Edinburgh University Chaplaincy

multifaithCOLLOQUY and multifaithFORUM at the University of Edinburgh

Colloquy was initially born out of conversations which were held between various religious societies during Freshers Week 2003.
As initial members graduated over the next several years, the group diminished in size.
Around the same time, the University Chaplain Di Williams decided to more formally organise periodic meetings of the leaders of the various religious societies. Called the FORUM, this group of student leaders eventually began meeting together with the Chaplain twice each semester.
During 2007/8 members of the FORUM decided to plan an Interfaith Meal, which was held in February 2008 and experienced by participants as highly successful.
Following the Interfaith Meal, members of the various religious societies said they wanted to plan further inter/multifaith sharing during 2008/9. As a result, in May of 2008 they met with Associate Chaplain MaryCatherine Burgess to explore ideas and decide what they wanted to do together in the coming year.

To provide a vehicle for developing and implementing these ideas, in September 2008 a decision was made to retrieve Colloquy. Because of its multifaith focus, the name has been changed to multifaithCOLLOQUY.
For the same reason, the name FORUM has been changed to multifaithFORUM.
The multifaithCOLLOQUY exists to support the further development of multifaith connections, conversations, activities, and programmes chosen by those who want to participate. Furthermore, though many participants may also be members of the multifaithFORUM, any student can belong to the multifaithCOLLOQUY. The Associate Chaplain provides primary support to this group, which also meets at least twice a semester.
The multifaithFORUM, however, remains a more formal body composed of the President and one other person from each of the religious societies. Its meetings are still held twice a semester as a more official way for the University Chaplain to bring leaders of the religious societies together to address common issues and concerns.