What sorts of things help you to call a new place home?
Much of university life that is brand new upon arrival now feels familiar for freshers. Even so, with days becoming colder and shorter and the novelty of Freshers’ Week fading, it’s not unusual for students both new and old to hanker for back home. Dropout rates can be higher at this stage as students experience a kind of delayed homesickness.
No event in the student calendar draws these desires into sharp focus quite like a Christmas Carol Service can. Festive nostalgia is an evident pull – 1,500 students attended York’s annual CU Carol Service in the Minster this year, the majority unchurched guests, and a further 50 students attended an impromptu Carol Service in the church next door when the Minster reached maximum capacity. As the reality of university life begins to dawn on some, so does a season of fresh gospel opportunities for our CUs up and down the country.
