June 6th 2015 at St Andrew’s Church, Short St, London SE1 8LJ
NEXT YEAR’S APPRAISAL 2016 is booked for May 17th at this same venue.
FUTURE OF THE CHRISTIAN [or COMMON] COUNCIL FOR MONETARY JUSTICE [CCMJ] [see also CSM / US] for and against the label in the titles and articulating statements of universal wisdom and their contemporary application. Bringing attention to urgent need for LAND, MONETARY and FISCAL reform. How niceties of scholarship and rhetoric obscure the reality and cost of faithful discipleship and lead to ‘the neglect of economics as a wound in the side of the church’. Articulating economy as global housekeeping. There is a weekly pick and mix ‘Matters in the Air’ circulation on which we base our networking for a 197 associates through the London Global Open Table.
NB: The 2014 Appraisal – took a decision to put organisation and Constitution on hold as we act widely as an association of explorers. This is subject to any decision made at an annual Appraisal.
There is no formal charge for the day, but donations will be welcome to defray costs and to continue our work on into its next demanding and, many believe, exciting stage.
Our 1962 founding document, the Dundee report contains this comment: “ Our role is not to tell the experts how to do their job, but it is to help them explore what the job is in relation to people and planet.” In the light of those explorations over 50 years we have come to a greater understanding of the depth of the faults that have developed in the social-political-economy – global housekeeping no less!
Our main thrust in 2014/5 has therefore been to place monetary reform in the wider context of systemic house-keeping. We have worked on ‘principled pragmatism’, as the way to combine the story of the earth and of each local part in that wider story. This has engaged our associates in a great range of dialogues with individuals and agencies. We have assumed the social political economy must approximate to all that lies within the oft-repeated concept of ‘The Kin[g]dom of God’ and its implications for our inter-generational Trusteeship of this sacred earth.
Dundee again – “The report has been criticised for concentrating too exclusively on money. We do not regard the monetary system as the sole source of evil; but we do believe that it presents the false picture of God’s providence to humanity, imposes a full set of values, prevents a true understanding of the ills of humankind, and hides from human view the right and Christian remedy. No indictment could be stronger.”
There are here two attachments: keys to our development and to proposed intentions in support of the radical and systemic approach to political economy.
Your knowledge of these, the Manifesto and the Charter, will enhance our appraisal on June 6. They are dense documents, but are the outcome of more dialogue in 2014/15 than in almost all our years before. We have been building on the contributions of many of you [125] who are now receiving this invitation. If you prefer to go through the Charter’s 12 sections, you could use the Slides that are also attached. It is our consistent wrestling with the concept of the Kin[g]dom of God that has led us to moving our emphasis from ‘usury’ to all the interrelated elements of a peoples political economy.
Peter.
Attached Manifesto, Charter, slides of Charter
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Anticipated Attendees: Peter Challen, Steve Lancashire, Peter Dominy, Elizabeth Lil, Janos Abel , Mary Fee, Ray Sheath, Colin Whitmill, Clive Menzies, Desmond Cumberland, Kola Abiola, Fred Harrison, Eddie Farrell, Nigel Martin, Fred Harrison [15]
Apologies have been received from: Eirwen, Edward, Whistler, Selby, Whistler, Torry, Toft, Porthouse, Murphy, Goss, Andreone, Taylor, Northcott, Cribb, Hutchinson & A Goss, Robertson, Bader, Dinwoodie, Kingston-Smith A & C, Truss, Savage, Schumacher D & C, Johanson-Berg [26]
– Invites to Hull, Rhodes, Chandler, repeated, 18-5-15 Boyle
Peter Challen’s message invited further reports on outreach or insight relating to achieving inclusive justice, which may be added here. In particular I’d value any examples of people holding in creative tension both a single issues for which they have particular skill and commitment to a systemic view of way that fits in the whole political economy of global house-keeping. Money, Land and the right to live in a society of ‘power with’ not ‘power over’.
