Benefactors return for Commemoration Feast

  • 23 November 2018
  • 2 minutes

Nearly 200 donors and their partners attended the Commemoration of Benefactors Service and Feast last Sunday, 18 November. Members of the Court of Benefactors have pledged particularly generous gifts to Caius and are invited to return every November for the event, which celebrates the impact these donations have on Caius’ continued success throughout the ages. Earlier on in the day, members of the Boat Club were able to join a ceremony at the Boathouse for the launch of the new Women’s VIII, named in honour of recently installed Master Dr Pippa Rogerson.

Back at College, guests gathered in the Bateman Auditorium for this year’s lecture. Professor Patrick Chinnery, Caius Fellow and Head of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University, delivered an illuminating talk on neurodegenerative disease entitled ‘Power failure: can we stop the loss of brain function as we age?’ After drawing on his expertise to hypothesize the future of research into conditions such as Parkinson’s, the clinical neurologist answered a range of questions from the audience.

The Chapel service is arranged every year in accordance with a memorandum from 1352 that states the Master and Fellows should be present at a Commemoration of Edmund Gonville between 11-25 November each year. During the service, those who have committed benefactions essential to the continued wellbeing of Caius through the centuries are remembered. This year’s sermon was preached by The Very Revd Simon Cowling (1977), Dean of Wakefield Cathedral. At the service’s conclusion, the congregation retired to Hall for a feast prepared by Director of Catering Ricardo Soares and his team. Over dinner the guests were serenaded by the College choir and thanked for their support in the Master’s speech.

 

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