Opening Ceremony at University of Plymouth's Multi Faith Centre

Visitors to the University of Plymouth’s multi faith centre have doubled since a move to new premises - and to mark the success, students, staff and external faith groups are being invited along to an opening ceremony. The Deputy Vice-Chancellor Professor Mary Watkins and Rt Rev Christopher Budd, Roman Catholic Bishop of Plymouth, will be joined by Jonathan Marshall MBE on behalf of the Multi Faith leaders at the event on Monday. The Chaplaincy started up in the 1970s and up until September last year, was based at the back of the Sherwell United Church. The new site at Kirby Terrace offers a social area, a quiet room for prayer and meditation, a meeting room for discussions, an Islamic prayer room, widely used by Muslim students, and rooms for office work and one to one support. There are eight chaplains who provide pastoral support to any student or member of staff who asks for it regardless of creed or belief. The team represent a breadth of practice within the Christian church and there are also faith advisers from the Jewish, Islamic, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist faiths. The centre has been used by Muslim students for prayer and to celebrate Eid, for Hindu Society meetings, Buddhist meditation, by the Chinese Christian group for fellowship and Bible study, for mindfulness meditation, and by Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox students.