ASPECTS OF OUR FOCAL ENABLING, ENCOURAGEMENT AND OUTREACH – through our associates and incrementally through their own associations – such associative awareness and encouragement is richer than a single issue organisation coping with its bureaucracy
The great steps forward in 2014-5 have been:
a] Raising the profile of ‘systemic’ thought around ‘inclusive justice’, interpreting and applying the studies of James Quilligan, Fred Harrison, Ray Sheath, Hull, Peter Selby, Peter Dominy, Rifkin, Daly, et al.
b] The emergence of a ‘principled pragmatism’ that would hold a vision of a political economy and develop a way to reach it. 2015Constitutionalists’ MANIFESTO introduces the CHARTER WHICH weaves all together densely, but in the image of a single page. www.2015constitutionalists.uk Note weekly Newscast just started on this site.
c] Much work on suggesting contemporary terms to represent the concept of the Kin[g]dom of God. The Ecclesiastical model we explore and practice is of Chaplaincy: not of mainstream institutional leadership and membership.
MAJOR FEATURES OF YEAR 2014-5
• Transposing the concept of the Kin[g]dom of God into a PEOPLES POLITICAL ECONOMY OF TRUSTEESHIP WITHIN EMERGENT EVOLUTION – [PPE of T & EE] – global housekeeping as a systemic pliable pattern of achieving inclusive justice within which people feel they contribute, having dignity and opportunity, leading to 2015C a huge exercise in collaboration by ‘Principled Pragmatism’ by the non-hierarchical means of a ‘Self-organising-system’ modelled in ‘From House to Home via the foundations’. These two attached. Drafting of a Manifesto and Charter to proceed under the strapline of ‘use the system to become the system to change the system, to rebuild trust.’
• a formal Self-Organising-System for Party and a nascent Movement ‘TRUSTEES ALL’ with website – strap-line: ‘to use the system, to become the system, to change the system’ – developing insights about the necessity for and an approach to systemic change – 2015Constitutionalists, accommodating 650 constituency sub-sections for local development. In our systemic development, The Manifesto, Charter and Website of 2015CUK in which we are enabling partners: http://www.2015constitutionalists.uk.
KIN[G]DOM OF GOD AND ITS RESONANCE IN THE PUBLIC ARENA.
• Holding the Trinitarian relationship of Planning-Doing-Evaluating and its place in every human life.
• Evolving an understanding of a social political economy in which dignity for all is recognised.
• A Movement replacing adversarial politics and representative democracy by ‘using the system, to become the system, to change the system, to rebuild trust.’
• Equality of opportunity and Subsidiarity within Confederation for political decision making
• A creative tension between hierarchies of function and dignity of all participants, so study of self-organising systems
• Advancing the value of local and national referenda
• A dynamic constitutional parliament governing a confederation founded on subsidiarity
• Understanding & implementing audit processes and National Mark of Excellence – Investors in People [IIP]
Meanwhile we have continued work on a systemic understanding of so many associates’ contributions:*
• London Global Table weekly – encouraging any who seek inclusive justice, outreach and information via ‘Matters in the Air’.
• Recognition of issues related to usury in politics and economics as delineated by the Dundee report of 1962 – setting up Press and other Monitoring of pertinent matters
• Bringing attention to urgent need for LAND, MONETARY and FISCAL reform, a BASIC INCOME.
• Agencies in dialogue in 2014-5. Our own open Global Table – METANOIA – Positive Money – LetslinkUK – Occupy – Critical thinking – TJN – CEJ [10 agencies in coalition] – ECCR – NCIA – SJP – SJW – P2P – Co-op UK – George Bell Institute – St Paul’s Institute – SES – HGFdn – WCof F – SCSec – CUF – CMForum – UPF – Charter for Compassion – THEOS – TAP – Ekklesia.
• And in the psychic resonance of a people’s Movement – Podemos [Spain] – Syritz [Greece] – Denmark – Israel/Palestine – Iceland…. all feeding 2015CUK – the Well-being festival.
