Herewith the latest from Together for the Common Good.
Peter

———- Forwarded message ———
From: Together for the Common Good Newsletter <website@togetherforthecommongood.co.uk>
Date: Wed, 26 Jul 2023 at 07:17
Subject: The Meaning of Good
To: <peterchallen@gmail.com>

Summer 2023  Click to view email in browser    If this has been forwarded to you, you can subscribe here The Meaning of Good – Amos 5:1-27 Dear Friends Welcome to the summer edition of the T4CG Newsletter. It is said that Amos was an ordinary man. He heard what God was saying and wrote it down. He wasn’t thanked for his faithfulness – raw truth is never popular. Few have ears to hear. Today, there is so much that is positive in the world, but those who are honest sense something is deeply wrong.   The malaise is real, and it some places it is very dark. The symptoms are manifold: extreme inequality, economic instability, the degradation of nature, the breakdown of trust, polarisation, fragmentation, loneliness, addiction, human distress, ideological and spiritual confusion, degradation in the poorest places and the abandonment of whole communities: a breach of common good. This condition long pre-dates the pandemic. Catholic social thought helps us read the signs of the times: the causes are rooted in a hyper-liberal philosophy and a false anthropology. Amos conveys God’s wish for us to choose good, but to do this we must recognise evil. In Hebrew, the meaning of the word for evil, ra’a’, includes brokenness, to be broken in pieces, and the space between elements designed to be connected. Sometimes it hides in plain sight, disguised among the beautiful and the good. But often, as Hannah Arendt observed, it is concealed in banal form, in corporate form, indeed it can become a civil norm. Tragically, some are falling for its false claims about self-actualisation; for its modes of governance that replace democratic agency with technocratic administration; for its for-profit social engineering dressed up as freedom of choice. Some may warm to its idea that human political sovereignty should be relocated to unaccountable forms of bureaucracy and social control. We have become accustomed to living inside a story characterised by this banality. Too many of us may not see it until it is too late. Recognition of these shadows makes us long to make friends with the light. The Hebrew for good is Tov and the depth with which God uses this word is mind blowing. In Genesis it refers to the process by which God calls forth life. Life from a seed which itself has the seeds of even more life within it. Like an apple seed becoming an orchard. Like a life-giving conversation that brings forth life from inside of you and calls forth life in another. This calling forth is important. Because it transforms us and we begin to live a different story.   As Jesus says, the kingdom is like a mustard seed. It has its own mysterious life. It is our responsibility to cultivate conditions in which it can grow. We can practice “an asceticism” as Ivan Illich proposed, “which makes it possible to savour one-ness and here-ness, here, as a place, here, as that which is between us, as the kingdom is – in order to be able to save what remains in us, of sense, of meaning, of metaphor, of flesh, of touch, of gaze.”   We are relational beings with a transcendent nature, made in the image of God, not isolated individuals. And so, as Matthew Crawford says, we must reject the new anti-humanism, where human beings are seen as stupid, obsolete, hateful and fragile, needing endless products, services, medications or indoctrinations to be compliant. Better to embrace our imperfections and find meaning in each other.   Amos the ordinary man calls for the recognition of a hard reality. To commit to the good, it is necessary to identify evil and reject it. It is vital to discern what tov and ra’a’  look like morally, culturally and socially and in statecraft. This is why John Paul II identified both unbridled liberalism and state collectivism as the twin tyrannies, and argued for intermediary institutions like clubs, local businesses, unions and associations as countervailing powers. It is why the wise are now working on new forms of local democratic accountability and covenantal association. When we think of renewal, it is God’s renewal, not ours. This is not about a campaign but a prior move – a shift in disposition. Practices of prayer, listening, repentance and loving friendship are vital here as well as patience, wisdom, humility and forgiveness. This is how the calling forth will happen, and it’s why Pope Francis calls for “a culture of encounter”. In practice it involves enabling local people with different backgrounds and opinions to meet and hear each other’s stories. It involves attentiveness to the Holy Spirit, noticing what good means in our particular neighbourhood, and how we are called to fulfil our unique vocation for the common good, as communities of place. It is about discovering together what it means to be God’s people in this age of unravelling.  *** In this edition, we are delighted to bring you +Philip North who calls on the church to repent of complacency and make a commitment to restore its relationship with poor communities, and Lord Glasman who considers how to resolve the malaise in terms of political economy, looking at its roots and focusing on the dignity of work. Along with these we bring you a story by Barry Jung who explores the meaning of tov and God’s call to practices of reweaving in his neighbourhood, and Jenny Sinclair explores what it takes to become a listening church in this time of profound change. Also we bring you a Common Good Schools report about building bonds of international solidarity, plus news of our next lecture with Jon Cruddas MP, our forthcoming podcast with Alan Roxburgh, and last but not least, our latest selection of recommended books and articles to help you read the signs of the times. Every blessing for a restful summer Jenny Sinclair, and the Together for the Common Good team PS. T4CG is a single organic project made up of several integrated strands. This newsletter gives only a flavour of what we do. Please pray for the work, for God’s provision and for all the wonderful partners involved: . No repentance, no renewal Every so often people need reminding that Christian renewal tends to happen when poor people are at the heart of church life.Calling for a posture of repentance, +Philip North mounts a trenchant critique of Anglican tendencies to entitlement, tokenism, laziness and a ‘preferential option for the rich’.Lamenting what he regards as the heresy of declinism in the church – an attitude he argues, that presumes the Holy Spirit is no longer present – North calls the Church of England to turn its justice rhetoric into action, by building a common good with people from poor communities. Insisting that people will only come to church when joy returns, he confidently asserts that it is only by coming closer to Christ through deeper practices of prayer that the church will shift from despair to joy.Read Bishop Philip’s text and watch video here The Listening Church (and the process of “synodality”) Many across the churches are confused by this time of social and political instability. And many are concerned with the brutal impact of an unstable economy on their local communities. In the context of multiple crises, as well as profound change affecting the church itself, T4CG is regularly asked for guidance on how to respond.In this keynote speech, Jenny Sinclair reads the signs of the times through the lens of Catholic social thought, exploring the roots of our cultural malaise and how God is calling His people to renewal. Building on Fratelli Tutti, she asserts that true justice comes when affluent and poor people are in reciprocal relationship. She sets out the importance of becoming a “listening” church attentive to the Holy Spirit and its neighbours, to become more relational and to be strengthened by practices of prayer.This talk was for the St Vincent de Paul Society’s annual national meeting.Read and listen to Jenny’s talk here Lincoln Lecture Series #6 Just Working? Why the dignity of work is central to spiritual and civic renewalThe dignity of work was the subject of the sixth in our lecture series held in partnership with Lincoln Cathedral. Our speaker Jon Cruddas MP was detained at the House of Commons, and so we were very grateful to Lord Maurice Glasman for very kindly stepping in at the last minute.Speaking off the cuff to an invited audience in the City of London with many watching online, Lord Glasman describes how corporations gained power while workers lost out, creating growing economic and social instability. Drawing on his expertise in Catholic social thought and political economy, he shows how this imbalance needs to be addressed and how its resolution is critical for the renewal of our country.Click HERE for a recording and text of Lord Glasman’s talk, plus details of full series: Save the date: 14 September, 6.30pm-7.45pm, online We’re delighted to have rescheduled the lecture by Jon Cruddas for 14 September. Jon will address why work is fundamentally a spiritual activity through which people collaborate with God for the redemption of humanity, and the implications for statecraft. A seasoned politician and policy expert whose analysis is underpinned by the tradition of Catholic social thought, Jon is the Labour MP for Dagenham and Rainham and author of The Dignity of Labour.Lincoln Cathedral will open for bookings soon HERE Story: Ice cream social and the curbside library Often church leaders ask T4CG how they can engage with poor local communities. We caution that “outreach” can inadvertently cause class estrangement, and the “service-provider” and “beneficiary” dynamic can signal a transactional rather than covenantal posture. Our societies, and our churches, have been damaged by decades of dehumanising and desacralising systems, and so there needs to be some unlearning of the habits of those systems. Instead, we must build relationships of mutual respect and loving friendship, leaning into the mystery and leading of God.Barry Jung is a lay person who, sensing the unravelling happening across the West, has been discerning God’s call to practices of reweaving in his neighbourhood, discovering that being part of God’s work of reconciling and restoration can be generative and bear fruit.Read Barry’s story The Italian ConnectionBuilding bonds of international solidarity between local institutions is vital to counter the dehumanising trends of globalisation. Recently some of