Together in Hope

Produced jointly with PCN Britain, Free to Believe and St Marks Centre for Radical Christianity, the aim of this series is to encourage those who seek a Christian faith open to the challenges of the twenty first century.

Examining the Meaning of the Resurrection is a series of six essays by John Shelby Spong originally published online from May to July 2011, reprinted with permission and a foreword by Adrian Alker. The essays revisit Bishop Spong's thoughts and convictions about the significant meaning of the Resurrection for today’s pilgrims. Contents:

1. Setting the Stage
2. Who Stood in the Centre of the Easter Breakthrough?
3. Where Were the Disciples When They Saw?
4. What is the Meaning of Three Days?
5. What Was the Context in Which Easter Dawned?
6. Seeing Through a Glass Darkly

Although this is but one particular way of interpreting the biblical account of the Resurrection (and there are references at the end of the book to other writings which our readers may find attractive), we hope the chapters will provoke interest and discussion about this important tenet of faith and belief.

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Christmas: Ancient Meanings, Modern Faith, 35 pages, is by Adrian Alker and considers the significance of the ancient stories of the nativity of Christ for our world today. Contents:

1. The Truth is in the Meaning
2. Matthew's Good News
3. Luke - Good News for All
4. Humbug or Blessing? Emerging Themes
5. Celebrating Christmas

At the end of each chapter there are some questions which may be helpful in promoting discussion if this book is being used by a group of people or as a study course. The book ends, as do all the books in this series, with suggestions for further reading and resources available for more study and practical use.

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Walk the Jesus Walk, 32 pages, by John Simmonds is intended for groups such as teenagers or enquirers who are exploring what it means to be a follower of Jesus for the first time. It is organised as a six part programme. Contents:

1. My story, my journey
2. Finding out more about Jesus
3. What Jesus stood for
4. Jesus and His Friends
5. Following in the Way
6. Living it out - a Programme for Tomorrow

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Jesus Then and Now, 40 pages, also by John Simmonds, is for those who want to dig deeper into the historical account and contemporary relevance of Jesus' message. Contents:

1. Who was Jesus - looking at the earliest records
2. Jesus - announcing Good News
3. What did the Good News mean for Jesus' disciples?
4. Who did Jesus become?
5. Jesus and the Way - Jesus and His followers
6. Jesus is mine - personal experience
7. Will you come and follow me?

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Orders of more than six books in the Together in Hope series will usually attract a discount of 10% plus a related reduction for postage and packing. Please email togetherinhope.editor@gmail.com or ring 01937 583513 if you are thinking of placing such an order.

History of the series

The series followed on from the original book Together in Hope: Proclaiming God's Justice, Living God's Love. This was produced on behalf of the Inclusive Church Network, a partnership of organisations brought together in preparation for the 2008 Lambeth Conference. The success of the first book encouraged four of the original organisations: Modern Church, Progressive Christianity Network Britain, Free to Believe and St Marks Centre for Radical Christianity to continue to work jointly to produce further material.

Contributions invited

The Together in Hope venture is not only collaborative between organisations but also hopes that people 'out there' might feel able themselves to contribute to the series either in offering a chapter on a chosen theme or indeed a whole book. You can email the editorial team at togetherinhope.editor@gmail.com

Guidelines for prospective authors

This series of resource books is published to give encouragement and hope to those who seek a Christian faith open to the challenges of the twenty first century. It is hoped that the books will be helpful to those individuals and groups, inside and outside the Church, who are exploring matters of faith and belief. The readers will include both those who are familiar with the language of the church and religion and those for whom church has not been part of their story.

Structure of the book content
The books are about 7,000 to 8,000 words in length and are broken up into 5 or 6 chapters, each of which is followed by two or three questions which could be used as a basis for discussion by a group. A page of further resources for readers to continue their exploration is helpful.

What is the process?
Prospective writers are asked to send an outline of their proposal to the editorial group, togetherinhope.editor@gmail.com. It would be useful for the proposal to include chapter headings and summaries. The editorial group, which meets about four times a year, would discuss this and send their comments to the writer. The next stage is for the writer to submit a full chapter. Thereafter the author may be invited to attend the next meeting of the editorial group so that decisions regarding a final text and publication can be discussed.

Copyright issues
The writer holds the copyright to the text. If any copyright material is used within the text, it is the responsibility of the writer to obtain permission for use of that material.

Finance
The project was originally financed by the profits made on sales of the original Together in Hope book. Monies raised from sales of the books, of which a very small margin is profit, are used for the printing of further titles. The books are sold on the websites of the four organisations behind the project, at conferences, at Greenbelt and in some bookshops and currently on Amazon. There is a kindle version of the series on Amazon.

Generally we do not offer fees to authors but are willing to consider necessary expenses.