• DemoCafe Camden – backing this initiative in developing dialogue: http://www.democafe.uk
• Positive Money as a key campaign challenging the system: http://www.positivemoney.org
• CCMJ membership of CEJ – ECCR – Finance Innovation Lab – HGFdn – NCIA – Green Party – Labour et al.
• Exploration of theological resonance – Op Noah – PCN – Progressive Christianity – NJPN – THEOS – et al
– COMER’s principled legal battle over money creation as public utility
• Theological education – Gorringe – Northcott – Hull – Mouatt – Werner – Valentine – Lil – Winkett – Doe – Chandler – Atkinson – Phillips – Selby – St Paul’s Institute – Toft – May – Lancashire – James – Primavesi – O’Murchu – Hudson – Dowley – Acklam.
• Nelson’s ‘Self-contained food production’ – trials in many countries
• Molinari’s – Food Open University’
Authors of this or recent years*
Harrison – ‘THE TRAUMATISED SOCIETY’ [2014] & ‘AS EVIL DOES’ [2015]
Mouatt – THE EROSION OF SOVEREIGNTY’ [2015]
Selby _ ’GRACE AND MORTGAGE’[?] and ‘AN IDOL UNMASKED’ [2014]
Dominy – ‘DECODING MAMMON’ [2012]
Hull – ‘IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS’ [2015]
Rhodes – ‘Finding MR GOLDMAN’ – novel [2015]
Torry – ‘101 REASONS FOR A CITIZEN’S INCOME [June 2015],
Dinwoodie – www.weaave.com Pilgrimage and Occupy
Clark; Major Report on Chaplaincy ‘Kingdom at Work Project’
Robertson – MONTHLY JOURNAL on the arena
Taylor – RUNNYMEDE GAZETTE
Mother Pelican – international incremental study of earth replenishment
apologies for omissions.
*See links to: Engagements – Associates – Allied Resource Groups – Agencies – Diggers – Newsletters & Blogs – Key Analyses – Publications – ongoing updates in progress.
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INPUT from John Dinwoodie, a member of our network:
Peter, First I must apologise for my absence from the round table … wage slavery has truncated my availability! I am most grateful to receive your useful and informative emails.
On another matter….
I wonder if you or any of your many members would be interested to see “Canterbury Tales – the Documentary”. It poses some useful questions in the election run-up and tells the amazing story of “The Pilgrimage for Justice” which was a fascinating blend of Occupy protest and interfaith principles….. It can be accessed here: http://www.weaave.com/assets/view/WM_23658032015
I have also built a website – http://www.weaave.com. This has taken 5 years to build and is intended as an independent alternative to large corporate-owned media websites. I wonder if any of your members would find it useful for posting and distributing video messages? It’s functionality is designed to be entirely controlled by the user.
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We would ask the meeting to consider our intention to and approve:
• Serialisation of the Dundee report
• Sending 2015CUK communication tools 2 X 2 for your resource bank
• Starting more Global Tables or Democafés
A Strategy Group is already working on the 2015 Constitutionalists project.
It is proposed to appoint two additional Action Groups to support a renewed focus on:
(1) CCMJ itself, to ensure that members of the original organisation feel that their concerns are being met, and that they can be enabled to engage in an appropriate way, their mission being to continue to engage more effectively within the Church or England and other Christian groups, with the aim of bringing them forward from the point where they are already engaging into a more strategic force.
(2) The Global Table as a more effective Outreach Project. This would include:
(a) Matters in the Air provides a focus to encourage attendance, by identifying topics, those giving notice of attendance or present decide the discussion, putting any relevant paper on the website and/or writing it up properly afterwards, for the information of the majority of the network, who through geographical distance or work commitments are unable to attend.
(b) Supporting developing the website content by updating it from the constant stream of incoming information, and using social media tools to promote the work more widely.
(c) Encouraging other Global Tables (or DemoCafe’s) to form so that more of our network may engage in face-to-face meetings..
