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Newsround April 2000

Latest articles from CDF Newsround

PRESIDENT'S LETTER

'THE END IS NIGH' A banner carrying these words is often depicted in cartoons as the message of Christian 'fanatics' to the people of today's world.

The end of this millennium is certainly nigh - a century in which technology has changed the world. The 20th century has seen the splitting of the atom, the cracking of the genetic code, the computer revolution, space travel with man walking on the moon, life expectancy raising from 47 in 1900 to 76+ in 1999 - we can only wonder what the 21st century has in store for us. Doubtless, our lives will change more swiftly than ever and hopefully technology and better knowledge will allow us to take better care of this world which we for now (as we as Christians believe) call home.

The Bible tells us that 'the earth is the Lord's and all it contains' Psalm 24:1 and that man, made in the image of God, was to 'rule over the works of Thy hands: Thou hast put all things under his feet' Psalm 8:6.

God has graciously allowed man to learn and develop such skills as are expedient for him to tend and cultivate this earth for the good of all creation and not to be exercising such power to bring glory to his own achievements and selfish ambitions. As we enter this next millennium let us do our best to fulfil our calling to exercise this power that has been divinely given, to safeguard this world, to make it a better place for our children and grandchildren to live in.

We do not celebrate just the passing of two thousand calendar years but we celebrate two millennia of a new order, which began with the advent of the incarnate Christ who saves us from our sins.

At the end of October, 139 of us enjoyed the Annual Family Conference at Swanwick. We met old and new friends, caught up on one another's news, enjoyed fellowship together, learnt about and prayed for our overseas mission partners and were encouraged in our faith through the ministry of John Lennox. It was good to see a large number of students and some of us enjoyed a convivial ethnic meal together - getting to know each other on an informal basis. We were privileged to learn more about overseas dental work and welcomed Andrew Bottomley (Nepal), Mark and Helen Laing (Ludhiana, India) and Matthew George (Raxaul, India) into our midst. Our grateful thanks goes to Rosalind Kipping for organising such a splendid weekend.

Our congratulations are extended to Ian and Andie Wilson on the birth of Jake, their firstborn, who weighed in at a hefty 8lbs 13oz. I would also ask you to pray for Maggie Leonard who is working with Medair in Southern Sudan looking at the long term dental needs of that area.

May I take this opportunity of wishing you all a happy and a peaceful Christmas and as we step into the new millennium may God be with you in all His power, strength and fullness.

FEBRUARY 9TH - ST APOLLONIA'S DAY

It all started for me when I sent up my list of seven favourite hymns to Premier Christian Radio. They invited listeners to contribute to "Heaven's Seven" and tell a little about themselves. I mentioned I was a retired dentist, so Ric Easter, the presenter of the programme, decided to broadcast my choice on St Apollonia's Day as she is the patron saint of dentists!

I told him I would go to my local reference library to find out more about her for the programme. I found out she was a woman of great courage and faith. She died a martyr's death in 249 AD in Alexandria. Bishop Dionysius described her death: "They seized that marvellous aged virgin, broke out all her teeth with blows on the jaw and piling up a bonfire, threatened to burn her alive if she refused the recite with them blasphemous sayings. She asked for a brief delay and without flinching and after a short prayer, she leapt into the fire and was consumed." This occurred during the reign of Emperor Philip.

There was a riot when many Christians were dragged from their houses and killed white their property was looted. Later, churches were dedicated to St Apollonia in the West. Legends made her a king's daughter who was tortured by her father but who promised just before her death to help all those who suffered from toothache. Artists depicted her holding a tooth in a pair of pincers, as seen in this picture of a fifteenth century rood screen in a church at Ashton, Devon.

We don't worship the saints, of course, but I think we can take the story of Apollonia as a challenge to our easy-going Christianity and a stimulus to pray for the many Christians who are, even today, going through similar trials in many parts of the world.

Alan Vogt

WEEKEND CONFERENCE REPORT

This year's annual weekend conference was held at The Hayes Conference Centre, Swanwick in Derbyshire over the weekend of 29th to 31 October. There were some 139 people present, including speakers, helpers and families. England, Scotland and Wales were all well represented and there were several overseas visitors. Ages ranged from 'Student' to 'Retired'. There were 18 students from five different dental schools and also three vocational trainees attended.

Dr John Lennox was the main speaker. He is a mathematician from Oxford and he lead our studies in the book of Daniel. He had been the main speaker at our annual conference in 1989 at Kinmel Hall in North Wales. Unusual to be asked twice? It speaks for itself and we were not disappointed! The three Bible studies are available on tape.

