Meet the Council

The New CNM Council (2013-2014) was elected in for the next twelve months at the Annual General Meeting on 6th July 2013.  

The Council members are:



Tim James - Chair

Tim's involvement with CNM began about 11 years ago when he was a student studying in Bristol. Since then, he has remained actively involved within CNM and by serving on the Council for many years. He has been a qualified nurse for 10 years working within Paediatric Intensive Care. He and his wife (Rachael, also a nurse) live in Surrey with their baby daughter. 

Tim says 

There are many challenges that nursing in Great Britain is facing at the moment. Christian nurses share in these challenges, whilst some are also experiencing persecution of faith in Jesus. But despite this, I believe the challenges point to the need for Christian nurses to demonstrate and speak of the love of Jesus with our patients, families, colleagues and managers.  CNM is here to help Christian nurses with these challenges, by encouraging us through God’s word, the bible, and through the deepening of our relationship with Jesus. So please continue to support CNM by perhaps getting involved and telling your nursing friends/colleagues about us. As Chairman, I am always pleased to hear from members with any suggestions or concerns you have. I can be contacted through our website or through the CNM secretary, Steven Fouch at CMF offices.  God Bless. Tim. 

Liz Capper – 
Liz Capper is a nurse and midwife and trained 1963-1968. After 2 years in Kenya as a VSO, worked in London specialising in Gynaecology as Sister, nursing officer, Patient services manager then Chief nurse and Director of Quality at a West London Trust before retirement. At all stages seeking to be faithful in following Jesus and making Him known. She heads up the CNM Cardiff prayer group, has sat on the board of UCCF and was integral in setting up CNM.








Peter Swift

Peter Swift, RGN general nurse training at St James' University Hospital, Leeds, 1981-84, followed by RSCN paediatric course there 1989-90. Paediatric Intensive Care course 1993-94, Renal Replacement Therapies course 1996-97, King's College, London.
Age 55, married. Born Again at age 17. Attends St Helen's Bishopsgate, London. Bible study leader, PCC and Deanery Synod member.
Worked in children's intensive care for over twenty years. Presently a Charge Nurse on PICU at the Evelina London Children's Hospital.

Rosanne Ball

Rose qualified as a Paediatric nurse in 2004 and worked on paediatric surgical and medical wards in Cardiff before moving to the accident and emergency unit. She recently moved to Bristol and currently works in PICU in the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children. She has nursed overseas on short term missions in various capacities. She is an active member of Christ Church in Clifton, leading one of the 20's&30's groups.

Rose says
Nursing is a challenging profession to work within but I believe that our faith should impact every area of our lives, including the way that we care for our patients, their friends and family, and each other. 

Sue Allen

Sue qualified as a nurse and a midwife and worked as a ward sister before following the educational route and becoming a Registered Nurse Tutor.   Sue completed her studies at Masters level at the University of surrey and completed a Doctorate based on action research within NHS organisations committed to integrated quality healthcare.  Sue became a Christian at the age of seven and he faith has always been central to both her personal and professional life.  Sue is a member of both the European and International Board of NCFI and coordinated the development of the four year leadership programme which focusses on a biblical Christ centred model of leadership.

Sue is familiar with the needs of patients and carers in the Health service and believes passionately that Christian values can make a real difference to meeting the needs of patients and families.

Sioned Jeffs
Sioned is from North Wales (in case her name didn't give that away!) but London is currently her home.   She did her nurse training in Manchester and qualified as an adult nurse nine years ago.  She has worked in MAU and A&E and is currently working in Intensive Care.

She finds nursing hugely rewarding.  As Christian nurses, we get paid to do what Jesus asks his followers to do: to love, to serve & to care for the sick and the vulnerable in our society.   As we learn to lean on Him, Christ equips us for our work and in His strength we can be His witnesses, even in the midst of the chaos, the politics (and the paperwork!).

Sioned says

The last nine years have been quite a journey, I have learnt some valuable lessons, and I’m still learning.  I enjoy working out what it means to live for Christ in my day to day work.  

I am excited about the work CNM are doing, and I am keen to see it grow.  My hope is that through it, Christian Nurses and Midwives will be encouraged & equipped to be a Christian voice in the workplace and I am keen to support to that work.

The CNM Staff team and the CMF CEO also sit on the Council as ex-officio members

Meet the Staff

Steve Fouch – Secretary
Steve handles most of the day-today administration and editorial tasks for CNM. He worked for several years in community palliative care and HIV in London after district nursing for several years in Battersea. He trained at the University of Surrey, and studied Medical Anthropology at Brunel University. He now works for the Christian Medical Fellowship in mission mobilisation and support for nurses and midwives. He lives in Kent with his family, where he is active in the lay leadership of his local church.

