King’s College Chapel will host a joint service this Sunday (November 26) to commemorate the first day of Scotland’s Inter Faith week and the annual Kirking of the Students’ Association.
The special multi-faith service is held once a year and involves participation from students and staff from the University of many different faiths who share in leading in a service which celebrates the community and honours the elected leaders of the Students’ Association and the work that they do.
King’s Chapel will join with thousands of people across the country from all the different faiths who are working to build up community and break down division. The University gathering this weekend will uphold this diversity of faiths and backgrounds of those involved with the community life of the University.
The Chaplain to the University, Rev Easter Smart, said: “The tradition of Kirking at the University has changed a great deal from its origins. Recognising, that the University community is far more diverse than it was at its foundations, we now gather as people of different faiths and backgrounds.
“This is an exciting way for us to celebrate Inter Faith week. Holding an actual service is a way to bring the diverse community together which can be more welcoming and meaningful than simply exchanging ideas in a dialogue.
“We still hold the Kirking in the traditional location of the Chapel, which itself is the historical heritage of every student, regardless of faith or creed.”
The service will welcome participation from the Chaplaincy, the Aberdeen University Muslim Society, the Jewish Society, the Buddhist Meditation Group, Dialogue Society for Scotland, the Koranic Society, The Bahai Society and Saurabh Jain representing the Jain religion.
Rev Smart added: “The theme of the service is Feasting and Fasting are ancient human practices. In our discussions based around the simple themes we learned that all our traditions embrace special days or seasons of fasting or feasting.”
The service at King’s College Chapel this Sunday (November 26) begins at 11.00am.