Together for the Common Good’s partners welcomed a group of Italian school children on a week’s visit to Liverpool. Pupils and teachers from the Scuola Primaria Don Milani were welcomed by the students from Alsop High School, and two Church of England Primary schools, building on their relationships established online.Read the report here New podcast launching soon: Leaving Egypt: being God’s people in an age of unraveling We aim to launch our new podcast in a couple of weeks. Be the first to know, and sign up here. Thanks for your patience – we are very stretched just now and have been fitting in recordings in between everything else. Here you can see Jenny Sinclair together with co-host Alan Roxburgh and producer Drew Horley. Sensing a change of era across the West, we’ll be exploring what it means to be God’s people in an age of unravelling. Do join us! Signs of the Times We select articles to help you make sense of this time of profound changeanti-human culture Matthew Crawford The Rise of Anti-humanism Michael Hanby Del Noce’s prophecy: the totalitarianism of permanent revolution Sohrab Ahmari Not only the state: private sector tyranny is part of the new reality Freya India Why Are So Many Girls on SSRIs? Kevin Yuill Canada’s assisted-dying industry: death as a commercial enterprise Louise Perry Barbie’s world: the normalisation of cosmetic surgery Paul Kingsnorth the new “sustainability” – making capitalist technocracy bullet-proof Alex Berenson Fertility crisis in mRNA countries since 2021 Sarah Taaffe-Maguire Rail ticket offices set to close causing job losses Tom Wall Corporate takeover of care places children miles from home Wessie du Toit The Uberisation of Everything UK Tom McTague Why Starmer’s by-election victories mask a greater political failure Katy Balls Labour vs the unions Joseph Kelly Mortgage crisis reveals faultlines in fiscal & moral thinking ONS Impact of increased cost of living on adults across GB: Feb to May 2023 Eddie Dempsey Strikes and the threat of AI to all workers Paul Donovan Water must be taken back into public ownership for the common good Adrian Pabst Bonds of belonging: renewing democracy in an atomised age Damian Reilly Nigel Farage, NatWest, and the rise of corporate ‘purpose’ Matthew Field C of E fund manager, CCLA, urges Amazon to recognise unions Melvyn Bragg BBC sees working-class life as a grim parody Thomas Fazi Sacrificing workers, has the Bank of England engineered a recession? US Grey Anderson Bidenomics and the provocation of war with China Lee Smith Civil war in the US: Biden views Trump’s supporters as traitors Michael Shellenberger The Censorship Industrial Complex has taken root American Compass Rebuilding American Capitalism Tony Annett Neoliberalism caused inequality: empowering workers will overcome it Patrick Deneen Regime Change for America Robert F Kennedy Jr interviewed by Joe Rogan Rich Calder Investment firms are pressuring companies to adopt political agendas Ukraine war Grey Anderson and Thomas Meaney Nato isn’t what it says it is Maurice Glasman Ukraine war broke Franco-German axis; UK-Poland now leads Thomas Fazi The capitalists are circling – massive profit opportunities in Ukraine Bruno Maçães Wagner Group’s failed rebellion, Prigozhin’s political ambitions Matthew Dal Santo The Theopolitics of Ukraine Elle Hardy Russia’s nationalist project has conscripted the Orthodox Church Matthew Schmitz The Pope of Peace Norman Solomon Whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg believed the US provoked RussiaEurope Michael Lind New Cold War turns EU into a US protectorate Aris Roussinos Britain: the liberal outcast in a right-leaning Europe hthGavin Mortimer Algeria’s role in the French riots Joel Kotkin France’s riots followed the George Floyd playbook Ralph Schoellhammer Dutch Election will be a referendum on the green agenda Suzanne Lynch Shift to the right will reshape EU, affecting climate policy to migration Zoltan Kovacs Orban’s landmark speech (thread): China is unleashing its ambition Frank Furedi Why Borders Really Matterculture war Rakib Ehsan: What the left gets wrong about ethnic minorities FT Editorial Board Investors must make the case that ESG is not about ideology Joanna Williams Why are high street banks teaming up with Stonewall? Glenn Loury: The cruelty of affirmative action Lama Abu Odeh How Queer Theory Swallowed Gay Rights Tom Perkins Liberal dismay as Muslim-led US city bans Pride flags Chris Rufo How the radical left conquered the culture Asra Nomani Black & brown immigrant Muslims & Christians protest white activists Conor Friedersdorf The DEI Industry Needs to Check Its Privilege Germaine Greer On gender, femininity and femaleness: a profoundly disabling notion Helen Joyce & Peter Boghossian Reality vs trans ideology James Esses CEO Nancy Kelley departs from Stonewall Joan Smith LGB Alliance victory is another loss for gender ideology John D. Sailer The Anatomy of a Diversity Equity and Inclusion Takeover Changing church Mgr James Shea On young people, and why the Church needs to become smaller Katey Hearth the underground church in Iran is thriving Pope Francis World Day of the Poor letter 2023 Proximity Network interactive map of Christian activity in poorest 5% of UK Thomas Germain Vatican’s AI ethics handbook: guidelines for tech companies