Citizens UK
Citizens UK – in Somerset
Working for Justice through Community Action
Citizens UK is an organisation committed to working with local people, to hear their concerns about their community and take action to put them right. It describes itself as the “Home of Community Organising in the United Kingdom” and has been behind many successful campaigns, including being the driving force behind the introduction of the Real Living Wage (which the Methodist Church and many other employers have now adopted). It is concerned with real world issues of how society works but it is strictly non-party political.
Citizens UK has a number of branches – called Chapters – in London, Wales and many major cities across the country. And now the movement has come to the South West with the establishment of a local chapter “Citizens Somerset” which was formally launched at a Founding Assembly in Taunton in March 2019. It is the first to be set up in a mainly rural area.
The Methodist Circuit of Taunton Deane and South Sedgemoor has formally joined Citizens Somerset as a Founding Member Organisation, joining the Diocese of Bath & Wells, the United Reformed Church in Taunton and the Quakers, together with non-faith organisations like local schools and colleges and a number of committed individuals. The Circuit has taken the view that the goals of Citizens UK are very much in line with the Mission of the Methodist Church, to tackle issues of social justice and unfairness in our society and assist anybody who is affected by them.
It is early days for Citizens Somerset but the Circuit is looking forward to working with others to address issues which concern our membership. For a link to the Citizens Somerset website and to keep up to date with campaigns on the areas chosen as initial priorities, please click on the link below
Citizens Somerset Update
Encouraging Voter Registration – how Churches can play their part
Taunton Deane and South Sedgemoor Methodist Circuit has been a member of Citizens Somerset since its founding in 2018. Other active faith group members include the United Reformed Church in Taunton and West Somerset Quakers; we have also had financial support from the Bath & Wells Diocese of the Church of England.
Membership is not restricted to faith groups and other members currently include Wellington School, two Primary Schools in Taunton and Holyrood Academy in Chard. We are steadily growing across Somerset and always welcome new members.
Locally we work together to tackle social justice issues raised with us by the community (examples include homelessness, community safety and supporting refugees) but as part of Citizens UK we also work with other Citizens branches in support of national campaigns, including for example promoting payment of the Real Living Wage by local employers.
Another national campaign is aimed at encouraging people to participate in democracy by encouraging Voter Registration.
There will be a UK General Election this year or by January 2025 at the latest. Currently the Electoral Commission estimates that 8 million eligible voters will miss out because they are not properly registered. 4 million eligible voters will miss out because they don’t have Photo ID. And 14 million eligible voters won’t see the point of turning out to vote.
People are at greater risk of not being able to participate in the democratic process if they are young, a non-UK national, rent your home, have moved recently, live in an economically-disadvantaged community, or are from an ethnic minority.
Citizens works in a strictly non-partisan way and the drive to increase voter registration is not about how people vote but is aimed at ensuring that as many people as possible do vote.
Churches and other faith groups are important parts of their community and they can play their part by encouraging all their members to vote. Citizens UK runs a scheme by which faith groups can become accredited as a Voter Registration Champion. They do not have to be members of Citizens Somerset or be involved in any other way in order to support this initiative.
Citizens UK can offer support and to find out more about what it means to accredit your Church as a Voter Registration Champion, please follow this link.
By accrediting as a Voter Registration Champion, your faith or community group can make a difference to democratic participation in your area, and join a non-partisan movement seeking to make sure at-risk voters can exercise their right to vote.
VOTER REGISTRATION: Run an annual Voter Registration campaign that aims to ensure that 100% of your organisation’s eligible membership are registered before the deadline (with a 90% success rate)
VOTER ID: Educate your members about the Voter ID requirements, and make sure they have the photo ID they need in order to vote before the deadline.
VOTER TURNOUT: Remind your members about the election date, and encourage them to use their vote.
John Haines Co-chair Citizens Somerset/Member Temple Methodist Church, Taunton
Fran Hicks Co-chair Citizens Somerset/Member West Somerset Quakers
Faith Rooted Community Organising
An introductory weekend course to its core practices.
Who is it for? People who want to develop or are already nurturing a new Christian community within their circuit or district. Ideally, we would like people to come as a team (at least two people from each team with a maximum of four).
What's it about? Faith rooted organising offers a way to resource and enable people to find out where God is at work in their communities, and join in. What is distinctive about (Christian) faith rooted organising is that it is grounded in who we are as a people of Christian faith; rooted and centred in God, in our practices of prayer and worship, and in the way we live out and share our faith. The weekend will be held at Cliff College, beginning at 1pm with lunch on the Friday afternoon and ending after lunch on the Sunday. For further information or to book a place on this FREE course (various choices of dates) please contact Julian Bond, bondj@methodistchurch.org.uk or look at this page on the Methodist website Faith Rooted Community Organising (methodist.org.uk) He will confirm your place (which includes accommodation at Cliff College) within a couple of days. [Please let Deborah know you intend to book.]
• February 23rd - 25th, 2024
• April 5th - 7th, 2024
• November 8th -10th, 2024
Travel costs to be paid by attendees (if this is prohibitive, please contact us).
Deborah