One of the priorities of the Nurses Department is to raise up and invest in young nursing and midwifery leaders. To this end, we held a retreat day for our student reps on Saturday 16 June. Rachel Hickson came to speak with her colleague Rev Helen Azur of Heartcry for Change, helping restore hope and compassion to Christian communities.

Ten reps gathered at the London CMF office for breakfast, having travelled from Southampton, Oxford, Gloucester, Reading, Leeds, London and even one from Belfast! Rachel's brief was to encourage these nurses and midwives in both their professional calling and their Christian walk. To help re-envision and refresh them, but also to have some small group reflective time to explore good practice, and think about developing better life rhythms to help avoid burnout. As well as time for prayer of course!

Rachel led this so well. From the starting point of being 'ordinary people with an extraordinary call' she outlined the historical roots of the NHS and Christian healthcare. We looked at how our culture has changed, and how faith, which once undergirded our health service, is now marginalised, creating a division between being a Christian and being a nurse. With interaction and discussion, we looked at verses in the Bible that encourage us to develop a life-rhythm that trusts God, restores our soul, and the balance between demand and activity. There was good discussion on the need to be rooted in Christ as the source of all we are giving out to others. It was great to have unhurried time to talk and to pray and to connect with God. The rest of the day, from mid-afternoon was more relational - we enjoyed hanging out, a little sight seeing, and a drink together.

The reps gave such positive feedback about this time. Comments so far include: 'It was a real encouragement for us, so refreshing'; 'learnt to lean into God'; 'a real joy and encouragement to me personally' and 'really loved spending precious time with the other girls'.