Annie Leggett - Student Staff Woker

Annie trained as a nurse in the late 1970’s at the Middlesex Hospital London, and went to train in oncology at the Royal Marsden Hospital where she also worked in palliative care, eventually becoming the clinical Nurse specialist/Senior Nurse in Intravenous Services.

After that she worked for several years as the specialist staff worker for student nurses with the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship, and more recently as the female Pastoral worker for City Evangelical Church in Birmingham.  She has been student staff worker for CNM since October 2010.


Dimity Grant-Frost - Student Staff Worker
Dimity qualified as a nurse in Australia 11 years ago and worked for a year there before moving to the UK where she worked as a community clinical nurse specialist in west London before joining the palliative care team at The Royal Marsden Hospital for the next five years in that role, taking a year out to complete an apprenticeship at her church.





Annie and Dimity work mainly in the London and Southeast England area making contact with student nurses, with the aim to teach the bible and encourage them to think through ethical and professional issues in the light of the Christian faith, to help them be a light in their profession both individually and corporately and to be a friend and support.

Contact details for the team - click here

Vision Statement

Christian Nurses and Midwives is a fellowship of committed Christians seeking to encourage health professionals to support one another in faith, clinical practice, ethics, and outreach. We seek to be a Christian voice into our professions and into national and international health policy.

Contacts

General Enquiries

Steven Fouch, CNM Secretary

Mob: +44 [0] 7941 800637
Office: +44 [0]20 7234 9668
email: info@cnm.org.uk

Annie Leggett - Student Staff Worker
Office: +44[0]20 7234 9667
email: annie@cmf.org.uk

Dimity Grant-Frost  - Student Staff Worker
Office: +44[0]20 7234 9687
email: dimity@cmf.org.uk



CNM Office
Johnson House
6 Marshalsea Road
London
SE1 1HL
UK

Affiliations

Universities & Colleges Christian Fellowship [UCCF]http://www.uccf.org.uk/ /index.htm

Nurses Christian Fellowship International [NCFI]
http://www.ncfi.org/

NCFI Europe
www.ncfieurope.org

Christian Medical Fellowship
http://www.cmf.org.uk/

Transform Work UK
http://www.transformworkuk.org/

Beliefs

The basis of the Fellowship shall be the fundamental truths of Christianity, as revealed in Holy Scripture, including:

• There is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
• God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgement.
• The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.
• Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.
• The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of a virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.
• Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.
• Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God’s sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God’s act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.
• The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.
• The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christlike in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.
• The one holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.
• The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person, to judge everyone, to execute God’s just condemnation on those who have not repented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.

CNM Aims

• To encourage Christian nurses and midwives to grow in the knowledge of Christ and to make Him known
• To promote Christian principles within nursing and midwifery
• To develop a network of Christian nurses and midwives for fellowship and prayer
• To strengthen and support Christian Student nurses and midwives
• To support the work of nursing and midwifery missionaries throughout the world who are in agreement with our beliefs

See the CNM Constitution for more information

Constitution of CNM

CONSTITUTION OF CHRISTIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES

adopted on the fourth day of February Two Thousand and Seven

PART 1

1. Adoption of the Constitution

CHRISTIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES (“CNM”) and its property will be administered and managed in accordance with the provisions in Parts 1 and 2 of this constitution. 

2. The Name

The association’s name is CHRISTIAN NURSES AND MIDWIVES (and in this document it is called “the Charity”). 

3. The Objects
The Charity’s objects (the Objects) are to advance the Christian faith in accordance with the Statement of Beliefs appearing in the Schedule hereto in such parts of the United Kingdom or the World as the Trustees may from time to time think fit particularly but not exclusively by:- 

a) encouraging Christian Nurses to grow in the knowledge of Christ and to make Him known
b) promoting Christian principles within Nursing
c) developing a network of Christian Nurses for fellowship and prayer
d) strengthening and supporting Christian Student Nurses and Midwives
e) supporting the work of Nursing and Midwifery missionaries throughout the world who are in agreement with our doctrinal basis

and to fulfil such other purposes which are exclusively charitable according to the law of England and Wales and are connected with the charitable work of the Association

4. Employment Policy

The policy of the Charity shall be to restrict employment by the Charity to evangelical Christians being those:-

a) who shall have first signed the Statement of Beliefs set out in the Schedule hereto and 

b) whose personal lifestyle conduct and practice is consistent with the practice of the Statement of Beliefs set out in the Schedule hereto and traditional biblical Christian standards of behaviour as set out by the trustees in their Code of Practice issued from time to time and who shall have first signed the said Code of Practice at the commencement of their employment.


