Tony Blair to Address Church in Pre-General Election Faithworks Lecture

In the run up to the General Election, the Prime Minister Tony Blair will give a major speech to the Church on 22nd March in London at 12 noon, in a special event hosted by Faithworks. He will address an audience of church leaders, representatives on other faiths and community activists from across the UK as he speaks about the vital role of faith in the UK to build a healthy and trusting society.

The Prime Minister’s vision for the church and other faith groups will be shared through the third in a series of Faithworks Lectures, which have been given by the three leaders of the major political parties. His speech will be webcast from www.faithworks.info. Local churches are being encouraged to watch it live or later in the evening.

After the lecture, Blair will answer questions from the audience and from webcast viewers that have been emailing or texting during the lecture.

Previous Faithworks Lectures were delivered by the leader of the Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy on 3rd February, and by the leader of the Conservatives Michael Howard on 23rd February.

In a recently published book ‘Trust – A Radical Manifesto’, Rev. Steve Chalke MBE, the founder of the Faithworks Movement, said "The fact that Charles Kennedy, Michael Howard and now Tony Blair have all accepted Faithworks’ invitation to address the Church as the election campaign gathers pace, sends some very clear messages about the role of faith-based groups – Christian and otherwise – and the task ahead in our communities. Churches are already delivering huge levels of voluntary community support across the UK because of our faith, not in spite of it, and it is time that this reality was publicly acknowledged. But more than that, our society will never enjoy the social regeneration we crave without spiritual renewal."

The Faithworks lectures aims to encourage churches, Christians and Christian organisations to set an example of trustworthy behaviour in their local community. It is part of the Faithworks Building Trust campaign, which was launched in September last year.

Faithworks was founded by Rev Steve Chalke in 2001 and has grown into a movement for social change. With over 11 partner organisations, 200 churches, Christian organisations and community projects, Faithworks aims to inspire Christians and every church to develop their role at the hub of their community.