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The Third DegreeStudents, staff and supportersIt has been said that the Christian Union (CU) is the only university club or society that exists primarily for non-members. CUs are mission teams with a clear and focused agenda — to live for Jesus and speak for Jesus on campus. Their main priority is to see students come to a living faith in Jesus Christ. Although CUs are led by students, Christian Union Staff Workers (CUSWs) have a vital role in keeping our university CUs healthy, vibrant, outward-looking and mission-focused. Their jobs are varied and diverse but some of the core elements include provision of training and support for CU leaders, meeting with students ‘one-to-one’ to study the Bible and in a mentoring capacity, standing with students in evangelism and encouraging them to become active members of a local church. Since March, senior UCCF staff have been interviewing a number of potential CUSW candidates and 13 were successfully appointed. Here’s the low down: New staff appointmentsBethanie Amey is an ex-Relay Worker and she will be working with CUs in Nottingham, Loughborough and Stoke-on-Trent. Steve Baraniak has been appointed to support CUs in Cambridge and Essex. Steve has been working for Beeston Free Church for the last year, and also serving UCCF in a voluntary capacity as the Chair of our national Student Council. Claudia Chan will be replacing Adele Mortin in Plymouth. Adele is transferring to the London Team for the start of the academic year. Claudia has considerable experience working with international students and we’re excited about the ways she could develop our international ministry in Plymouth. Tim Dennis has most recently been working as an account manager, but also served at Christ Church Fulwood as a ministry trainee. This has given him an excellent grounding for his new role as CUSW in Sheffield and Hull. Rosemary Grier completed our Relay programme in 2004-05 and has since been working as an IFES team member in Brussels. She joins the Midlands team to work with CUs in Birmingham and the South West Midlands. Russell Knell is currently working as Associate Pastor at Hoddesdon Baptist Church, but previously he has been part of the UCCF team, both as a Staff Worker and a Relay Worker. He joins us as Team Leader for the East Central region. ScotlandDave McCulloch, better known as ‘Cully’, has been volunteering full-time for UCCF for the last year, working with arts students in Scotland. We are now able to employ him to continue in this role, and to help expand our arts ministry. Dan Petersen is joining our Scottish team, to be based in Glasgow. Dan has already been engaged in full-time Christian ministry with Scottish students, employed by Horizon Christian Fellowship Central, Indianapolis, USA. From overseasJoshua Monteiro has most recently worked as a Medical Note Summariser(!), but served earlier as an English lecturer in Indonesia and an apprentice at St. Peter’s Church, Essex. Joshua will be working with CUs in Oxford and Buckinghamshire. Jonny Moore, like Rosemary, completed the Relay programme in 2004-05 and has spent the last year working as an IFES team member in Milan, Italy. Jonny will be supporting CUs in Warwick, Leicester, Coventry and Northampton. Matt Tindale is working as a teacher at Boston Spa School, Leeds, but was previously part of an IFES team in Moldova which went to establish a Christian student movement in that country. He joins us to work with the students in Edinburgh. Jim Walford is moving to England after serving as an assistant pastor at Grace Church of Greenwich in the USA. Previously, Jim worked as an associate at St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, London. He will be joining our South West team to support CUs in Bristol. Olly Noble is filling one of our posts which has been vacant for the last two years, working with the students in Kent. Most recently, Olly has been studying at Cornhill Bible College while gaining practical ministry experience at Duke Street Church. She has also completed our Relay programme. Alison Williams has been appointed to be our Team Leader in Wales. Alison is another UCCF-veteran, as she used to be a Staff Worker in Cardiff. Please pray… that they will continue to be faithful ministers of the gospel as they hold out the Word of life to students. To find how you can support the work of your local CUSW please contact Jema Ball, Development Officer, at jmb@uccf.org.uk or call her on 0116 204 7694. Pod Bhogal,
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