Religion and Spirituality
Sacred Spaces
The Chaplaincy Department has a number of spaces on campus for worship, meditation and reflection.
Restrictions of use for all chaplaincy areas:
- Regular organised student groups wishing to use the chaplaincy spaces must be registered with the Students Union as a society and conform to the Students' Union code of practice.
- Only material (books, pamphlets and notices) authorised by the Chaplain may be displayed.
- External speakers leading prayers or discussions, or giving sermons or talks, must obtain written permission from the Chaplain, who will liaise with the Conference and Events Team to ensure procedural compliance.
- All spaces associated with Chaplaincy may only be used in ways which are consistent with the university’s Equality, Diversity, and Human Rights Policy
- Gender-segregated worship spaces are only allowed by full consent of all parties involved, and only on the basis of religious sensibilities.
- All those who use Chaplaincy spaces must leave them tidy and in such a way that they can be used immediately afterwards by others.
- Where concerns arise over the accessibility of space the Chaplain should be contacted in the first instance on 01904 876 606 or by emailing j.speck@yorksj.ac.uk
All activities must conform to the Chaplaincy’s approach to proselytising, which is as follows:
The principle of moral and emotional freedom of the person shall be adopted in the advertising, invitation and conduct of all faith–based events at York St John University. Information may be freely given about events, but there should be no unreasonable pressure applied to people to attend the event. Acceptance or otherwise of the invitation should be free from judgement. The same principle of autonomy should also apply at the event itself, with no unreasonable pressure being exerted.
Those not abiding by this notice, or the other stated restrictions of use for Chaplaincy activities shall be referred to the Head of Student Services, who may withdraw the privilege of the use of the various facilities.