5. Applications of the Income and Property
1. The income and property of the Charity shall be applied solely towards the promotion of the Objects
2. A Trustee may pay out of, or be reimbursed from, the property of Charity reasonable expenses properly incurred by him or her when acting on behalf of the Charity.
3. None of the income or property of the Charity may be paid or transferred directly or indirectly by way of dividend bonus or otherwise by way of profit to any member of the Charity. This does not prevent:

a) A member who is not also a Trustee also receiving reasonable and proper remuneration for any goods or services supplied to the Charity.
b) A Trustee from:
i. Buying food or services from the Charity upon the same terms as other members or members of the public;
ii. Receiving a benefit from the Charity in the capacity of a beneficiary of the Charity, provided that the Trustees comply with the provisions of sub clause (7) of this clause, or as a member of the Charity and upon the same terms as other members;

c) The purchase of indemnity insurance for the Trustees against any liability that by virtue of the any rule of law would otherwise attach to a trustee or other officer in respect of any negligence, default, breach of trust or which he or she may be guilty in relation to the Charity but excluding:
i. Fines;
ii. Costs of unsuccessfully defending criminal prosecutions for offences arising out of the fraud, dishonesty or wilful or reckless misconduct of the Trustee or other officer;
iii. Liabilities to the Charity that result from conduct that the Trustee or other officer knew or ought to have known was not in the best interests of the Charity or in respect of which the person concerned did not care whether that conduct was in the best interest of the Charity or not.

6. Dissolution

1. If the members resolve to dissolve the Charity the Trustees will remain in office as charity trustees and be responsible for winding up the affairs of the charity in accordance with this clause

2. The Trustees must collect in all the assets of the charity and must pay or make provision for all the liabilities of the charity

3. The Trustees must apply any remaining property or money:
a) directly for the Objects;
b) by transfer to any charity or charities for purposes the same as or similar to the Charity;
c) in such other manner as the Charity Commissioners for England and Wales (“the Commission”) may approve in writing in advance

4. The members may pass a resolution before or at the same time as the resolution to dissolve the Charity specifying the manner in which the Trustees are to apply the remaining property or assets of the Charity and the Trustees must comply with the resolution if it is consistent with paragraphs (a)-(c) inclusive of sub-clause (3) above

5. In no circumstances shall the net assets of the Charity be paid or distributed among the members of the Charity (except to a member that is itself a charity)

6. The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly that the charity has been dissolved. If the Trustees are obliged to send the charity’s accounts to the Commission for the accounting period which ended before its dissolution, they must send to the Commission the charity’s final accounts

7. The Amendments

1. Any provision contained in Part 1 of this constitution may be amended provided that:
a) no amendment may be made that would have the effect of making the Charity cease to be a charity at law; 
b) no amendment may be made to alter the Objects if the change would not be within the reasonable contemplation of the members of or donors to the Charity;
c) no amendment may be made to clause 5 without the prior written consent of the Commission;
d) any resolution to amend a provision of Part 1 of this constitution is passed by not less than two thirds of the members present and voting at a general meeting

2. Any provision contained in Part 2 of this constitution may be amended, provided that any such amendment is made by resolution passed by a simple majority of the members present and voting at a general meeting;

3. A copy of any resolution amending this constitution must be sent to the Commission within twenty one days of it being passed

 

SCHEDULE

Statement of Beliefs

The Charity has adopted the Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship Doctrinal Basis as follows
The Doctrinal Basis of the Association shall be the fundamental truths of Christianity as revealed in Holy Scripture, including:

a) There is one God in three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit

b) God is sovereign in creation, revelation, redemption and final judgment. 

c) The Bible, as originally given, is the inspired and infallible Word of God. It is the supreme authority in all matters of belief and behaviour.

d) Since the fall, the whole of humankind is sinful and guilty, so that everyone is subject to God’s wrath and condemnation.

e) The Lord Jesus Christ, God’s incarnate Son, is fully God; he was born of virgin; his humanity is real and sinless; he died on the cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.

f) Sinful human beings are redeemed from the guilt, penalty and power of sin only through the sacrificial death once and for all time of their representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between them and God.

g) Those who believe in Christ are pardoned all their sins and accepted in God’s sight only because of the righteousness of Christ credited to them; this justification is God’s act of undeserved mercy, received solely by trust in him and not by their own efforts.

h) The Holy Spirit alone makes the work of Christ effective to individual sinners, enabling them to turn to God from their sin and to trust in Jesus Christ.

i) The Holy Spirit lives in all those he has regenerated. He makes them increasingly Christ-like in character and behaviour and gives them power for their witness in the world.

j) The only holy universal church is the Body of Christ, to which all true believers belong.

k) The Lord Jesus Christ will return in person to judge everyone, to execute God’s just condemnation on those who have not represented and to receive the redeemed to eternal glory.
 
