A Faithful Presence

Together for the Common Good (T4CG) is a national initiative that encourages people of goodwill, especially from different Christian traditions, to work together for the common good across political and belief traditions. Its growing network comprises people of all Christian denominations, along with other faith traditions and secular allies, and includes on-the-ground social action practitioners, clergy, lay people, political thinkers, academics, theologians, commentators and policy makers.

The project is guided by an independent, ecumenical steering group inspired by the partnership between Bishop David Sheppard, Archbishop Derek Worlock and Free Church leaders in Liverpool a generation ago. In A Faithful Presence: working together for the common good, Hilary Russell, a founder member of T4CG, explores how faith-based collaboration works best for the common good.

This is a short accessible book, written in non-technical language, designed to be of interest to practitioners, clergy and lay, especially those who create, manage and implement social justice initiatives. It contains lots of illustrative examples of the ways in which churches are working together for the common good to strengthen civil society, through social action, service provision, community building, prayer and advocacy.

As well as making use of her other experience, Hilary draws on the findings of T4CG’s 12 month research process, which explored these issues through interviews, case study stories, opinion pieces and delegate input at T4CG’s inaugural conference.