Bringing members together, drawing others in

CMF exists to unite and equip Christian doctors and medical students to live and speak for Jesus. And there is no better way of facilitating being united and equipped than meeting together, preferably face to face, as the writer of Hebrews reminds us:

'And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching' (Hebrews 10:24,25).

The Spring Triple Helix, included in this mailing, carries an excellent article by Mark Pickering which I strongly recommend that every CMF member should read. Mark was formerly our head of student ministries and is now our North Yorkshire regional secretary where he has used his skills and experience to help build a strong local group.

He argues that although much can be done through conferences, literature and public policy work, our real priority must be to strengthen and support the grassroots networks and relationships between ordinary Christian doctors and medical students at a local and regional level.

Local networks are essential. Although membership of the local church is vital, doctors often need to talk and pray with others who understand the challenges of medicine. And yet building closer links is not easy. Doctors are busy with family, church and work responsibilities. Churches don't always understand why medics need the support of Christian peers and often it is difficult to identify fellow Christians in the workplace.

We want to rectify this. During 2012 our main priority is to build local fellowship to support you better and to help us recruit new members and retain existing members more effectively. To this end we are looking for members who are willing to act as local links in every church, workplace and local area and we are developing the website to provide much better links between members.

When the website changes are complete, a secure, personal log-in will give access to personalised pages and online links with other members and help to supply you with connections, opportunities, resources, training and support to help you fulfil Christ's calling in this generation.

Our CMF staff are also on hand to provide you with the information, resources, guidance and support you need to get together to pray and share together and to support and encourage others in their service through medicine.

If you would like to help us by being a church, workplace or local link, please let us know at info@cmf.org.uk.

New Starters

Graham Sopp is CMF's new Head of Operations, taking over this key role overseeing CMF's administration and finance from Marcus Watkins.

Graham - tell us about your professional life to date
I've been working for over 30 years so my CV is quite long and varied! I started work in finance and accounting (finance is still my core skill) but along the way I've been particularly involved in sales and marketing, information technology and publishing at various times. Also during my career I've lived and worked in Germany for over five years and in the USA for 18 months.

What are you most looking forward to in your new role?
I enjoy variety in my work and my new role offers Finance, Legal, IT, Human Resources and Premises work – I won't be bored.

And any challenges you face?
The biggest challenge will be to do the job as well as my predecessor Marcus Watkins.

Who are your nearest and dearest?
My wife Rachel and I have three children – one girl and two boys. My daughter is now 23 and working; the elder of my sons is at university and the younger doing his GCSEs this year.

What do you enjoy outside of work?
I'm an enthusiastic cook and determined gardener. I also enjoy classical music and theatre.

Briefly, how can we best pray for you?
There is a lot happening in CMF at the moment especially with IT. Please pray that I would get to grips with all aspects of the role as fast as possible.

Dionysia Ayesi is CMF's new administrative assistant

Dionysia – what did you do before joining CMF?
I worked at Wesley Owen Bookstores as a deputy manager for five years until it closed down and was taken over by the Nationwide Christian Trust and the name changed to Living Oasis. Unfortunately they closed down the store after only a year of business. Because I thoroughly enjoyed working for a Christian company I sought out similar positions until I came across CMF.

What are you hoping to achieve?
I am hoping to learn how to improve my skills as an administrator and become more involved with different aspects and departments of the organisation.

What do you enjoy outside of work?
Outside of work I tutor and very much enjoy teaching young children between the ages of 5 and 11 years old on subjects such as Maths and English. They can be challenging at times, especially the more familiar they become with you, but so rewarding when they actually learn and get good reports from their schools. I also make clothes for myself and close friends.

Your church?
I attend Liberty Ministries based in Turnpike Lane in North London and I'm involved in the bookstall (among other things). As reading is another passion of mine, I try very much to promote Christian literature (including the Bible!).

How can members best pray for you?
That I settle into the role quickly and learn all I need to learn so that I can help out as much as I can and be as effective as possible with the admin at CMF.