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Sussex Chaplain wins award for building solidarity across faiths
Posted on behalf of: Internal Communications
Last updated: Thursday, 22 June 2023
Reverend Prebendary Alan Green
Reverend Prebendary Alan Green, recently-appointed Anglican Chaplain at the University, has won the Annemarie Schimmel Award for Championing a Muslim Cause at the Muslim News Awards for Excellence on Monday 19 June.
The award, which recognises Rev. Green’s work to build solidarity between Christians and Muslims, was presented by Naz Shah MP, Shadow Minister for Crime Prevention, in the presence of the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan. It highlights his remarkable dedication to creating a positive impact in the field of interfaith relationships. Rev. Green was the only non-Muslim to be awarded a prize this year, making the achievement even more remarkable, and showing the esteem in which he is held by the distinguished panel of judges.
Before he came to Sussex, Rev. Green was Rector of St. John on Bethnal Green in London, where he was deeply engaged in interfaith work. He chaired both the Tower Hamlets Inter-Faith Forum and the Tower Hamlets No Place For Hate Forum; welcomed Muslims into his church as a symbol of solidarity; and opposed far-right group Britain First when they picketed a local mosque. Father Alan returned to his native Brighton in January of this year, after being appointed the priest-in-charge of St. Laurence in Falmer, and so took up the linked position of Anglican Chaplain at the University of Sussex.
Sussex’s University Chaplain James Croft said of Rev. Green’s award:
“I am delighted that the brave and inspiring work of our Anglican Chaplain, Alan Green, has been recognised by Muslim News. Alan’s work in East London provides a model of principled interfaith engagement. At one interfaith event, Rev Green said: “We may be of different faiths, but we stand together”. That is a philosophy I and the chaplaincy team at Sussex all share. We have many different faith and philosophical perspectives, but we stand together to support the whole University community. We are lucky to have Rev. Green, who embodies this perspective, serving Sussex staff and students.”