Leave your faith at the door. Don't bring your God to work. Religion is a private matter. We've all heard things similar to this, and maybe we've thought them ourselves. In the modern world, faith is not something that seems to have a natural space in the workplace or the public square. There is a definite sacred/secular divide in public thought, and, if we are honest, in much of the church.

CMF has always been committed to what we call 'whole life faith', and at the heart of our mission is our strapline 'uniting and equipping Christian doctors and nurses to live and speak for Jesus Christ'. But what does this mean in practice? What is the sacred/secular divide? Should we bridge it, and if so, how?

In this edition of 1st incision, I'll be talking to Sue Holcombe, who has just taken up a role as CMF's Associate for Whole Life Faith to find out the answers to all these questions, and more.

To contact Sue, email her at [email protected]
To find out more about our Saline Solution courses visit www.cmf.org.uk/doctors/saline-solution/
You can watch talks from Mark Greene from the 2021 CMF National Conference on what 'whole life faith' is all about on the CMFtv YouTube channel.
You can find out more about our national network of local Catalyst Teams here: www.cmf.org.uk/catalyst-teams/

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 Welcome to the first episode in the latest series of CMF's ist incision podcast. We've been away for quite a few months, but there is a lot to talk about, and we start with an issue that remains at the top of the news.

Every few weeks we see another headline about assisted suicide. Someone with a serious illness has been to Zurich to die at the Dignitas clinic, complaining that they should be able to choose when and how they die in the UK, but the law won't allow it. Polls show that the majority of the British population would like people to have that option. And politicians and celebrities campaign for changes in the law to allow this.
 
 Why should this not happen? Why have changes to the law on helping someone to end their own life when they are already dying or suffering not happened yet in Britain?
 
 In today's first incision I am talking to Gordon McDonald, the CEO of Care Not Killing, a campaign group opposing a change to the law on assisted suicide and euthanasia, and Dr Mark Pickering, CEO of the Christian Medical Fellowship and a prison GP.

For more details about Our Duty of Care (ODOC) see ourdutyofcare.org.uk

CMF has run a number of blogs on end-of-life issues, as well as other resources on our website.
 

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 This is the last episode in our current season of 1st incision. And we thought it would be good to revisit some of the diverse range of issues we have discussed since we began our sixth season of the podcast in April.

In the last four months, we have looked at everything from God's concerns for our everyday lives and how we can have a positive impact in the lives of colleagues and patients through God's work in and through us. We have considered the way the UK treats refugees and asylum seekers and how, as Christian health professionals we can stand for godly values and justice even when the law and society are going in the opposite direction.

We have heard about Parish nursing as an ancient form of Christian ministry being restored to the church today, and about vaccines and vaccine hesitancy. And above all, about how we can find confidence in a God who is with us through all the storms and chaos that we face, especially in a time of global crisis such as we find ourselves today.

We will be back in the autumn, so until then, thank you to all who have contributed to its season, thank you for listening, and thank God for making it all happen!

See you in September!

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As medical technology advances and the values at the heart of our society change, health professionals can often find their own values clashing with the demands of clinical specialties and employers. Whether that is being involved with abortions, new fertility technologies, or end of life care decisions, we may all, regardless of faith or other beliefs and values, find ourselves asking 'should I really be doing this?'

Freedom of conscience has long been a cherished value in our culture and our health professions, but it is increasingly coming under attack. We are told we should do whatever the patient needs, whatever our personal ethical and conscience problems may be.

Today, I am talking with Melody Redman and Mark Pickering about this increasingly fraught topic, and looking at why conscience matters, how we develop and inform our conscience and how we practically and thoughtfully live and work with our colleagues, patients and leaders in line with our values and without violating our consciences.

Resources:

• CMF File 39 - the doctor's conscience
• CMF Blogs on conscience issues
• A Guide to Christianity for NHS employers
• Religion, morality, ethics, and war [for reflections on 'moral injury']
• GMC - GMC Personal beliefs and medical practice
• NMC - Conscientious objection by nurses, midwives and nursing associates

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The treatment of people fleeing war, persecution and poverty has had a lot of coverage in the news and has been a major issue in referendums and elections in the UK and other nations for many years.

 Is this an issue that should concern us, both as Christians and health professionals? What are the issues, and how do we address them?

 In this episode, Steve Fouch will be talking with Dr Becky McFarlane about her work in providing healthcare to refugees and asylum seekers in Glasgow.

Becky and Steve refer to several resources that can help you engage with the issues raised in the podcast:

• The No Accommodation Network (NACCOM) at https://naccom.org.uk/
• The Doctors' of the World safe surgeries toolkit
• Welcome Churches - no refugee alone
• Jubilee-Plus
• CMF & Integritas Health + Justice Track
• CMF Refugee & Asylum Seekers Health course 
• CMF Brief on healthcare charging in the UK for people with insecure immigration status

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In this edition, Dr John Greenall discusses with Dr Pete Carter of Heaven in Healthcare a diverse range of topics about health, healing, and how our understanding of heaven and what it means to be whole in Christ affects our attitudes towards medicine, miracles and God's healing in our lives. We also talk about disappointment when fervent prayers for healing seem not to be answered, and about how prayer can be offered as a complementary therapy on the NHS!

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Over the last three weeks, 1st incision has presented the main talks from the 2021 CMF National Conference on 24 April. In last week's episode, Mark Greene of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity looked at how we can live as a whole-life disciples of Jesus, shaping the culture in the everyday world. 

 In this, the final talk in the series, he asks why we so often think that what we do in our homes, workplaces, at the school gate, and in our neighbourhood does not matter to God? Why do we have a hierarchy of what counts 'spiritual' work in our minds? Drawing from Colossians 1:15​-20 & 3:17​, 23-24,  Mark Greene explores what it means to be a disciple of Christ in the mundane, day-to-day aspects of our lives.

 You can learn more about the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity at licc.org.uk

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 In this week's episode from the 2021 CMF National Conference on 24 April, Mark Green of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity looks at how a whole life Christian discipleship may shape our life and practice in the every day. Looking at the story of Ruth (particularly chapter 2, v1-16), he explores how faithfulness to Christ leads us to simple steps and outworking Christlike values in our daily interactions.

You learn more about the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity at licc.org.uk

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Over the next three weeks, 1st incision will be presenting the main talks from the 2021 CMF National Conference on 24 April. Last week's episode was the plenary address by Florence Muindi. This week, drawing from Acts 27, in the first of his talks, Mark Greene of the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, looks at how our discipleship in Christ can have a very concrete impact on how we deal with crises and challenges in the real world.

You learn more about the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity at licc.org.uk

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At this year's CMF National Conference on 24 April, Florence Muindi of Life in Abundance International, based in Kenya, gave the plenary address. 

Looking at the past year, she explores how the church and the Christian medical community has, along with the rest of the world, been in a disaster response mode as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected every nation. 

Her inspiring address looks at what God is saying to us through this difficult time and at the challenges and opportunities for God's Kingdom that faces us globally.

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