the Emerald Isle It was good to finally go to Ireland to connect with some of our new nurse members in Dublin and Galway, and also a few Christian nurses that aren't yet members. One nurse had already begun gathering others to pray but hadn't known about CMF until now and...
As privileged members of the caring professions we seek daily to pursue our Christian calling by caring for the sick and injured. Illness is what we're familiar with from a professional perspective, and what we encounter on a daily basis in the lives of our patients. When we ourselves become...
Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4 This is the verse a friend shared with me a short while before my second liver transplant assessment that led to me being added to...
There's no stained glass here. No daylight streaming through a serene Jesus looking down from his cross. In fact, there's no natural light at all. Just four windowless walls boxing me into the belly of the hospital. An artificial glow hums and flickers, making night and day indistinguishable to its...
To begin with, the changes were subtle. Unexplained anxiety and tearfulness, episodes of uncharacteristic blankness, and irritation and anger with medics and their pointless tests. As the dementing process continued, my mother tragically changed and aged before our eyes. Her confusion increased; she was frequently distressed by terrifying visual hallucinations....
What follows is a brief account of our experience of attempting to access necessary provision from medical and care services for our twin sons over a 42-year period. This involved contact with four teaching hospitals in London, another outside London, three district general hospitals (DGHs), and two hospices near where...
Healthcare professionals are programmed for success. Doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, and physiotherapists are all in careers with clear pathways. Effortless career progression and success are ideals that are celebrated. Christians working in healthcare may unwittingly absorb these values and expect success in both their work, personal, and church lives. The...
We all have hopes and dreams for our children. Sometimes these turn out as we expect them to, but other times they don't, and we might be left feeling disappointed or surprised. For parents of children with additional needs, which might include learning and physical disabilities, mental health or undiagnosed...
Healing the Divides How every Christian can advance God's vision for racial unity and justice Jason Roach and Jessamin Birdsall The Good Book Company, 2022, £10.99, 144pp ISBN: 9781784987275 Reviewed by Chris Green, a vicar in North London Healing the Divides is such a good and important book, that I'm not going to review it,...
One cold day in late January 1975, a junior staffer at the Cologne opera house realised with horror that the piano her team had taken out of storage for that night's high-profile concert was the wrong one. Not only was it not the highly-tuned, expensive Bösendorfer concert grand piano the...
This autumn has seen a significant change in in the CMF staff team at all levels. We welcome your prayers as the new staff establish themselves in the coming weeks and months. leaving Pippa Peppiatt left as Head of Nurses and Midwives at the start of December after many years of building...
A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silverProverbs 25:11 My mother is a tough cookie. So it was a bit of a shock to visit her in hospital and find her in tears. It was 1983, and I was six months from finals. I was already...
In my fourth article I discussed how the coming of 'home medical mission' to London in the 1870s intersected with the remarkable Dr George Saunders and his first retirement from military medical service. His energy and passion led him to the fledgling London Medical Mission in 1871; from there he...
Developing Health Course 2023 The Developing Health Course (DHC), which in 2023 was on 8-15 July, is aimed at health workers serving in global health and mission and those preparing to go. The input of bursary students from around the world enriches the learning experience for everyone. This year, we welcomed...
The Hamas attack on largely undefended Israelis on 7 October 2023 has shocked the world. The murder of around 1,200 (Israelis - both Jew and Arab - and several foreigners) [1] and the kidnap of another 240 [2] from southern Israel has rightly been almost universally condemned. [3] The Israeli response...
After months of deadlock between the Government and the British Medical Association (BMA), a new deal is on the table for consultants in England that could unlock the long-running dispute over doctors' pay. The previous deadlocks escalated during September and October as consultants and juniors undertook coordinated strike action - the...
One of the most horrifying scandals ever to hit the NHS was that of Lucy Letby, a neonatal nurse who was found to have killed seven babies in her care and attempted to murder six more. We cannot even begin to imagine the grief the families involved in this case must...
The Reverend Professor Peter William Brunt, CVO, OBE, MD, FRCP, FRCPE, FRCSE (Hon) (b 1936, Prestatyn, Wales, q 1959, Liverpool, d 2023, Morpeth, Northumberland) Professor Peter Brunt was a truly extraordinary man - an exceptional doctor, a gifted minister, and a loving family man and friend. From a very early age,...