A helping hand for DHC
Mary Hopper has taken on the task of assisting Vicky Lavy, Head of International Ministries, with administration of the annual Developing Health Course (DHC). The course seems to be growing each year and more hands on deck are needed to deal with a growing mountain of administration. Mary has been part of the team running the course for many years and so is ideal to fill this slot.
Mary worked for 15 years as a nurse-midwifetutor- counsellor in Africa with two different agencies, then as an independent missionary. Returning to the UK, she taught in the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at Oxford Brookes University, all the while regularly visiting Africa as a trainer and therapist.
She does private counselling and trauma work, and offers counselling sessions in NHS primary care. She is an Associate member of the British Association of Counsellors and Psychotherapists, and an accredited counsellor with the Association of Christian Counsellors. Welcome aboard Mary.
Next year's Developing Health Course -26 June - 8 July
Who is my neighbour?
That's a question that prompted one of Jesus' greatest parables. In our global community the answer could put us in contact with people on the other side of the world or some neighbourhood close to where you live.
This year CMF ran 'Who is my neighbour?' events in Glasgow and Sheffield for people interested in medical mission and cross cultural international work.
Fifty people came to the Glasgow event. They ranged from students testing whether they have a call to work internationally, to retirees keen to seek out openings and opportunities. On offer was an interactive workshop with opportunities to learn more about work in different regions.
Why not consider hosting 'Who is my neighbour?' in your area. Vicky Lavy would love to hear from you. She will tailor a programme to fit your needs. This event can work as a morning, a full-day or extended evening.
vicky.lavy@cmf.org.uk
Obituaries
Monty Barker: Mentor to a generation of doctors
Monty Barker, who made psychiatry his chosen career at a time when few Christians were prepared to, inspired a generation of Christian doctors to follow in his footsteps. He became a CMF 'treasure'.
Montagu Gordon Barker was born in Glasgow on 12 March 1934. Having recovered from lifethreatening tuberculous meningitis, he went on to graduate in Medicine from St Andrews's, Cum Laude. After further post-graduate training in Dundee, he was appointed in 1968 as a consultant psychiatrist in Bristol.
Students learned to appreciate the way an extraordinary depth of knowledge could be grounded in a compassionate, practical and (sometimes) no-nonsense approach to his patients. He lectured in pastoral studies at Dundee and Trinity College, Bristol, then for many years in the Faculte de Theologie Vaux-sur-Seine, Paris. From 1988 he taught every year at the Union Biblical Seminary, Pune, India, as visiting professor.
Perceptive and penetrating, both in conversation and pastoral counselling, with the (sometimes) disconcerting tendency to raise one eyebrow in questioning mode, he became advisor, counsellor, mentor and friend to countless numbers, investing much of his time in students and young people. Monty died on 1 July 2015 after a short illness and is survived by his wife Rosemary, his children Nicola and Jonathan and two grandchildren.
John Baigent (q Leeds, date unknown)
Forrest Brewster (q Glasgow, 1968)
Doris Geddes (q Aberdeen, 1950)
Judith E Gray (q Queen's Belfast, 1964), died 7 May 2015. Based in Belfast, held a teaching post in reproductive health before retirement in 2000.
Alan Green (q Bart's, 1956)
Edward Somerset Short, died 1 August 2015.
Nephew of Arthur Rendle Short (remembered in the annual CMF lecture named after him) second of three brothers in a medical family including the late David Short.
He qualified in Bristol, worked in India until 1977 when he joined a practice in Sandbach, Cheshire. In retirement became a pastor in Castle Combe, Wiltshire, where he served for 16 years.
