Faith & Reflection

Rev’d Ruth Wells is the senior chaplain for BU/AUB. She is an ordained priest on the Church of England but is around to support students and staff of all faiths and none. 

Ruth is a performance poet and is particularly drawn to using the arts as a way of finding soul nourishment. She is currently exploring beginning a PhD using poetics and theology. Ruth is really interested in how spirituality is worked out and connected to everyday life, and in how faith connects heart and head. 

She enjoys hearing people's stories - especially over a cup of coffee! She'd love to chat to you and hear your story too - you can contact her via email at [email protected]. 

Sue Burt, the International Chaplain, is particularly responsible for welcoming and providing support to international students. 

She works for the Christian organisation Friends International which seeks to provide welcome, hospitality and activities for international students of all faiths and of none.  

I love travelling and find it fascinating to learn about different cultures. I have visited more than 40 countries and lived in France for a year. I have also done lots of study over the years so I know just how it feels to have all those assignment deadlines and dissertation proposals!

In Faith & Reflection we want to support international students. if you're feeling lonely, struggling to understand our culture, or you just want to chat about what's happening in your life (the good and the not so good), do come and see us.

I'm at Bournemouth University on Wednesdays. You can always email me: [email protected]. Or come and meet me and other colleagues at Global Cafe - each Wednesday in term-time, 5.00-6.30 pm, 3rd floor Fusion Building. Come and enjoy free drinks and cookies and meet friends.

We're so excited to welcome Sister Tama to our team!!! 

Sister Tama is amazingly active in the Bournemouth area, supporting those in need. She helps out at our weekly Global cafe event and is in our Faith & Reflection centre every Friday. You can contact Tama via email at [email protected]

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Father Andrew Wagstaff is our Catholic Priest. He is on campus usually on a Wednesday afternoon at Talbot and on a Tuesday afternoon in BGB401, Bournemouth Gateway Building at Lansdowne Campus. All are welcome to join him in praying the Rosary at 2.30pm on Wednesdays in the Faith & Reflection centre. He also takes part in meetings of the BU Catholic Society: [email protected]. 

Father Andrew has been a member of the Congregation of the Oratory since 2012. The Oratory takes its inspiration from St Philip Neri (1515 - 1595), the saint of gentleness and kindness. St John Henry Newman brought the Oratory to England in 1848. 

When he is not at the University, Father Andrew can be found at the Oratory Church in Bournemouth where he lives with the other Fathers of the Oratory. On Sunday evenings he hosts a discussion group for Catholics aged 18 - 35, and on Tuesday evenings he hosts a Bible Study, both in the St John Henry Newman Library. 

Before joining the Oratory, Father Andrew practised as a barrister, and he is still interested in legal and bioethical issues and philosophy. His Master’s degree is in Biblical interpretation, and he has a research interest in the formation of the New Testament canon.​ 

Faith societies are a part of the Student Union (SUBU) that represent groups of students with a shared common interest. They are run by students, for students, and tend to have weekly meetings and social events. Any student can join a society that is affiliated to the Student Union. For a list of current faith societies visit SUBU Clubs & Societies page. 

Catholic Society

Meet: Wednesdays, 3.30pm-4.30pm
Contact: 

• [email protected]
• Catholic Society BU AUB Facebook group

​Christian Union

Contact: Universities of Bournemouth Christian Union Facebook page​

Islamic Society

Meet: Thursdays, 4.30pm-5.30pm
Contact:

• [email protected]
• [email protected]
• BU Islamic Society ​Facebook group

For more information about faith socities at BU contact SUBU on 01202 965765 or email [email protected].

All are welcome to join Gary in discussions on Buddhism, Buddhist philosophy and chanting from 7-30-9pm on the last Wednesday evening of the month in the Faith & Reflection centre - please email below for further updates.

Gary has been a member of the Soka Gakkai International – UK lay Buddhist organisation and a practising Nichiren Buddhist since 1982. Having met the practise whilst in the Royal Navy, he became the first UK military serving Nichiren Buddhist. Having served his time in the Navy, Gary now continues working in the military aviation sector. He also supports all Nichiren Buddhist members and activities locally, and nationally holding a variety of responsibilities within SGI. Gary has also organised lectures alongside the SGI-UK General Director at BU on a variety of philosophical and humanitarian issues.

Gary is also the SGI-UK LGBTQIA+ UK Buddhist Chairperson supporting all LGBTQIA+ Nichiren Buddhists within the UK and the wider LGBTQIA+ European Buddhist networks.

The Soka Gakkai is a global community-based Buddhist organization that promotes peace, culture and education centred on respect for the dignity of life. Its members in 192 countries and territories around the world study and put into practice the humanistic philosophy of Nichiren Buddhism. Soka Gakkai members strive to actualize their inherent potential while contributing to their local communities and responding to the shared issues facing humankind. The conviction that individual happiness and the realization of peace are inextricably linked is central to the Soka Gakkai, as is a commitment to dialogue and nonviolence.

For further information on the Soka Gakkai you can go to www.sgi-uk.org where you can find out about us, the philosophy and enquire about local contact information across the UK.

To contact Gary directly please email [email protected] for local meeting information at BU or [email protected] for all LGBTQIA+ related enquiries or via the Faith & Reflection team at BU.

David Warden is Chairman of Dorset Humanists, an Honorary Member of Humanists UK, and an assistant editor of Humanistically Speaking magazine. Humanism is a non-religious ethical philosophy which provides the space for people without a religious faith, or who may have left their religion, to think through the big questions of life from a non-faith perspective. 

David is a graduate of the University of Kent (theology) and Bournemouth University (Master’s degree in Human Resource Management). His career was in corporate training in financial services and local government. Since retirement, he has gained a Level 4 Diploma in humanistic therapeutic counselling and he leads the pastoral team at Dorset Humanists. Among his many activities locally he is the LGBT+ representative on the Bournemouth and Poole Holocaust Memorial Committee and he regularly visits schools to talk about Humanism. He has lived for most of his life in Bournemouth. He's married and he enjoys reading and playing the piano. 

David can be contacted for information, advice, and a listening ear on [email protected].

Rabbi Bentzion was born in Bournemouth and received his Yeshiva Education in Manchester, Israel and at the Rabbinical college of America in Morristown, New Jersey. He was Ordained in 2013 at the Central Chabad Yeshiva in New York. Rabbi Bentzion now serves as assistant Rabbi and lecturer of the adult education programme within the Bournemouth Chabad Community. Rabbi Bentzion also runs events and classes for the Jewish students at the Bournemouth universities. 

Rabbi Bentzion helps to support the student led Jewish Society (JSoc) and can be contacted via email: [email protected] or via the Faith & Reflection team.