The programme also included time for prayer and presentation of news from dental missionaries as well as a presentation by Dentaid. The AGM and other business having been conducted at the Day Conference, we were allowed some free time and on Saturday afternoon we were presented with a range of options, including shopping, visiting stately homes, seeing part of the Peak District etc. - the group I joined enjoyed a walk exploring some of the countryside near Matlock. The barn dance on the Saturday evening with live band and caller, proved popular with all ages.

Our Annual Conference is very much a family affair, with a children's programme included. It always affords good opportunities to discuss and share problems with others working in similar or different situations - a feature I particularly appreciate as my own practice is currently single-handed.

I felt the Conference went well and many thanks are due to Rosalind Kipping for the excellent organisation. I was pleased to have been able to be there and I look forward to next year's weekend Annual Conference - again at The Hayes, Swanwick from Friday 27 to Sunday 29 October when the guest speaker will be the Rev. Roger Martin; also to the Day Conference which will be held on Saturday 13 May at St. John's and St. Stephen's Church, Orts Road, Reading.

Finally, two brief thoughts from some of the teaching: God did not save Daniel and his friends from the fire but in the fire; Daniel's experiences did not prompt a prayer life, they revealed a prayer life.

Richard South

MEET THE COUNCIL

Stuart Gerrish - President-Elect

I am married to Ros, a teacher, and we live in Cardiff. We have three daughters and a son.

I grew up in South Wales and graduated in 1971 from the then new Dental School in Cardiff. I went straight into a general dental practice with Paul Olford in Cardiff. In 1975 Paul retired, due to his wife's ill health, and I became the principal. Geoff Roberts, a contemporary from Dental School and a native of North Wales, joined the practice. At this time the practice was granted the contract to supply dental services at Her Majesty's Prison (HMP) Cardiff.

In 1974 I was elected to the South Glamorgan Local Dental Committee and served until 1992 in various offices including member of the Service Committee and as Chairman.

I held the post of part-time lecturer in Prosthetics at the Dental School in Cardiff for a number of years and was the first GDP to sit on the Board of Dental Studies. In 1991 I was appointed Dental Advisor to Mid Glamorgan FHSA and in 1995 the Advisor to South Glamorgan FHSA. In 1996 the two FHSAs were combined in one of the many Health Service reorganisations and Bro Taf Health Authority was created where I am currently part-time Dental Advisor. Bro Taf means 'in the region of the River Taff' and the area incorporates Cardiff in the south to Merthyr Tydfil in the north including the Rhondda Valleys with 130 practices and over 252 dentists.

In 1996 I was asked by the Prison Service to work with the Chairman of the Dental Practice Board, Colin Forsythe, to investigate, report and make recommendations on the method of delivering dental care in prisons in England and Wales. In 1998 I left the practice in Cardiff to concentrate on advisory work and currently I hold clinical sessions in Cardiff HMP and in the new private prison with Securicor at HMP Parc, Bridgend.

Outside of the dental surgery, I have been a member of Rhiwbina Baptist Church for eleven years and have been in church leadership but now I have a wider preaching and Bible teaching ministry.

My contacts with the prison led to the running of a mission in the prison and for seven years weekly Bible study classes have been held. When men were converted, there was a need for accommodation and nurturing in the faith, so with three others a trust was established which purchased an hotel, from a patient, to house and train men who had come to faith in prison. The trust recently moved into other areas of Christian prison work and now has links with Vic Jacobeson, the founder of Dentaid.

I often lead Mastersun and Masterski holidays which gives me an opportunity to enjoy one of my recreations skiing.

I have had opportunities to work short time overseas in Israel and with mission organisations in the jungles of Peru and Zambia, just before Andy Patching arrived to establish permanent dental work. In 1998 I was asked by Care and Share, a Christian group who bring practical help to some closed and remote parts of China and Tibet, to visit the area and explore the possibilities of dental projects. Ros was asked to look at educational projects. As a result, a few small projects, professional education, health education and new equipment were carried out this summer. In June 1999 Ros and I went to work with a new Care and Share project in rural Uganda in dentistry education and Bible teaching.

Student Co-ordinator writes ......

Well everyone, the student work now has a new member. He eats 24 hours a day from his own personal canteen! shows little regard for responsibility in social manners at both alimentary orifices! but is extremely cute and everybody fancies him! Why? Because he's three weeks old and being our son you say these things. Jake was born on Thursday 14th October weighing in at 8lbs 12ozs. What a whopper!

It was great to see so many students at the recent conference. Thank you for making the effort to travel to Swanwick. It was great to see you all and the curry on Friday night was a scream! and some of you were still screaming the next day!

