Imam, rabbi, bishop and a minister perform mitzvah

Twenty-five faith leaders from across Brighton & Hove – including an imam, four rabbis, a bishop, a monk and three other Christian ministers – united for an interfaith dinner and Mitzvah Day event to support local people in need.

The group met at the Brighton & Hove Jewish Community (BNJC) centre, before creating care packs for the Safehaven weekly drop-ins run by St Peter’s Brighton.

The packs – which contain toiletries, facecloths, hygiene projects and treats – will be given to people supported by Safehaven who are experiencing homelessness, poverty, loneliness, abuse and/or addiction.

BNJC chief executive Marc Sugarman said: “We are proud to partner with Mitzvah Day for this remarkable interfaith dinner and packing. It demonstrates the incredible impact dedicated individuals can have when they come together in social action.”

Mitzvah Day is the UK’s largest faith-based day of social action and will take place on and around Sunday 24 November 2024.

The charity’s chief executive, Stuart Diamond said: “This Mitzvah Day event perfectly embodies the spirit of ‘Stronger Together’. Faith leaders from across Brighton & Hove, despite our different beliefs, came together to serve those in need. This interfaith collaboration demonstrates the power of collective action and sends a powerful message of unity and compassion to our community.”

Clergy at the dinner included Right Revd Will Hazlewood (Bishop of Lewes), Father Aidan Murray (Roman Catholic Monk), Imam Uthman Jeera (Al Medinah Mosque), Rabbi Hershel Rader (Brighton & Hove Hebrew Congregation), Rabbi Andrea Zanardo (Brighton & Hove Reform Synagogue), Rabbi Matt Marks (Brighton & Hove Jewish Community), Rabbi Pesach Efune (Chabad Brighton), Father John Habib (Coptic Orthodox Church), Reverend Ali Marshall (St Leonard’s Hove Church) and Curate Emily Row (St Peter’s Brighton).

There were also lay leaders from Brighton & Hove Muslim Forum, Nichiren Buddhist community, Gujarati Cultural Society, Sikhs of Sussex, Brighton & Hove Progressive Synagogue, Emmanuel Church, King’s Arms Church Bedford, St Andrew’s Moulsecoomb and Brighton & Hove Interfaith Contact Group.

The event was a partnership between Mitzvah Day, BNJC, Brighton & Hove Faith in Action and Sussex Jewish Representative Council.

Brighton & Hove Faith in Action Chair Rik Childs said: “Our group now includes Christians, Jews, Sikhs, Muslims and Buddhists and we will be playing a very active part in Mitzvah Day, in November this year.

“We plan to bring people of many faiths together – to show our love for Brighton & Hove residents and demonstrate that, even though we may all believe different things, we are stronger together and united in the belief that a better world is one where we put the needs of our neighbours before ourselves.”

• To register to take part in this year’s Mitzvah Day, please visit www.mitzvahday.org.uk