The Awareness Foundation, formerly the Trinity Foundation for Christianity and Culture, is a

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

charity that was established in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 2003 for the purpose of peace-building between the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

Overview

The Awareness Foundation is based in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, the UK, with supporters in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, the

, and

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. The Foundation states that it works to build, "peace through empowering people in the Middle East and the West to use their faith as a means to bring reconciliation and understanding, driving out mistrust and hostility.". Their Royal Patron is the

Duchess of Edinburgh Duchess of Edinburgh was the principal Courtesy titles in the United Kingdom, courtesy title held by the wife of the Duke of Edinburgh. There have been four Duchesses of Edinburgh since the title's creation. Following the accession of Charles I ...

GCVO is their Royal Patron. Their Founding Patron was

Rowan Williams Rowan Douglas Williams, Baron Williams of Oystermouth, (born 14 June 1950) is a Welsh Anglican bishop, theologian and poet. He was the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury, a position he held from December 2002 to December 2012. Previously the Bish ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

. They now have a College of Patrons, including Williams,

Charles Cadogan, 8th Earl Cadogan Charles Gerald John Cadogan, 8th Earl Cadogan, (born 24 March 1937), styled as Viscount Chelsea until 1997, is a British billionaire peer and landowner. He is a first cousin of the Aga Khan IV, spiritual head of the Ismaili sect of Shia Muslim ...

Anba Angaelos Archbishop Anba Angaelos is the Coptic Orthodox Archbishop of London and Papal Legate to the UK and to Sydney and its Affiliated Regions. Early Life Angaelos was born in Cairo, Egypt and emigrated with his family to Australia when he spen ...

Christopher Cocksworth Christopher John Cocksworth (born 12 January 1959) is a Church of England bishop in the open evangelical tradition. He is the current Bishop of Coventry; prior to becoming bishop he was the Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge. Early life and e ...

Paul Kwong Paul Kwong CStJ (; born 28 February 1950) is a retired Anglican bishop from Hong Kong, who served as Archbishop and Primate of Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui, Bishop of Hong Kong Island, and Bishop of Macau from 2007 to 2021. Kwong is also the current ...

and

Kevin McDonald Kevin Hamilton McDonald (born May 16, 1961) is a Canadian actor, voice actor and comedian. He is a member of the comedy troupe The Kids in the Hall, who have appeared together in a number of stage, television and film productions, most notably th ...

Leslie Griffiths Leslie John Griffiths, Baron Griffiths of Burry Port (born 15 February 1942) is a British Methodist minister, politician and life peer who served as President of the Methodist Conference from 1994 to 1995. A member of the Labour Party, he w ...

is a former Patron.

History

The Trinity Foundation for Christianity and Culture (TFCC) was launched in September 2003 by

, Archbishop of Canterbury, at a service at

Holy Trinity, Sloane Street The Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity with Saint Jude, Upper Chelsea, commonly called Holy Trinity Sloane Street or Holy Trinity Sloane Square, is a Church of England parish church in London, England. It was built in 1888–90 at the ...

church. There were two co-founders; Bishop Michael Marshall was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Holy Trinity from 1997 to 2007, and

Nadim Nassar The Revd Nadim Nassar (born 1964) is a Syrian-British Anglican priest, who is the Executive Director and Founder of the Awareness Foundation. He established the Awareness Foundation in 2003 with Bishop Michael Marshall in response to the growi ...

was an assistant curate in the parish. The charity was later renamed the Awareness Foundation.

Programmes

Work in the Middle East: Awareness Foundation Middle East is headed by Huda Nassar. It has two main missions: it "builds up understanding between the East and the West" and "strengthens and sustains Christians in the Middle East". Core projects include: * Ambassadors for Peace: The Awareness Foundation trains young people in Syria and Iraq to become 'Ambassadors for Peace' in their community. So far, "over 700 young people have begun their journey to become Ambassadors for Peace, and much peace-building projects are now in development, including a center offering first aid training, a program to rehabilitate vulnerable street children, and an ecumenical dialogue project." * Little Heroes: The Awareness Foundation states on its website, "In 2015, we decided to invite 200 (displaced children) to a special three-day Summer School to plant the seeds of love, trust, hope, and joy in their hearts so that they could overcome all they have faced and play an active role in their new homes, schools, and communities. "Our Little Heroes program has already helped more than 2,000 displaced children in Syria to give them a new hope and new energy to live their life without fear. This enables them to build new bridges of respect and understanding with children of other faiths that they meet in their new homes and schools." Rest of the World: * The PAX programme, is "a growing online collection of short yet challenging faith-based videos." The program's goals are described as "Through discussion of topics such as politics and faith, interfaith relationships, and how to combat extremism, PAX seeks to build peace by insisting upon compassion and respect. * The Awareness Forum consists of special events such as dinners, conferences, roundtable exchanges, and lectures, focuses on the religious and cultural issues of the day. * The Facing Faith program is described by the Foundation as "A community-based initiative to promote peace and understanding across barriers of faith & culture" by "bringing together community and faith leaders from different religions and cultures to discuss ideas."

Awareness Sunday

The foundation held an

Awareness Sunday Awareness Sunday takes place each year on a Sunday in September. Awareness Sunday in 2014 took place on Sunday 14 September. Awareness Sunday is described as "about healing and reconciliation in our communities". Awareness Sunday is an initiative o ...

event in September for several years up to 2020. On Sunday 11 September 2011, a special public service of remembrance and reconciliation for Awareness Sunday took place at

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

Denominations

The Awareness Foundation is

ecumenical Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

, with board members from the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

, the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

, the Episcopal Church in the US and the Middle East, the

Greek Orthodox Church The term Greek Orthodox Church (Greek: Ἑλληνορθόδοξη Ἐκκλησία, ''Ellinorthódoxi Ekklisía'', ) has two meanings. The broader meaning designates "the entire body of Orthodox (Chalcedonian) Christianity, sometimes also call ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...

and

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

Churches and several charismatic evangelical churches.

Personnel

Michael Marshall was the first Executive Director of the Foundation. As of 2023, Nadim Nasser is the current Director. Nassar's first book, ''The Culture of God'', was published by Hodder in 2018. He has been a guest blogger on the UK website of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'', and both Nassar and Marshall have spoken around the world.

Charles Longbottom Charles Brooke Longbottom (22 July 1930 – 5 February 2013) was a British barrister, businessman and Conservative politician. In his later years his interest turned to Christian healing and education. He was appointed Officer of the Order of ...

was the Founding Chair of Trustees.

References

{{Reflist Christian education Christian ecumenical organizations Christian charities based in the United Kingdom Organizations established in 2003