The Civitas Congressional Fellowship

The Civitas Congressional Fellowship Civitas is a 4-month long Christian leadership development program for early-career Hill staffers. Over the course of the program, staffers 

• Exercise their leadership skills by co-leading discussions and prayer time; 
• Learn to think critically about the role of government and civil society in addressing public policy issues;
• Build meaningful relationships across the aisle and practice empathy.

The Civitas Congressional Community is an intentionally bipartisan group of Hill staffers who are committed to their faith in God, to seeking truth and understanding, and to loving their neighbors through public service. Civitas Fellows recognize that the bonds that tie us together as Christians are so much stronger and more meaningful than our necessary party affiliations.

Staffers meet on Thursday evenings at 6:30 PM for dinner and discussion in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. 

This program is ideal for staffers who are looking for community, want to learn what different Christian political traditions have to say about Christianity and public service, and hope to gain leadership experience and skills they will use during the rest of their time on the Hill. Civitas runs twice a year, both in the Spring and in the Fall. 

Applications for Fall 2023 open on August 1 and will be accepted until September 14 at 11:59 PM. Do you know someone who should apply? Email emily.crouch@cpjustice.org with your nomination. 

Are you interested in the Civitas Congressional Fellowship? Go ahead and apply today and CPJ will be in touch with more information.

Civitas Fellows will attend lunch/dinner meetings every two weeks for the four-month duration of the program.

• Each meeting will start with dinner and move into an hour-long, seminar-style discussion
• The topics of discussion will be based on supplementary readings Fellows receive from Civitas. These readings familiarize students with the works of Kuyper, Mouw, Skillen, J. Joustra, and other scholars examining Christian civic presence. 
• The readings are designed to equip Fellows to engage in discussion with each other about their own reflections, questions, conclusions, and applications of the ideas presented through Civitas.
• Civitas Fellows will apply their learning through practical workshops and exercises that directly relate to their roles as early career Hill staffers.

The second cohort of Civitas will hold its first meeting on Thursday, September 21 at 7:00pm. The complete list of meeting dates for Civitas, Fall 2023, are as follows: 

• Thursday, September 21 – Session 1: Christian Public Service: A Principled Pluralist Approach
• Thursday, October 5 – Session 2: Biblical Perspectives on the Nature and Limits of Government (What Should Government Do or Not Do?) 
• Thursday, October 19 – Session 3: The Vast, Other Part of Our Lives: Civil Society
• Thursday, November 2 – Session 4: Virtues and Skills for Hill Staff in Light of Our Call to Public Service 
• Thursday, November 16 – Session 5: Institutional Religious Freedom
• Thursday, November 30 – Session 6: Politics & Idolatry 
• Thursday, December 14 – Session 7: Working Within a Party While Retaining Christian Independence