Recently Sister Elizabeth Jane joined five other members of local Religious Communities and from the Community of the Resurrection at Mirfield for a four day-long series of events and prayer sessions at various Oxford University colleges and the University Church.
Under the headline, Life Together Oxford, and supported by University Chaplains, the University Church and students, Sister Elizabeth Jane and her colleagues shared their experience of the religious life and their calling, with students at a number of colleges.
“It was a wonderful experience,” says Sister Elizabeth Jane. “We were really taken seriously. There were posters around the University about the five days to publicise the events and specially printed bookmarks were handed out.”
“Across the week we had many deep and thoughtful conversations. And a lot of laughter too! The students were so engaged and wanting to know about our lives and how our parents had responded to our vocations.”
The week was marked by regular prayer and worship both at the University Church and in different college chapels each day. The University Chaplains commented on how much they appreciated being “carried in” worship by the members of the religious communities during the project.
One evening Compline was sung in Trinity College chapel by the college choir. This was a new experience for them and they enjoyed it so much, that they said they’d like to sing Compline again.
And now the ball has been set rolling. “We are planning to do it again next year,” says Sister Elizabeth Jane. “We feel we have a template which could be transferred to other universities based around a college structure and so we’re already making enquiries for 2020”.
Sister Elizabeth Jane CSMV