Where the 'F' in CMF counts
For many CMF members August is holiday month. In contrast, for students entering the foundation years it means transition to work. It signals lifestyle change: a lot of upheaval goes with the territory with new work patterns, new colleagues, unfamiliar surroundings, changes in accommodation and housemates. It means leaving behind a lot that was familiar, not least church and community.
So this is a critical time and for CMF this is one of those times when the 'F' in our name really counts. For the first time the CMF Local Links scheme is fully operational. We now have powerful tools for keeping track of members on the move. Our new and improved database system will help ensure Junior Doctors don't fall through the cracks and enable members to be ready with a welcome.
Two other CMF initiatives are in place with this time of transition in mind. At the end of May we sent out free to Junior Members in transition (149 copies in all) the booklet Surviving the Foundation Years by Peter Saunders. We have also just updated and reprinted Foundations, which all CMF members receive free on graduation.
It's packed full of practical information and advice for a whole range of issues in the life of Junior Doctors. It is the work of the CMF Junior Doctors' Committee and first published in 2011, edited by Laurence Crutchlow. Also available to buy at the knockdown price of £10. Every Junior Doctor should have one.
Not to be missed is the National Junior Doctors' Conference, 24-26 October at Hothorpe Hall, Leicestershire. Bible teaching from Matt Lillicrap. Great food and fellowship, an array of informative seminars. A must for every Christian Junior Doctor.
Nurses ministry headlines
Our Nurses' Student Staffworker Dimity Grant-Frost reports encouraging contacts in Birmingham, Manchester and Southampton. She says, 'Several of our students graduate this summer and one has just got engaged. So it's a time of change and there will be a need to pray for them during the transition.' A special prayer request is for fresh contact with students, particularly in London and Cardiff, where many group members will graduate by the end of the summer.
Saline Solution training in Glasgow in conjunction with NCF Scotland attracted 17 people, a mixture of nurses, midwives, medical and nursing students.
Nurses' Refreshment Dinners have become a core part of nurses work. In London they are held on the last Tuesday of every other month, with 10-15 attending regularly. Contact Steve (steve@cmf.org.uk) or Dimity (dimity@cmf.org.uk) if you are interested in coming or bringing along a friend.
Work is underway on new resources for nurses. One task is to create Bible studies tailored to the professional and spiritual needs of nurses.
A small group from the UK are attending the Nurses Christian Fellowship International European Conference this September in Madrid.
Partnering with university Christian Unions, IFES in Ireland and church student staffworkers is a priority for the CMF Student Team. All of our student staff are UCCF Associate Staff and regularly attend the UCCF Forum and other events.
Gift memberships for nurses
Our gift membership scheme has now been extended to nurses. It would be a rare CMF member who doesn't know a Christian nurse, so why not put out a hand in friendship?
A one year gift membership costs £38 for a qualified nurse or midwife. We will send you a gift card containing an online activation code, along with an Introducing CMF booklet to give a Christian nurse you know. When they join we will send them a CMF flask as a welcome gift. A great way to tell nurses that CMF is for them too.
Buy a gift membership from www.cmf.org.uk
regional staffworkers
From Julian Churcher
CMF is joining in local prayer support for a GP based in East London whose practice faces financial collapse (see the current issue of Triple Helix). At New Wine, CMF is joining with London Institute for Contemporary Christianity in a talk on the healthcare workplace. A former community doctor in China spoke of his experiences at a Link members meeting in Kingston-upon- Thames. There was a presentation on the work of CMF nearby at a church in New Malden. CMF supported a psychiatrist member during a complaint process, on the phone and in person.
From Audrey Chalmers
The weekend of 9-11 May found 29 doctors in training from both Scotland and Northern Ireland (oh and two from Birmingham!) spending a great time together at Ardeonaig on Loch Tay. The weekend was organised, and led, by a small team of junior doctors supported by CMF staff. There was plenty of time for fellowship, and some exciting outdoor activities – almost too exciting, as the gorge walk was abandoned when the lovely hillside stream became a raging torrent in the afternoon rain. It was an opportunity to study the Bible together using John Piper's book Don't Waste Your Life as a discussion starter. Look out for a repeat event in 2015.
From Stephanie Moss
Encouraged by the idea of spiritual referral taught in the Saline course, I am always looking for networking opportunities in my locality. I have been caring for a middle aged lady with many longstanding problems and despite much psychiatric input we have made little headway. This lady is a Roman Catholic and we have had several conversations about faith, guilt, acceptance and forgiveness, but recently the phrase 'freedom in Christ' has kept coming to me whenever I see her. Now my job is to pray and see how God works in her life.
