Laurence Crutchlow is CMF Associate Head of Student Ministries and a GP in London.
As Nucleus goes to press, the London Olympics have just ended. Our fears of travel chaos closing the CMF office have thankfully been unfounded – though our work rate might now speed up with less sport to talk about!
Nucleus is intentionally later than usual this summer; rather than arriving on your doorstep as the holidays begin, we hope this issue will reach you just before the term starts, to enthuse you for the weeks ahead.
For some, work has already begun. Do pray for friends who have recently graduated, now experiencing their first few weeks as a junior doctor. Rachel Hubbard, one of last year's cohort of graduates, describes her year (page 24). Though it is now ten years since I was a house officer (as we were then called), I still remember a number of patients I looked after, lessons learned, and conversations had. Isolation was a big problem early on, even though I was blessed to work with several Christian colleagues. So if you are expecting to graduate next summer, the preparation starts now!
At the same time as studying, and filling in FPAS forms, do remember to let CMF have some up-to-date contact details – particularly a nonuniversity email address. We'd be delighted to support you over the next year, but do need to stay in touch with you to do that. Giles Cattermole's article on 'Academic Point Scoring' suggests some ways in which you might enhance that FPAS score – and at the same time advance God's kingdom (page 21).
For those returning to university, Freshers week is not far off. Never again in life do you meet so many new people in such a short space of time. Not everyone will be an 18 year old, fresh from A-Level studies. Alexandra Roche describes her very different experience as a graduate entry medic (page 18), and offers some tips on how you can welcome and engage with older students.
We begin a new series in this edition with Chris Knight of bethinking.org exploring apologetics (page 13). Defending our faith with gentleness and respect is not only a biblical command, but a vital part of being authentic witnesses in our universities. We hope this series will equip and enthuse you to share the good news of Jesus during your time on campus and beyond. Other series continue – Heroes and Heretics (page 30) considers the enlightenment, and the Cross-Word (page 27) makes another appearance. Reviews of the 12-12 books continue, with an extra review of a classic from former Nucleus editor Hugh Ip, now a junior doctor in London (pages 28-29).
We hope that these articles and others will not only challenge and enthuse, but also turn you back to God's Word. Do look back to the Bible references in these pages – not only to check that we at CMF are getting it right (!) – but also to broaden your own knowledge and understanding.