PART 2

8. Membership

1.1 Membership is open to individuals over eighteen or organisations in the following categories who are approved by the trustees: 

a) those who names currently appear on the professional register of Nurses, Midwives and Health Visitors; or

b) Christians who have retired from the register and those involved in nursing but not on the register (such as Health Care Assistants and students) who accept the conditions of membership and who sincerely desire to promote the aims of the Charity
1.2 Members will be required to be in full sympathy with the objects of the charity and to sign the Declaration of Membership in the following words:-

“I am in sympathy with the aims of CNM and its doctrinal basis. I declare my personal faith in Jesus Christ who is my Saviour and I accept the Bible as the supreme authority in matters of faith and conduct.”

2.1 The trustees may only refuse an application for membership if, acting reasonably and properly, they consider it to be in the interests of the Charity to refuse the application.

2.2 The trustees must inform the applicant in writing of the reasons for the refusal within twenty-one days of the decision

2.3 The trustees must consider any written representations the applicant may make about the decision. The Trustees’ decision following any written representations must be notified to the applicant in writing but shall be final

3. Membership is not transferable to anyone else

4. The Trustees must keep a register of names and addresses of members which must be made available to any member upon request

9. Termination of Membership

Membership is terminated if:

1. the member dies or, if it as an organisation, ceases to exist;

2. the member resigns by written notice to the Charity unless, after the resignation, there would be less than two members;

3. any sum due from the member to the Charity is not paid in full within six months of it falling due;

4. the members is removed from membership by a resolution of the Trustees that it is in the best interests of the Charity that his or her membership is terminated. A resolution to remove a member from membership may only be passed if:

a) the member has been given at least twenty-one days’ notice in writing of the meeting of the Trustees at which the resolution will be proposed and the reasons why it is to be proposed;

b) the member or, at the option of the member, the member’s representative (who need not be a member of the Charity) has been allowed to make representations to the meeting

10. General meetings

1. The charity must hold a general meeting within twelve months of the date of the adoption of this constitution 

2. An annual general meeting must be held in each subsequent year and not more than fifteenth months may elapse between successive annual general meetings

3. All general meetings other than annual general meetings shall be called special general meetings

4. The Trustees may call a special general meeting at any time

5. The Trustees must call a special general meeting if requested to do so in writing by at least ten members or one tenth of the membership, whichever is the greater. The request must state the nature of the business that is to be discussed. If the Trustees fail to hold the meeting within twenty-eight days of the request, the members may proceed to call a special general meeting but in doing so they must comply with the provisions of this constitution

11. Notice

1. The minimum period of notice required to hold any general meetings of the Charity is twenty eight clear days from the date on which the notice is deemed to have been given

2. A general meeting may be called by shorter notice if it so agreed by all the members entitled to attend and vote

3. The notice must specify the date, time and place of the meeting and the general nature of the business to be transacted. If the meeting is to be an annual general meeting the notice must say so

4. The notice must be given to all the members and to the Trustees

5. Individual members may propose items for the agenda and nominations for the Council not less than 8 clear weeks prior to an annual general meeting. The Executive Council will, at its discretion, add such items to the agenda

12. Quorum

1. No business shall be transacted at any general meeting unless a quorum is present

2. A quorum is:

• [10] members entitled to vote upon the business to be conducted at the meeting; or 
• one tenth of the total membership at the time,
whichever is the greater

3. The authorized representative of a member organization shall be counted in the quorum

4. If:
(a) a quorum is not present within half an hour from the time appointed for the meeting; or
(b) during a meeting a quorum ceases to be present

the meeting shall be adjourned to such time and place as the trustees shall determine

5. The Trustees must reconvene the meeting and must give at least seven clear days notice of the reconvened meeting stating the date, time and place of the meeting

6. If no quorum is present at the reconvened meeting within fifteen minutes of the time specified for the start of the meeting  the members present at that time shall constitute the quorum for that meeting

13. Chair

1. General meetings shall be chaired by the person who has been elected as Chair

2. If there is no such person or he or she is not present within fifteen minutes of the time appointed for the meeting a Trustee nominated by the Trustees shall chair the meeting

3. If there is only one Trustee present and willing to act, he or she shall chair the meeting

4. If no Trustee is present and willing to chair the meeting within fifteen minutes after the time appointed for holding it, the members present and entitled to vote must choose one of their number to chair the meeting

14. Votes

1. Each member shall have one vote but if there is an equality of votes the person who is chairing the meeting shall have a casting vote in addition to any other vote he or she may have

2. A resolution in writing signed by each member (or in the case of a member that is an organisation by its authorised representative) who would have been entitled to vote upon it had it been proposed at a general meeting shall be effective. It may comprise several copies each signed by or on behalf of one or more members

15. The Executive Council: Officers and Trustees

1. The Charity and its property shall be managed and administered by an Executive Council comprising the Officers and other members elected in accordance with the Constitution. The Officers and other members of the committee shall be the trustees of the Charity and in this constitution are together called “the Trustees”.

