Chapel services

Choral Evensong is celebrated every Sunday evening at 5.45pm in term (except for the few Sundays where it is replaced by a carol service). The service lasts approximately one hour and consists of choral singing, hymns, readings, prayers and a sermon (often given by a guest preacher).

There are no great demands of the congregation at Evensong – many people of little or no religious inclination find it a comfortable place to experience fine music and be inspired by a thought-provoking sermon.

After Evensong, we have a drinks reception in the Old Library where you can meet and talk with the guest preacher. Afterwards we go up for formal hall together – a great and sociable way to spend a Sunday evening!

Compline is a traditional form of prayer before sleep (which is pronounced KOM-plin). It uses unaccompanied Gregorian chant to cleanse and calm at the end of the day.

During term, we sing Compline on the Tuesdays of 1st and 5th week at 9pm in the chapel. Volunteers prepare the chapel by lighting a hundred small candles, so that as people come in the chapel glows and shimmers. The Choir usually leads the service, which is sung in beautiful plainchant. The service is followed with port and hot chocolate.

The service is short — between 15 and 20 minutes — and meditative. Everyone is encouraged to join in the singing as best they can, but those who prefer just to sit and soak in the atmosphere are most welcome as well.

In the chapel we celebrate the Eucharist on occasional midweek evenings at 6pm, according to the modern rite of the Church of England. We alternate between a choral service – a smaller chamber choir sings the service setting, with a motet chosen for the day – and a less formal, said service with an instrumental interlude or chants. The Chaplain occasionally gives a short homily or thought for the day.

Those who are communicant members of their own churches are welcome to receive communion. All who come to Eucharist are invited to join us for a hot buffet dinner in the Old Hall afterwards. Once a term, a Roman Catholic priest from the University Catholic Chaplaincy celebrates Mass in Hertford Chapel.

The Chaplain prays the daily offices on behalf of the college during Morning and Evening prayer – please contact him if you would like to join in. Hertford Chapel is always open; although we often close the doors in winter to keep the heat in, they are never locked.

Beside the Tyndale window at the back of the ante-chapel is an old lectern that is used as a prayer board. There is a pen and small squares of paper here for writing prayer requests — as little or as much detail as desired may be given. These prayer requests are regularly included in daily prayer in the chapel and at the weekly Eucharist service.

At the front of the chapel, to the left, stands the Icon of Christ’s Baptism. In front of it is a metal stand for votive candles. There is a tradition of lighting a candle for each of the concerns we bring in prayer, so that we may focus on each candle as we pray for the person or thing that we are concerned about.

Current members of Hertford College – students, staff and fellows – may request for their children to be baptised in the Chapel, either by the Chaplain or another minister. In either case, you should contact the Chaplain to find out more.

In certain circumstances, parents might prefer a service of prayer and thanksgiving for the birth of a child, in which the child receives a simple blessing instead of baptism.

The Chaplain prepares candidates for baptism and confirmation each year. Preparation classes usually take place in a small group of those who wish to explore issues of faith, religion and theology with the Chaplain and each other, not all of whom choose to be baptised and/or confirmed.

We welcome current and former members of the Hertford community back to college to celebrate their marriages or special anniversaries. For more information, please see our Chapel Weddings page.

We provide an important service in the celebration of the lives of members of the college community who have died, whether in a funeral or a memorial service. The Chaplain welcomes inquiries about holding such services.