universalists to liberal Christians and members of other faith traditions, including Hinduism, Buddhism, and Judaism, meeting together in mutual respect to share worship, ideas, and friendship. We welcome all who believe that religion is wider than any one sect and deeper than any one set of opinions. We are a varied congregation in terms of age and nationality, with roughly even numbers of men and women, and a mixture of ‘Town’ and ‘Gown’.
A religion without a creed
The form of our services is fairly traditional, with hymns, prayers, meditations, readings, a sermon, and music played on the chapel’s fine organ. But the content of the services is distinctive: we do not recite a creed, and readings are drawn not only from the Bible but from a wide range of other sources: world faiths, science, the arts, the natural world, and everyday living. The sermon is intended to stimulate thought, not to expound an orthodoxy to which all are expected to conform.
We welcome visitors
Visitors and inquirers are always welcome. Our services are held every Sunday morning at 11 am and last for about an hour. Coffee is served afterwards, and we hope visitors will stay to have a chat and exchange ideas with us. For anyone who would like to learn more about Unitarianism, there is a small lending library and a literature stand stocked with leaflets and magazines. Creative activities for children aged 5-10 are organised during the service on the third Sunday of every month. Once a month the service is followed by a sandwich lunch and a discussion on a spiritual or social theme, or an outing to a nearby place of interest.
What about access?
An induction loop system is fitted in the Chapel for people who use hearing aids. There are three steps up to the main entrance to the College. An alternative entrance provides wheelchair access. As this entrance is security-coded, we would encourage anyone with mobility problems to contact us in advance.
For advice on access and car parking, please telephone the Secretary of the congregation, Catherine Robinson, on 01865 511307.
Harris Manchester College
Manchester Academy was originally founded in Manchester in 1786, to provide a liberal education for Unitarians and other non-conformist dissenters who were barred from obtaining university degrees at Oxford and Cambridge. Renamed Manchester College, the institution moved to Oxford in 1889, establishing almost immediately a reputation for independent thought and a radical approach to intellectual and social issues.Unitarian benefactors paid for the construction of the College on a site in Mansfield Road, purchased from Merton College. The main buildings were completed in 1893.
The first woman to train for the ministry of any denomination in England began her studies here in 1901, and Hungarian, Indian, and Japanese students were admitted from the earliest days. The study of comparative religion was established early on. Rabindranath Tagore and S. Radhakrishnan gave lectures, and Sir Alister Hardy established the Religious Experience Research Unit here. The College is now a full member of the University, and unique in that most of its undergraduates are mature students – some of them in training for the Unitarian ministry, but many more studying a full range of academic subjects.
The name of the college was changed in the 1990s to commemorate the generosity of Lord Harris, a major benefactor. The chapel, which is unaffiliated to any particular religion or faith, is registered for wedding ceremonies ’according to the rites of those who object to be designated’. A feature of the college itself is the Carpenter Library, established by Estlin Carpenter in the 1890s and containing books and scriptures from many faith traditions.