2. The Charity shall have the following Officers:

• A Chair
• A Secretary
• A Treasurer

3. A Trustee must be a member of the Charity or the nominated representative of an organisation that is a member of the Charity

4. Any Trustee hereof shall be required to declare his or her belief in and allegiance to the Statement of Beliefs set out in the Schedule hereto and any trustee ceasing to believe in or adhere to such Statement shall immediately resign his or her trusteeship

5. No one may be appointed a Trustee if he or she would be disqualified from acting under the provisions of Clause 18

6. The number of Trustees be not less than three but (unless otherwise determined by a resolution of the Charity in a general meeting) shall not be subject to any maximum

7. The first Trustees (including Officers) shall be those persons elected as Trustees and Officers at the meeting at which this constitution is adopted

8. A Trustee may not appoint anyone to act on his or her behalf at meetings of the Trustees

16. The Appointment of Trustees

1. The Charity in general meeting shall elect the Officers and the other Trustees

2. The Trustees may appoint any person who is willing to act as a Trustee. Subject to paragraph 5(b) of this clause, they may also appoint Trustees to act as officers.

3. Each of the Trustees shall retire with effect from the conclusion of the annual general meeting next after his or her appointment but shall be eligible for re-election at that annual general meeting

4. No one may be elected a Trustee or an Officer at any annual general meeting unless prior to the meeting the Charity is given a notice that: 
a) is signed by a member entitled to vote at the meeting;
b) states the member’s intention to propose the appointment of a person as a Trustee or as an officer
c) is signed by the person who is to be proposed to show his or her willingness to be appointed

5. a) The appointment of a Trustee whether by the Charity in general meeting or by the other Trustees must not cause the number of Trustees to exceed any number fixed in accordance with this constitution as the maximum number of Trustees

b) the Trustees may not appoint a person to be an Officer if a person has already been elected or appointed to that office and has not vacated the office

17. Powers of Trustees

1. The trustees must manage the business of the Charity and they have the following powers in order to further the Objects (but not for any other purpose);

a) to raise funds. In doing so, the Trustees must not undertake any substantial permanent trading activity and must comply with any relevant statutory regulations
b) to co-operate with other charities, voluntary bodies and statutory authorities and to exchange information and advice with them;
c) to establish or support any charitable trusts, association or institutions formed for any of the charitable purposes included in the Objects;
d) to obtain and pay for such goods and services as are necessary for carrying out the work of the Charity;
e) to open and operate such bank and other accounts as the Trustees consider necessary and to invest funds and to delegate the management of funds in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as the trustees of a trust are permitted to do by the Trustee Act 2000;
f) to do all such other lawful things as are necessary for the achievement of the Objects;

2. No alteration of this constitution or any special resolution shall have retrospective effect to invalidate any prior act of the trustees

3. Any meeting of Trustees at which a quorum is present at the time the relevant decision is made may exercise all the powers exercisable by the Trustees

18. Disqualification and Removal of Trustees

A Trustee shall cease to hold office if he or she:

1. is disqualified from acting as a Trustee by virtue of Section 72 of the Charities Act 1993 (or any statutory re-enactment or modification of that provision);

2. ceases to be a member of the Charity;

3. becomes incapable by reason of mental disorder, illness or injury of managing and administering his or her own affairs;

4. resigns as a trustee by notice to the Charity (but only if at least two Trustees will remain in office when the notice of resignation is to take effect); or 

5. is absent without the permission of the Trustees from all their meetings held within a period of six consecutive months and the trustees resolve that his or her office be vacated

19. Proceedings of Trustees

1. The Trustees may regulate their proceedings as they think fit, subject to the provisions of this constitution

2. Any Trustee may call a meetings of the trustees

3. The Secretary must call a meeting of the Trustees if requested to do so by a Trustee

4. Questions arising at a meeting must be decided by a simple majority of total members (including absent members)

5. A resolution in writing signed by all the Trustees entitled to receive notice of a meeting of Trustees or of a committee of Trustees and to vote upon the resolution shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been passed at a meeting of the Trustees or (as the case may be) a Committee of Trustees duly convened and held

6. The resolution in writing may comprise several documents containing the text of the resolution in like form each signed by one or more Trustees

