Welcome to CSM Renewal 2007

Welcome to CSM Renewal 2007. This blog is for members of the Christian Socialist Movement who are interested in renewing and changing CSM. In Proverbs it says: "Where there is no vision the people perish" (Prov 29:18). We fear that CSM is perishing from lack of vision, and we need to renew CSM: - Prayerfully restore CSM’s values and objects to the heart of everything it does; - Actively be the prophetic conscience of the Labour Party and a prophetic voice to the churches; - Boldly take a stand against the religious right and campaign to make poverty, social justice and the environment mainstream Christian issues; - Sustainably ensure CSM’s financial security without accepting sponsorship from organisations that compromise our values; - Immediately make CSM fit for purpose and the organisation more democratic, accountable and Christian. Find out more about our new vision for CSM below, and if you like it sign up to CSM Renewal 2007.

Thursday 25 January 2007

Year of Renewal and Change - Consultation

Further down this blog you will find some of our principles and ideas to renew and change the Christian Socialist Movement. However we do not have all the answers - and this is just the start of a process of renewal and change for CSM.

So we are starting a consultation on how to make 2007 a Year of Renewal and Change for CSM. If you have ideas about how you would like to renew and change CSM, please leave them as comments on this blog post or email csmrenewalandchange2007@yahoo.co.uk.

2 comments:

Richard Bickle said...

I am following the 'CSM Renewal' debate with interest. In some ways, compared with the experience of the last 10 years of the Labour Party in terms of recruiting and retaining members, we are actually doing quite well! However, I do see that the present level of membership is unsustainable.

Anyway, in terms of setting a clear agenda and getting our agenda across, I wonder if we can borrow an idea from SCM (the Student Christian Movement) which has gone through a period of chnge and renewal over the past 5 years or so. Like us, SCM was in a position where it produced excellent resources, magazines and publications, but had lost touch with much of its potential grassroots membership. The idea I like which SCM have used for the past 3 years is to adopt a year theme (the first was 'Profits and Prophets', the second 'Life in all its Fullness' and this year's 'Reading the Bible' - see www.movement.org.uk).

Clearly the context CSM finds itself in is very different, and we need to be able to respond swiftly to emerging issues. However, having a single coherent theme each year which could be reflected in our publications, in a major conference, and in our public statement and political engagement is one way to get the maximum benefit from limited resources and force us into some strategic reflection about what exactly our 'agenda' is or should be.

Anonymous said...

Absolutley! Having set this chain of events going in SCM (before Profits and Prophets, we had the Beatitudes) I am pleased to see CSM seeking to develop a theme to its work. This would allow us to work collaboratively with partners, taking a well throught through issue to the Labour Party Conference events, perhaps also producing a pamphlet and magazine articles before the pamphlet is released. I believe faith and mutualism is the first area for such development, coming as it does from a faith in politics themes.