Madeleine Davies Justin Welby claims C of E decline as a personal failure Sachin Jose Sound of Freedom widely acclaimed anti-human trafficking movie Peter J Liethart Christianity: Neither Revolutionary nor Conservative Ruth Peacock Bishops’ amendments to Illegal Migration bill fail at final hurdle Hope into Action How your church can make a home for the homeless Robert Wright Nobody is neutral: Kate Forbes on her Christian faith & political future School for Synodality resources for “synodal” habits and practices Michael Hanby Synodality and the Spirit of Truth Gafcon threats of schism and response to the Archbishop of Canterbury Engage UK Reaching Estates and Church Planting (video resources) Recommended books Our latest selection Paul Weston Humble Confidence: Lesslie Newbigin and the Logic of Mission Will Foulger Present in every place? The Church of England’s New Churches, and the Future of the Parish Sohrab Ahmari Tyranny, Inc.: How Private Power Crushed American Liberty–And What to Do about It Rakib Ehsan Beyond Grievance: What the Left Gets Wrong about Ethnic Minorities Eugene McCarraher Enchantments of Mammon: How Capitalism became the religion of modernity Matthew Fforde Pastoral Care for Loneliness: A New Apostolate Danelia C. Augustine and Chris E.W. Green The Politics of the Spirit: Pentecostal Reflections on Public Responsibility and the Common Good Moses Chung & Christopher Meehan Joining Jesus: Ordinary People at the Edges of the ChurchLisa Sharon Harper The Very Good Gospel: How everything wrong can be made right Christopher Rufo America’s Cultural Revolution: How the Radical Left Conquered Everything You may also be interested in Recommended books in previous newsletters, our Leading Thinkers collection Common Good thinking and Catholic social thought Can you help? We know that you, as we do, can see the socio-economic model in the West has failed, that the tradition of the church has vital gifts that the world needs, and that the common good is the antidote to individualism. We know you value our work bringing common good thinking into the churches, schools, politics and wider society. Our highly effective small team (currently 1.9 FTE) achieves a great deal with very little, leveraged by strong relationships with many leaders and organisations. We are facing a serious financial gap for 2023-2024. To continue, we need to strengthen our funding base. Further, we would like to expand our team modestly, to enable us to reach a wider audience, respond to more of the many requests we receive from leaders and to extend our schools programme. We are looking for partners who share our vision. If you know of someone who would like to be involved, and who is in a position to support, please connect us and we will be delighted to arrange a private conversation. Please pray for us as we do for you. With my best wishes, Jenny Jenny Sinclair Founder Director Please email me via my colleague Louise Lambert at louise@togetherforthecommongood.co.uk   Support T4CG can to Donate T4CG Trustee Board is recruiting: We are looking to strengthen our trustee board. If you would like to explore the possibility of joining us, please write and tell us why you would like to be involved and what value you think you would add to our Board. Please write to Louise@togetherforthecommongood.co.uk   What is the Common Good?“ The Common Good is the shared life of a society in which everyone can flourish – as we act together in different ways that all contribute towards that goal, enabled by social conditions that mean every single person can participate. We create these conditions and pursue that goal by working together across our differences, each of us taking responsibility, according to our calling and ability.” Click here to learn more and explore our free resources Share • Tweet • Forward About Together for the Common Good Together for the Common Good (T4CG) is dedicated to spiritual and civic renewal in a time of deep change and instability. Drawing from across the Christian traditions and in particular from Catholic Social Teaching our work encourages people to fulfil their vocation for the common good. Always working in partnership, we do this through thought leadership, navigating the signs of the times, producing resources, accompanying leaders, and in grounded work with local churches and schools.  We are non partisan, independent, ecumenical and proud of our Christian traditions. Our People Team: Jenny Sinclair (Founder Director), Jo Stow [Common Good Schools Project Leader, p/t], Louise Lambert (Team Support Worker, p/t), Ben Curran (Comms Partner, p/t), Annette McBride . [Volunteer PA, p/t]. Board of Trustees: Richard Holman (Chair), David Smith, Edward Hadas Our sincere thanks We acknowledge help-in-kind from our partners and associates who contribute pro bono to different strands of our work. We are most grateful to our donors for their faithful generosity and to CCLA for sponsoring the building of our website. If this message has been forwarded to you, and you would like to add your own email address to the list, you can subscribe to our newsletter here.  Read our previous newsletters here. Together for the Common Good is a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1172113). © T4CG 2023 Header image credit: usgs-hoS3dzgpHzw-unsplash