Sussex says farewell to University Chaplain

The University Chaplain is leaving Sussex at the end of the autumn term - and heading off to the Channel Islands. The Revd Canon Gavin Ashenden, who since 1989 has been University Chaplain and an academic in the English department, is taking early retirement so that he can write - specifically to finish his book on Metaphysics and Modernity . He is to become vicar of the parish of Gouray St Martin, on the island of Jersey. Gavin explains: "I won't get paid, but in return for living there I will look after the church, which is too poor to support a parish priest, a couple of days a week. For the rest of the time, I will write." The Chaplaincy provides pastoral and spiritual support for students and staff of all faiths and none. Gavin says of his two decades and more at Sussex: "I have enjoyed helping to create communities of faith and exploration in the Meeting House. "I have loved being part of the intellectual community of scholars.