Organisation and Structure
The Civil Service Christian Union (CSCU) consists of Christian Civil Servants who work throughout the Civil Service in Northern Ireland, or who have retired. We meet in small groups to study the Bible, to pray together and to reach out to colleagues with the gospel of Christ. Civil Servants who are not Christians are also very welcome to attend our meetings. These groups are the heart of what we do, with minimal formal co-ordination by a Central Committee.
Each group tends to have its own characteristics - the day/times they meet (most are for half an hour, once per week) and their activities (inviting speakers, regular Bible study, prayer etc). However, the things that all groups have in common are:
They have a Representative Member (RM), who usually organises the meetings, and acts as the link with the Central Committee and with the wider CSCU. Often groups start out with only two or three members. To share the burden of organising meetings, some groups form a local committee to share out the work of arranging venues, setting up the programme, advertising it to colleagues, leading meetings, circulating Ministry magazine, collecting subscriptions, etc.
The groups are inter-denominational and are led by those who are members of the CSCU and who have therefore committed themselves to the CSCU's evangelical statement of faith.
All civil servants are welcome to attend groups - temporary staff/Senior Civil Servants/support grades/retired civil servants, etc. In fact staff from a wide variety of grades do attend. Where several Departments share a building, groups can also be inter-Departmental.
CSCU groups meet on a regular basis, mostly during the working day in a room in the building in which they work. The Civil Service Christian Union is entitled to the same facilities as any other Civil Service approved organisation engaged in extra-official activities. The use of official premises for such activities is subject to availability and to official approval.
The Central Committee is a small grouping of serving and retired Civil Servants who have been voted into the various Committee offices. The Committee meets together to:
pray for the work of the wider CSCU;
support Representative Members within the local groups, and represent the CSCU as a whole;
publish the magazine "Ministry" as a means of improving communication and fellowship between CSCU members; and
organise events to encourage fellowship and sharing between groups, in particular an Annual General & Fellowship Meeting.
If you do not work in a building where there is a local CSCU group, and would like to apply for membership of the Civil Service Christian Union, please email us at cscuni@mail.com.
Please note that with the exception of applications for membership, the CSCU does not reply to correspondence. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.