Attending Chapel Services
A very wide range of people come to services in King's College Chapel for a variety of reasons, whether to engage in worship, to have some time out from the pressures of everyday life, or to appreciate the building and music in an unhurried way that brings some personal peace and refreshment. Some of those who attend are local and visit the Chapel regularly, but there are many who are visiting us from afar, and who may only ever be here once. Some are devout Christians, some members of others faiths, some agnostic and some atheists. All are most welcome.
The Reverend Dr Stephen Cherry
Dean of Chapel
When you come to a service, please bear the following points in mind:
- We ask you not to bring any bag that is larger than airline hand-luggage size.
- We ask you to be in good time as we do not admit people to Chapel after a service has begun.
- We ask you to take a seat in the Ante-chapel if you cannot commit to remaining for the whole service. For Evensong allow up to an hour, for Holy Communion an hour and a quarter.
- We do not allow recording or photography of any kind in services and strongly request that phones are turned off.
- We regret that there are no public toilet facilities available in College.
Participation
We recognise that our guests may have a number of different reasons for attending services in King's College Chapel, and welcome a wide diversity of poeple form all faiths and none every day. No-one attending services will need to join in anything they find uncomfortable. If you or anyone attending with you has any special needs that we might be able to help you with, or if you have any other questions about attending, please contact the Chapel Manager, Chapel.Manager@kings.cam.ac.uk well in advance.
Music
Our public services are choral. On most occasions the College Choir sings and on Wednesdays it is our mixed voice choir, King's Voices. The congregation is invited to join in with the singing of hymns at weekend services and on other special occasions. Plainsong is often sung at services here — often in Latin: especially at Sung Eucharists. In particular, the Introit, Alleluia and Communion are usually sung to plainsong from the Graduale Romanum and also, occasionally, the Ordinary parts of the Mass.
Chapel Collections
King’s College is a registered charity, and the generosity of donors around the world helps support our teaching and research, the upkeep of the Chapel and the activities of our Choir. To discover more about our fundraising aspirations, and how you can help, please see our pages on The King's Campaign.
Twenty percent of all donations received in Chapel collections is given to other charities, as determined by the College’s Charitable Donations Committee. In the past, grants have been allocated to a wide range of charitable causes, most of which are based in Cambridge, but whose reach are variously local, national or international. Most recently, recipients of grants have included: Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, Break, Cambridge City Foodbank, Cambridge Cyrenians, Cambridge Rape Crisis Centre, Student Action for Refugees, Castle School, Domestic Violence UK, Home-Start Cambridgeshire, Karuna Trust, Lifecraft, Mary’s Meals, Rare Charity, Addenbrooke’s Charitable Trust, Saakshar School Appeal, Tibet Relief Fund, Tom’s Trust, and Cambridge Women’s Aid.
