Canterbury Update - Summer 2026

Canterbury at Texas Tech is beginning another full semester of worship, fellowship, formation, service, and community. After a busy spring and an adventurous summer, students have returned to Lubbock and are settling back into the rhythms of life together at Canterbury. Our regular Sunday schedule continues with formation at 4:30 p.m., followed by Holy Eucharist and dinner at 6:00 p.m. On Thursday evenings, students gather for “We Aren’t Strangers,” a meal and community night centered on friendship, conversation, art, games, and the opportunity simply to spend time together. These weekly gatherings remain at the heart of Canterbury’s ministry and provide students with a place to worship, eat, ask questions, build friendships, and know that they belong.

One of the highlights of the summer was Canterbury’s annual retreat in May. This year, students traveled from Lubbock to Moab and Arches National Park, through Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, to Fort Washakie, and then through Denver and Colorado Springs before returning home. Each day included prayer, reflection, shared meals, and time to experience the beauty of creation. The group also celebrated Sunday Eucharist and a Healing Eucharist together. The long journey became more than simply a road trip; it gave students time away from school and daily pressures to deepen relationships, reflect on their lives, and experience God’s presence in themselves, in one another, and in the world around them.

The fall semester began with Welcome Week and opportunities for both returning and new students to connect with the Canterbury community. This year’s welcome events included Pride Night, with karaoke, hot dogs, and snow cones, and Diversity Night, with games, pizza, and brownies. Both evenings also included a quieter downstairs space for students who preferred art, conversation, or a less crowded environment. These gatherings helped introduce new students to Canterbury while making clear from the very beginning the kind of community we hope to be: one grounded in belonging, inclusion, and the love of God for all people.

Formation will also continue to be an important part of the semester. This fall, students will read Kelly Brown Douglas’s Stand Your Ground and spend time talking together about race, violence, faith, white supremacy, and the ways Christian theology speaks to questions of justice in the world. Canterbury has always tried to create space where students can bring difficult questions to their faith rather than feeling that those questions must be left at the door. Our hope is that this semester’s conversations will challenge students while also helping them think more deeply about the relationship between Christian faith and the world in which they live.

There is plenty happening outside our regular weekly schedule as well. Students will continue selling parking during Texas Tech football games as one of their major fundraisers, and on September 7, the group will take a day trip to Carlsbad Caverns. Our annual Garage Sale will follow on September 11–12. The Garage Sale is one of Canterbury’s most important student-led fundraising events and helps make retreats, trips, and other special opportunities possible throughout the year. Later this fall, students will celebrate a Pride Eucharist, prepare parish breakfasts at St. John’s, St. Christopher’s, St. Stephen's, and St. Paul’s, participate in Diocesan Convention, gather for Thanksgiving dinner, and conclude the semester with Lessons and Carols and our annual Christmas party.

As another academic year begins, we are grateful for the students who continue to make Canterbury a place of worship, laughter, friendship, service, learning, and mutual care. We are equally grateful for the parishes and people throughout the Diocese of Northwest Texas who provide meals, support our fundraisers, pray for our students, and make this ministry possible. There is already a great deal ahead of us this fall, and we are excited to see where the semester takes us.