News and updates
CMF Global has had a busy year. Besides the trip to Uganda and the ICMDA World Congress, two week-long trips to Erbil in Iraq were organised to enable young medics to experience the challenges and rewards of working with mainly Syrian refugees in the country's Kurdistan region. Unfortunately, the first trip had to be cancelled at the last minute because the airport in Erbil was closed to international traffic. The second in September was able to proceed.
The two-week Developing Health Course takes place in July each year at the London School of Theology and is packed with practical and theoretical training from a variety of experienced speakers for those considering global health work. Next year, the course will run from 21 July - 2 August.
The Developing Health Course is open to day visitors as well as those staying for the whole two weeks and there is a limited bursary programme for medics living in resource-poor countries.
A 4-day retreat on the Isle of Man, Medicine, Mission and Me, gave participants an opportunity to seek God about the possibility that he was calling them to use their skills in service overseas.
The Refugee and Asylum Seeker Health Course was held in Stockton in March and in Cardiff in October. Both were well attended by health professionals eager to engage with the myriad difficulties faced by refugees in the UK.
For those considering global healthcare work, the Who is my Neighbour? course offered valuable insights to health professionals in London in September.
The 18-month International Track Programme saw 24 medical students and junior doctors working together either to consider, or prepare for, work abroad. The course, now called Global Track, consists of ten sessions - ranging from webinars to a residential weekend based at All Nations Christian College.
Next year, trips so far are planned to Iraq, Bangladesh or Cambodia. The day courses will be offered at different locations so that all our members have the opportunity to attend. For more details, go to: cmf.org.uk/international/global-track or email globaltrack@cmf.org.uk - admissions for next year's programme are now closed, but we hope to run it again in 2020.
Obituaries
Paul Cassell (q 1960, Bart's and the London)
Frank Green (q 1974, Glasgow)
Hope Green (q 1944, Addenbrookes). A long term missionary nurse and former warden of the Medical Missionary Association (MMA) Hostel in London, Hope Green died on 22 September 2018.
Hope and her husband Dr Peter Green served together at the EMMS Hospital in Nazareth from 1950 and subsequently around a number of other Christian hospitals in the Middle East. While in Hebron she opened the first non-governmental nursing school in Jordan, before moving to Kenya. There she served at a variety of Christian hospitals until 1974 when the Greens moved back to the UK to take over the leadership of the MMA. Emma PedlarHope became the warden of Harcourt House, Emma Pedlarthe MMA's hostel for Christian medical students in Camden, while Peter became the General Secretary. Many who recall her years at Harcourt House remember how she made medical students feel that is was their own home, and she was a mother figure to many.
She and Peter served there faithfully until their retirement in 1992. Even in retirement, Hope continued to minister to the local church and wider community in Ninfield and Bexhill in Sussex, and to support ministry to Christian nurses in the UK.
John Holden (q 1976, Birmingham)
An active sporstman, John Holden died on 15 July 2018 after falling from a ridge in the Joss Naylor Lakeland Challenge. Holden served as a GP in Liverpool. He was also a keen writer and contributed to numerous journals and Cochrane reports. His Christian faith was practical and evident to many. A recipient of the President's Medal, Holden was committed to his field and better practice, particularly in the service of the elderly. He leaves behind his wife Alyson, and their three children: Jenny, Emily and Rosie.
Keith William Masters (q 1961, Birmingham)
Mike Sheldon (q 1964, London University, Middlesex Hospital)
A CMF member for more than 30 years, Mike Sheldon passed away on 10 September 2018. Mike was a GP with a passion for computers. He was also a man determined to redeem the time after Emma Pedlara major accident in his forties. This led to international medical work in Ghana, Nigeria, India, Poland, Thailand, Uganda and the Philippines. An academic career followed Emma Pedlarat St Bart's.
Sheldon was committed to whole person healthcare and had a heart for alcoholics, addicts and the homeless. He was an Honorary Fellow of the Association of Christian Counsellors. He was blessed with four children with his wife Jenny.
Dates for your diary
NOVEMBER 2018
23-25 Scottish Conference, Lendrick Muir
FEBRUARY 2019
8-10 Student Conference, Yarnfield Park
MAY 2019
3-5 National Conference, Yarnfield Park
For further information on all these courses, please contact: events@cmf.org.uk.
For more details see www.cmf.org.uk
