Students

all change for the new academic year

The beginning of a new academic year marks the start of a fresh cycle of activity for the Student team. This year, the team consists of Rachel Owusu-Ankomah (Head of Student Ministries), Laurence Crutchlow and Chris Borges da Silva (Associate Heads), Marolin Watson (Field Team Coordinator), and Liz Birdie Ong (Deep:ER Fellow). Chris steps into Ashley Stewart's shoes, though she continues to be active as a volunteer in Northern Ireland.

Our big event this term will be the joint ICMDA Western Europe/Irish Conference taking place 21-23 October 2023 in Athlone, Ireland. Here we hope to see not just students from Ireland, but students and graduates from across Western Europe gathering for fellowship, fun and food. Our main speaker is Dr Paul Coulter, who will talk about our living hope from the book of 1 Peter.

On 12 November, the National Student Council (NSC) meets. One or two student representatives from each region and two nurse/midwife reps gather at Johnson House in London to report, help plan the National Student Conference, pray for student groups in their region, and plan the forthcoming issues of Nucleus, CMF's student magazine.

National Student Conference

Booking for the National Student Conference (3-5 February 2023) will open soon. There is a reduced rate until December. This year's keynote speaker is Dr Giles Cattermole on the theme Walk it: Talk it - living & speaking for Jesus, based on Luke's Gospel and the book of Acts.

Once the dust has settled from the Student Conference, we will prepare for Student Leaders training at the National Conference. All our 60 student links are encouraged to attend, especially those new to the role. Backed by online resources and a student leaders' manual, the training hones their leadership and practical skills leading CMF student groups. It also gives them an invaluable introduction to the wider CMF family.

Between these highlights, the Student team are busy interacting with students remotely and in person. In an increasingly challenging healthcare environment, pastoral care and student welfare is more needed than ever.

Junior doctors

The turn of the season comes with many exciting changes. For us this has meant a new Junior Doctors' Committee. Whilst it was sad to say goodbye to our wonderful 2020-22 team (Ella Kim, Silas Anderson, Roy Edward, and Leo Hacking), we are very thankful to God for a group of equally enthusiastic junior doctors committed to serve (Lucy Reville, Eve Thangaraj, Daniel Nie, Katherine Aiken, and Annika Wilder-Smith).

We were happy to welcome our new committee, which met for the first time on 3 September for a fun day filled with biblical encouragement, prayer, food, and sunshine.

CMF Junior Doctors' Conference

Preparations are in progress for the 11-13 November CMF Junior Doctors' Conference at The Hayes, Swanwick. This year we will explore the theme of identity in Christ with Professor Glynn Harrison and a host of fantastic seminars.
We would value your continued prayers for the ongoing work of the junior doctors' ministry as we seek to equip and build up today's generation to change tomorrow's healthcare for Christ.

If you would like to meet (or already are meeting) with other Christian junior doctors for prayer and fellowship, we'd love to hear from you. Contact Felicia Wong, at felicia.wong@cmf.org.uk