Deep:ER

This year we welcome five new Deep:ER Fellowship participants who will be with us to be trained and gain experience in Christian ministry:

• Morenike Da Silva - Intercalating Student at Bristol (Global Health) working with the Global and Student departments
• Mary Odonkor - Intercalating Student at King's (Philosophy) administrating our SYD 1 International Student Leaders' Conference
• Emily Cullis - year-out medical student from York working with the Central Services Team to produce a staff intranet
• Lavinia Miries - Junior Doctor from London working with the student team editing an edition of Nucleus
• Kelly Hibbert - Junior Doctor from Birmingham working in Public Policy on a range of advocacy projects

If you'd like to join us next year check out cmf.org.uk/volunteer/deeper

Catalyst Teams

We have six Catalyst Teams up and running in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, SW Scotland, Mersey, Inverness (Highlands and Islands) and north London. Each is developing local ministries to Christian doctors and nurses.

If you'd like to hear more about starting a team where you are, please contact volunteer@cmf.org.uk

Associate Staff Workers (ASWs)

CMF currently has two ASWs, Dr James Howitt and Esther Chevassut, who 'drop a day'to serve medical and nursing students where they live. We are recruiting to fill a team of ten ASWs in the next year, five for medical students and five for nursing students.

Esther shares a day in her life as an ASW

I begin my CMF Associate Staff Worker day by meeting with Pippa over a much-appreciated coffee, after a few long day-shifts on the ward. Pippa and I share about our weeks - including personal life, work and CMF. Pippa updates me on recent projects in the CMF Nursing Department and asks me if I've had any responses from nursing and midwifery students at a university we've been communicating with about meeting as a group for the first time. Pippa and I pray about this as well as praying over plans discussed for upcoming conferences and meetings.

I head home and set up my laptop ready to skype into the Deep:ER session, in which the Deep:ER volunteers meet fortnightly, share and pray together and look in-depth at a theological or ethical subject. James, another Associate Staff Worker, leads us in a great discussion about multi-disciplinary team working, exploring what makes this effective and challenging in healthcare practice, and how we can approach this in a Christlike way. I share some of my experiences working in a team during my first ten months of work as a staff nurse.

I head out to a local cafe for lunch with a student nurse from Southampton who is one of the co-leaders of the CMF group here. It's a joy being able to share with each other and to listen as she shares of the challenges of her current placement but how God has been faithful.

I print off a few copies of a very helpful CMF File, which has aided my preparation for tonight's CMF meeting in Southampton, and some lyrics for the worship songs the group have planned for. The meeting is a very precious time, sharing some of our experiences of mental health, both personal and from exposure on placements. It's helpful hearing advice from different perspectives. We round off with worship time and prayer, plus puddings, in the lovely home of our host - a retiree nurse herself.

As I head to bed, I reflect on all the conversations and meetings I've had today. I am so grateful for the opportunities I have had and give these situations to God in prayer.