7. Co-option. The Executive Council during its term of office shall have the power to co-opt an expert advisor to assist the Council in its work


20. Minutes

The Trustees must keep minutes of all:

1) appointments of Officers and Trustees made by the Trustees;
2) proceedings at meetings of the Charity
3) meetings of the Trustees and committees of Trustees including:
• the names of the Trustees present at the meeting;
• the decisions made at the meetings; and
• where appropriate the reasons for the decisions

21. Speakers

Only those speakers whose views are known to be in sympathy with the aims and doctrinal basis of the charity shall be invited to take part in its conferences or meetings 

22. Relations with other Societies

Joint activities may be arranged with any other organisation which substantially upholds the aims and beliefs of the charity

23. Affiliation

The Charity shall be affiliated to Universities and Colleges Christian Fellowship and shall operate generally in consultation with it and in keeping with its aims

24. Local Groups

A local group shall be defined as an association of two or more members of CNM, at least one of whom has formally contracted with CNM Council to fully support the beliefs and aims of CNM and to represent the interest of CNM within a defined locality. Such a group may use the CNM name and logo and display material on the CNM web-site. The contract terminates at the Council’s discretion or when the contractor/s retire/s.

25. Annual Report and Return and Accounts

1. The Trustees must comply with their obligations under the Charities Act 1993 with regard to:
a) the keeping of accounts records for the Charity;
b) the preparation of annual statements of account for the Charity;
c) the transmission of the statements of account to the Charity;
d) the preparation of an annual report and its transmission to the Commission

2. Accounts must be prepared in accordance with the provisions of any Statement of Recommended Practice issued by the Commission, unless the Trustees are required to prepare accounts in accordance with the provisions of such a Statement prepared by another body

26. Registered particulars

The Trustees must notify the Commission promptly of any changes to the Charity’s entry on the Central Register of Charities.

History of CNM

A Phoenix from the Ashes
Christian Nurses and Midwives is one of the newest fellowships in the NCFI family, but it comes from a country which had one of the oldest fellowships. NCF England & Wales was founded in 1942 in the UK, and lasted for 53 years before closing down in 1995. However, to this day NCF Scotland is alive and well, and celebrated its 75th Anniversary in 2007.

But the closure of NCF in England & Wales in 1995 was a major event and shocked many sister fellowships around the world. The reasons were many, and would best be covered elsewhere, but one major factor has been the shift in the UK away from apprentice and practice based nurse training to training in Universities to a higher diploma and graduate level. Nurses who once lived, studied and worked in the same place, now study in one place, live in another, work in a third place, and worship in a fourth. As a result they are more a part of church life than when NCF was set up, but also more overcommitted in their time.

The struggle to engage a new generation of nurses was one of the factors that sadly led the end of NCF, but not for lack of effort. During 1994 they employed a full time development worker to see how they could re-engage with the new generation of nurses, but sadly funding ran out and they concluded that there was no longer a need for an NCF. However, even as they closed down, the hope was expressed in the last edition of their journal that others would come and take up the baton one day.

And indeed, the need for a fellowship had not disappeared. Even though the formal organisation had gone, small groups of nurses continued to meet for prayer and fellowship up and down the country. In addition, the University and Colleges Christian Fellowship (UCCF – part of the IFES movement in the UK) had developed a specialist work among Christian nursing students in Universities across the UK. This movement was known as Christian Student Nurses (CSN), and was supported by a full time staff worker.

Annie Leggett was the CSN staff worker for much of the 1990s, and she realised the absence of a graduates fellowship meant that many students were graduating and struggling without the support of an explicitly nursing focussed Christian fellowship. The training and practice of the profession in the UK was becoming increasingly humanist in its focus, and many of the Christian values and history of nursing were being expunged from the record – leaving Christian nurses increasingly confused and struggling to apply faith to practice. Annie’s successor, Sally-Ann Foster told me some years back of the sense of fear and insecurity about even talking about faith to colleagues (let alone patients) that most Christian nurses felt in the UK – and that this fear was drummed in to them during their training.

CSNM had therefore become vital to help these Christian students become confident in their faith and learn to think about their profession from a Biblical, Christian perspective, and many found the support, fellowship and teaching they received invaluable. But once they graduated they found that the churches did not really offer the same type of support and teaching.
So it was that Annie began to put out announcements at a major UK Bible Week (Word Alive), bringing together groups of Christian nurses from around the UK to meet and pray. In 1997 this meeting began to talk seriously for the first time about the idea of re-establishing a graduate fellowship once again. There was a lot of interest, and a second meeting was held the following year in London at Partnership House (then the headquarters of the Christian Medical Fellowship). A new fellowship was tentatively established, calling itself the “Fellowship of Christian Nurses” (FCN) – the NCF name could not be used again for legal reasons.

