About the Chapel
Chapel Services
Services in the Chapel are mostly in the Anglican Christian tradition, and are for anybody who wants to come, whether you go to Church regularly or not. You don’t have to be religious to come to our services. The main service each week is Sunday Choral Evensong at 5:30pm, and there is usually a service of Compline (Night Prayer) on a Tuesday evening. We also have services for special occasions and festivals.
In 1902, the Chapel building itself was added to the College, fulfilling a particular wish of the founder Emily Davies. It provides a beautiful setting for worship but also a quiet space for meditation and reflection. Girton Chapel was dedicated as an ecumenical Chapel, meaning it is not consecrated in any particular Christian denomination.
The Chapel community fosters a welcoming and inclusive culture, and the services – usually including beautiful music from the College Choir – can provide a welcome stability amongst the busyness of College life.
Like most Colleges in Cambridge, Girton College has a weekly Choral evensong in term time, and anyone – from Girton or visiting – is welcome to attend the services. Choral evensong begins at 5:30pm and lasts about an hour, and along with wonderful music from the Choir features a short sermon from the Chaplain or a guest speaker. The service follows the traditional order of the Book of Common Prayer from 1662.
Choral Compline takes place on Tuesday evenings by candlelight – a refreshing way to relax and enter some rest after a busy day. Compline is sung either by the whole choir or small groups of musicians. Compline is an ancient monastic service dating back to maybe as early as the fourth century. It is an incredibly beautiful service which many people find they grow to love and value deeply as part of their week.
A beautiful reflective sung evening service from the Roman Catholic tradition - take place on some Fridays.
There are occasional extra services of Holy Communion led by the Chaplain, often late in the evening. Regularity varies from term to term.
The Chapel also marks a number of occasions and festivals throughout the year and attracts a variety of interesting and distinguished visiting preachers. Details of all the services are on the Termcard, which you can access below.