More than 700 Christian medics to gather online this Saturday

At least 700 Christian doctors, nurses, midwives and allied health professionals will be joining together this Saturday (25 April) for a four-hour-long 'National Online Gathering' being organised by the Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF).

The purpose of this event is to give thanks for the work of the NHS and its staff and to pray for all those effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Jonty Allcock, Pastor of the Globe Church in London, will be teaching from the biblical book of Habakkuk. Renowned international speaker and futurologist Dr Patrick Dixon will be speaking 'Life in a post-COVID-19 world'.

This is the first 'virtual conference' that CMF has held. Their regular national conference was to have happened this weekend. However, social distancing and lockdown measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 have led to the last-minute change of format.

CMF's CEO, Dr Mark Pickering, said: "Extraordinary circumstances lead to extraordinary effort and creativity, and this year's National Online Gathering is no exception! Our members are working at the coalface of the NHS response to COVID-19, and we wanted to be able to bring them together for encouragement, refreshment and to be reminded that they are not alone.

'We would normally expect to see around 300-400 members to join us in person for our conference, but this event will see the biggest ever online gathering of Christians in the healing and caring professions in the UK. And it's not just health professionals from the UK that are joining us -health workers from all over the world will gather with us for the day. This reminds us not only that this is a worldwide crisis, but also that the church is truly global. Christians of all denominations and all professions are working together around the world to help respond to COVID-19, and it is our honour that so many will be joining with us on Saturday."

The CMF National Online Gathering is a free event, but online registration is essential. Go to https://cmf.li/2020NOG

The Christian Medical Fellowship (CMF) was founded seventy years ago and is an interdenominational organisation with over 6,000 members in all specialities. A registered charity, it is linked to about 80 similar bodies in other countries throughout the world.

CMF has produced a host of resources to help Christians in healthcare engage with the current challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our resource pages at www.cmf.org.uk/resources/covid-19-resources/ contain blogs, podcasts, ethical resources and information on a dedicated pastoral care service for Christian health carers. Our daily COVID1900prayer initiative brings health carers around the UK and beyond together at 7 pm to pray for the health service, the nation and the globe.

CMF membership and local support networks are open to all Christian doctors, nurses, midwives and students of these disciplines. Others can join as associate members - see: www.cmf.org.uk/join