In October that year they held their first national conference at St. Andrews Church, Bishopsgate in the City of London. Soon afterwards a prayer group was founded in Bristol by Jane Davies, and in July 1999 a London prayer group was set up – both of these groups remain active to this day. However, from early on it was realised that the emphasis of the new group had to be different – not setting up local or hospital based groups, unless people wanted them, but rather creating a national network with individual membership. A newsletter was launched mailing out to about 350 contacts, and several major churches around the UK were written to for publicity and support for the new fellowship. This early work was spearheaded by Jane Grier, who carried this on until a committee was set up for the graduates’ fellowship.

In June of 2000 the group formally accepted the UCCF statement of faith, the first step towards becoming an affiliated graduate organisation, and thus strengthening and formalising the links with CSN. Peter Swift, who joined the Committee of CNM at that time, reflected to me recently "we were keen to become one of the UCCF ‘Professional Groups’ because we felt that recognition by them was key in establishing our own credibility. So a lot of time and effort went into meeting the UCCF entry requirements - formulating a constitution and adopting the UCCF basis of faith etc. We read several constitutions belonging to other groups and formulated the CNM one.... but it took ages!"

Nevertheless, after much hard work and deliberation on 31 March 2001 the organisation was formally launched at its inaugural Annual General Meeting. The name, Christian Nurses and Midwives, was arrived at after a long debate. Recalling this process Peter said “we did a lot of brain storming before settling on CNM as a name. At one point I advocated a single noun as a name, and suggested ‘Vocation’ but I was out voted! (Actually I still like the idea!)”. The name was chosen to ensure that midwives were included and recognised by the fellowship, and the student fellowship likewise changed its name to Christian Student Nurses and Midwives (CSNM).

By November of that year, there were forty paid up members. Despite the large mailing list and all the churches that had been contacted CNM’s early challenge was the general apathy it found among English and Welsh nurses and churches towards the movement. Nevertheless, membership grew, and by 2003 it stood at 120.

Links with NCFI also began quite early in the life of CNM. Sally-Ann Foster was Annie’s successor as the CSNM student worker as well as being on the Committee of CNM, and in both capacities she attended the 2002 NCFI European Regional Conference in Bergen, Norway. This was a great encouragement for her and both the fellowships, but it was also an encouragement to other European fellowships to know that things were getting going again in England and Wales, and they have been a great source of support and encouragement ever since.

However, 2003 was to be something of a watershed year, and the new fellowship nearly died in its infancy. Among the founding members the pressures of work and family commitments was making it increasingly hard to put in the time and energy that CNM needed to grow, and several had to step down. Several regional day conferences struggled to get going (the Manchester day conference that year had only one attendee!), and then the national conference had to be cancelled as bookings were so low. CNM was funded purely by member subscriptions, but its finances nearly bottomed out as the costs of producing CNM News and underwriting the conferences drained the coffers faster than membership fees could replenish them. Things were looking serious as a remnant committee of just Sally-Ann (who by now had stepped down as the CSNM staff worker) and the treasurer Angela Thavaraj sought to keep the organisation afloat.

Four decisions were taken over the next couple of years that significantly changed the course of events. The first was the decision by what was left of the CNM Committee (now called the Council) to call on the Council of Reference that had been set up to support CNM from its inaugural meeting just two years earlier, and ask if they could be involved in supporting the fellowship more actively through its time of crisis. Two of us joined the Council as a result; Liz Capper, a former Chief Nursing Officer at The Hammersmith Hospital in London agreed to take up the Chairmanship of CNM, and I was invited to get involved as the Secretary/Administrator. I had been involved since early on in CNM, but mainly in the capacity of supporting the missionary aim of CNM, speaking at graduate and CSNM conferences on working overseas and offering support to individual members in this capacity.

The second decision was made by the Executive Committee of the Christian Medical Fellowship, who sponsored three members of CNM to attend the NCFI World Conference in Seoul. CMF had been supportive of CNM since its early years, and had worked closely with the original NCF. It had committed resources to seeing the work among Christian nurses be properly birthed and developed again. As a result, Angela, myself and a new and enthusiastic member, Tim James, agreed to attend the conference, which marked another turning point for CNM. The struggles we faced as a fellowship turned out to be pretty universal, but we also realised we were part of a larger family with a lot to teach us. I was co-opted on to the European Committee, and Tim and Angela were greatly encouraged and enthused with new ideas and vision. A major encouragement for us was to find that fellowships in the Pacific (Papua New Guinea and Fiji) had been praying for a new national nursing fellowship in England & Wales for some time!