Now that Jake has arrived we will be travelling and visiting more with the help of an expanding team. (No! not my waistline thank-you!) Invitations during the next two terms are from Belfast, Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, Sheffield, London, Cardiff, Bristol and Liverpool. I am also hopeful that we can establish deeper relationships with those students from Leeds, Newcastle and Dundee.

We are looking forward to working with you over the coming terms.

That's all for now folks. Jake needs winding! just DUCK!

Get in touch soon

Ian, Andie and Jake

THE DENTIST AND RETIREMENT

"Retirement can be delightful or devastating . it depends how you prepare for it." - writes Charles Swindoll who quotes this little poem:

"I get up each morning, dust off my wits. Pick up the paper and read the obits. If my name is missing I know I'm not dead, So I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed."

We may be workaholics during our professional lives and we must learn how much creativity we may have in retirement. The commodity we were so short of during our workdays but now available is the gift of time - time for intercessionary prayer, time to meet and chat with others, time to write letters, particularly to encourage missionaries overseas. We need to keep our minds active, attending courses, evening classes and even doing crosswords!

A man in the USA who had recently retired was asked by a young friend "What are your plans for retirement?" "Well, my first year, I'm going to buy a rocking chair and put it on the front porch" sighed the old man. "Oh, that's great. What are you going to do the second year?" "I'm going to rock in it."

No, no! Let us be like Caleb: "Give me this mountain!" I heard of a missionary who retired at 70 and at 80 was learning New Testament Greek. Alfred Lord Tennyson wrote "Crossing the Bar" at 80. John Wesley was still preaching daily at 88!

As dentists, we have special qualifications we can bring to our retirement. Let me suggest three - I'm sure you can think of many others.

1. Short term trips to do dentistry in underdeveloped countries. In the past, over 30's were not considered for missionary service, but today with rapid travel, retired people with independent means and specialised gifts are a 'godsend' to missionary society.

2. We are used to doing delicate work in confined areas! I know a dentist who has done a lot of clock and watch repairs in retirement. Personally, I have done fiddly jobs repairing tape cassettes for the Torch Trust for the Blind tape library, as well as reading books onto tapes. Perhaps you have other hobbies you have not had much time for but now is your opportunity.

3. We are used to meeting lots of people in our surgeries. Let us be outward looking. I know a dear old lady who is bedridden and never goes out except for hospital visits, but it is a joy to visit her, as she is so interested in other people. In contrast, I know an elderly person who is able to go out yet is always grumbling, critical and self-centred.

Old age is not easy. We can empathise with the preacher of Ecclesiastes, Chapter 12, "Strong men stoop. 'Grinders' are few!" (I read of an old man buying tins of baby foods because he could not masticate!) He goes on "songs grow faint" - i.e. deafness and hair is likened to white apple blossom. We get painful ailments, suffer bereavement (I heard recently of a man going to three funerals in one week) and frustrating inability to do all the things we used to; our memories play tricks on us - "where did I put my glasses?"

Psalm 92:14 speaks of "fruitfulness in old age" - not dashing about in active service, necessarily - fruit is the result of abiding in the vine. As we live close to the Lord, drawing upon the Divine resources, the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, etc. will be our daily experience as we are filled with the spirit.

Let me quote some of the well-known Nun's Prayer -

"Make me thoughtful but not moody, helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom it seems a pity not to use it all but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end of my life. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others' pains. Help me endure them patiently."

So my message to the retired is - be ready to adapt, don't let feelings dominate and paralyse you. See Paul's words in 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:1 - here in a modern translation ("The Message"). "So we are not giving up. How could we? Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There is far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we cannot see now will last forever. For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven - God made and not hand made and we'll never have to relocate our 'tents' again."

I knew an elderly lady who woke up every morning saying, "Thank you Lord for the gift of another day!" Paul goes on in 2 Corinthians 5 "cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing and that is what we aim to do regardless of our conditions."

Alan Vogt

thoughts from the designer:-

I am currently working with Ian Wilson to make the CDFWeb site more than just a page, rather a source of information and something for CDF to feel proud of. It can be used as a point of advertising and a good way of introducing students to the activities of CDF.

I certainly feel very strongly about the importance of Regional CDF development. C.D.F as letters stand for Christian Dental Fellowship and those letters aptly sum up what the Fellowship should be about. We are Christians, we are Dentists. What are we doing about Fellowshipping?

Through CDFWeb, I am hoping to persue "Electronic Network Fellowship". A list of members email addresses is being collected and I would love to see a time when not only Newsround is published electronically, but a discussion forum is being used for networking and making contacts.

If you would like to join this list, please mail me with your basic details.

I look forward to the future of the CDF. Things are certainly moving!

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