A third decision in late 2004 by UCCF not to replace Sally-Ann and to disinvest in its specialist ministry to nursing and midwifery students led to the winding up of CSNM. In March 2005 at its AGM in Shropshire on the borders between England and Wales, CNM formally altered its constitution to welcome student members. Within a few months we had nearly fifty student members.

The final decision was taken by both the CNM Council and the leadership of a sister network for Christians in the allied health professions (Christian Therapists Network or CTN) to hold our conferences jointly. CTN had grown up out of UCCF in almost exactly the same way as CNM, and both were struggling to run a national conference with limited resources. The example of interdisciplinary fellowship and cooperation has helped make these conferences a great success. The joint conferences have run since 2004, and we now regularly have between 100 and 120 people attending. They are one of the high points of our year, although in the last twelve months we have shifted to holding more regional, joint day conferences, and to to hold a residential event once every two years.

Meanwhile the links with NCFI were proving fruitful in new ways. One of the realities facing nurses worldwide is that our skills are in demand wherever we go, and for some time the lack of UK nationals going in to nursing had meant that we were one of the biggest importers of nurses from other nations. Talks with the leaders of FCN in Nigeria and NCF Philippines in Seoul in 2004 and Ede in 2006 led us to build contacts with Christian nurses from both nations living and working in the UK, and the exploration of how we can support those nurses more effectively as a national fellowship. We are still struggling to know how to do this effectively, but FCN’s UK chapter continues to send delegates to CNM events and we have welcomed several Filipina members in recent years – nevertheless there is a great deal more that we need to do.

Tim James set up our student ministry in 2005, establishing a team of student leaders and specialist section of our website. When Tim stepped down from this role in late 2006, Rachael Bowen stepped up to the role of student liaison on the CNM Council – establishing a Facebook social networking group for Christian nursing students. Sadly, the time and energy needed to engage students remains one of our biggest challenges, and we struggle to maintain links and contact with our student members. We are now starting to run a number of conferences around the UK focussing on sharing faith appropriately in the workplace.

Another new development has been the establishment of a new partnership with CMF, and through them the employment of a new staff worker amongst student nurses and midwives in London and the Southeast - picking up the ministry that CSN and CSNM started in the nineties.

CNM has undergone further developments over the last couple of years. In February 2007 at its AGM in Cardiff, Wales, CNM adopted a new constitution formalising its existence as a legal entity, and from June of that year it became a legally registered charitable organisation in England and Wales. This gives legal protection and accountability, and helps raise the standing and credibility of the organisation.

The UK is perhaps unique in NCFI in having two member fellowships – one for Scotland and one for England and Wales. However this is not unusual in the UK, where Scotland has, particularly for the last couple of decades been regaining the status of an independent nation, and many UK charities have a separate Scottish organisation, not least because the charity laws and financial practices are quite different between Scotland and England. We have still to work out how between NCF Scotland and CNM we can support Christian Nurses in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

There are many challenges for the future of CNM. While we have about 200 members now, it is hard to grow the fellowship much more as people are not keen to join organisations and get much of their fellowship (quite rightly) from their local churches. Nevertheless, we have six regional fellowships, links with three or four others that are starting or seeking to re-start, and in all of these the minority of attendees are actually paid up members of CNM. Many of those who are not members regularly attend our national and regional conferences and benefit greatly from the fellowship, which is encouraging as we are reaching out to many more nurses and midwives than our 200 official members. However, this also limits our financial support to sustain this outreach. And we continue to face the challenge of engaging with and remaining in contact with students.

As Sally-Ann reflected to me very recently, “The hardest thing about trying to get CNM set up - amazingly in the current technological era - was networking, and trying to contact people and get them to catch the vision. CMF has been brilliantly supportive from the start, but Churches from whom we'd hoped to have more support are understandably preoccupied with their own programmes, and were unwilling to really partner [with] us in trying to encourage nurses to get local groups off the ground. We found that if we had an established work to sell, people would have been more inclined to join us or come along side us. However the real struggle has been getting people with time and vision to join us in trying to get the work up and running.”

We are also in an increasingly post-Christian society in the UK, where it is ever more difficult to stand up publicly for the Christian faith in the face of an increasingly militant and officially sanctioned secularism. Changes in employment law, religious hatred legislation, increasing liberalisation of laws in areas from abortion and euthanasia to other contentious areas of bio-ethics make practicing with professional and Christian integrity increasingly hard. The need for active support for Christian nurses and midwives is, if anything greater than it was when NCF was set up in 1942, but the issues and environment in which we work are changing beyond recognition.

However, we serve a God who is far greater than all these challenges, and we are reminded of the words of Jesus in John’s Gospel “in this Godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I have conquered the world” (John 16: 33 – The Message)

Steven Fouch
CNM Secretary