Three-in-OneNewsletter of the Christian Dental Fellowship

1Three-in-One • CDF

SPRING 2014

Let His Light Shine

cdf-uk.org

Like many, I dislike the cold, dark,

winter months. Whether we suffer from

Seasonal Affective Disorder or not, we

all recognise that light sunny days make

ourselves and our patients feel in a

brighter mood.

However, whatever the season orweather, we are called to be light to allthose we have contact with; not alwaysan easy task, especially when patients tryour patience in the run up to theChristmas holiday season! I find some ofthe images used around Christmas canbe helpful in visualising just howeffective a small amount of light can be inthe darkness. One of the services Iattended over the Christmas period wascalled a 'Light of the World' service andinvolves a single candle providing theflame to light everyone’s candle in turn asthe whole church is otherwise dark. Thereis then a procession to the altar to see astatic enactment of the nativity as thewhole congregation sing Christmascarols; a very special service full ofChristian symbolism for those who lookfor it. Interestingly this is the one serviceof the year which fills the church andmany return over the years, bringing thenext generation with them. The Christmas

season provides us with manyillustrations of light dispelling darknessand is often a time when we remindourselves of the opening words of John’sgospel:

In the beginning was the Word, and theWord was with God, and the Word wasGod. He was with God in the beginning.Through him all things were made;without him nothing was made that hasbeen made. In him was life, and that lifewas the light of men. The light shines inthe darkness, but the darkness has notunderstood it. John 1:1-5

John returns to this theme in his first letter:

This is the message we have heard fromhim and declare to you: God is light; inhim there is no darkness at all. If weclaim to have fellowship with him yetwalk in darkness, we lie and do not liveby the truth. But if we walk in the light, ashe is in the light, we have fellowship withone another, and the blood of Jesus, hisSon, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:5-7

Profound words indeed, especially whenwe consider these are attributed to theapostle John, considered to be a cousin

of Jesus. Together with his brother James,they shared in some of Jesus’ most tryingtimes and yet John declares Jesus to beGod and the light of the world.Interestingly, James was the first Apostleto be martyred and John the only one todie peacefully of old age in Ephesus.

I don’t know about you, but I’m not sureI’m always ‘sweetness and light’ orindeed showing the love of the light ofthe world to my nearest and dearest letalone to difficult patients. So how can webe light in a dark world? For me, I thinkthe answer lies partly in the liturgy of thecommunion service: “May we whom theSpirit lights give light to the world.”

However keeping in step with the spiritrequires us to take time to be still, torecharge and draw upon God’s strengthand grace, rather than to struggle on.Coming back to some of the symbolismmost of us relate to in our daily workinglives, I feel it’s the difference betweenfibre optics to help us see more clearlyand struggling on without. Yes, it ispossible to do great restorative dentistrywithout the extra light, but so mucheasier with the additional illumination!

So the challenge to each of us at thebeginning of a new year is to seek outquiet times of reflection with God amidstour ever busy lives. Perhaps this is theyear for a retreat, whether it is a half dayor a week away, just to refocus on ourwonderful Saviour, who gives us strengthto be light in this world.

In the words of a seasonal hymn:

O hush the noise, ye men of strife, andhear the angels sing.

I wish you all a very happyyear full of light, peaceand joy.

Victoria RushtonPresident

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 1

2 cdf-uk.org

“Rarely have I enjoyed a book so much!”says Roger Carswell - a recommendationindeed! He goes on: “The convinced willbe enthralled, the sceptic will bechallenged to rethink and the indifferentwill be stirred.”

Mike Cain, a vicar in Bristol, takes usthrough the teaching of John’s gospelwithout religious jargon. He overflowswith warmth and humanity as he gives usan insight into the life Jesus wants torestore in us. He uses homely illustrationssuch as: cleaning the garden shed; hiswife's aversion to oranges; going towatch ballet for the first time; getting toknow the man in the flat upstairs; packingfor your holidays; fly fishing; visiting afriend in a City of London bank and so on.“He writes with humour but not flippancy-no attempt is made to soften theimportance of a person’s response toJesus” says Rico Tice of All Souls Church,Langham Place, London.

He begins with the illustration of fortywhales that were lying stranded onDarlington Beach, Tasmania. Withoutintervention the results would be fatal.

Andrew Irvine, a marine conservationofficer knows he must act fast. Someonegets a hose and begins to spray thewhales with seawater. They graduallyheave them up and slide hessian matsunder them and slowly drag them back tothe sea. At last the whale flips his tail andswims off into the ocean. He is backwhere he belongs!

The author goes on to speak of strandedmen and women. We are made for God.He created us to enjoy his love and reflecthis ways on earth, free to be truly human.But as the whale has crashed out of theocean, humankind has walked out onGod. Jesus has come to restore us to thelife we were created for.

He deals with the often-given comment“Oh, I’m not the religious type.” Mikesays: “Faith is about looking at theevidence, not leaping in the dark.” Hegoes on to state “God has a face”,summed up in the four words thatchanged his life: “The Word becameflesh”. Relationship is at the very heart ofwho He is: one of us.

We read how to get into the Kingdom,based on Jesus’ conversation withNicodemus and we go on in the nextchapter of John’s gospel to see who getsinto the Kingdom, illustrated by theconversation with the Samaritan woman.We continue through the gospel, bringingout wonderful lessons from the manhealed at the pool, the Good Shepherd,the Servant King, and the resurrection.

Jonathan Fletcher of Emmanuel Church,Wimbledon writes:” I defy even thehardest atheist or most uninterestedagnostic not to be gripped and absorbedimmediately by this book.”

A book to read and pass on to others!

Alan Vogt

Real Life Jesus Mike Cain £8.99

ISBN 978-1-84474-218-9

Book Review:REAL LIFE JESUS - Mike Cain

Bridge2Aid need urgent help. Due tocircumstances beyond their control theyneed to raise at least £50,000 by the endof March. This is because two things havehappened which have resulted in afinancial challenge. They have been thevictim of a financial fraud in Tanzania andhave also had a significant drop in fundsfrom their main corporate sponsor.

While they are doing everything in theirpower to rectify the situation by raisingadditional funds and working with thebank and other authorities in Tanzania toretrieve the stolen funds, they are still inneed of help to continue the work theyare doing in East Africa. They have plansin place to continue their work and havenot only a committed and gifted team butalso hundreds of volunteers ready todeliver both pain relief and training whichwould result in access to emergencydentistry for more than three millionpeople over the next three years.

If you feel you would like to donate, visittheir website at www.bridge2aid.org.

Bridge2AidUrgent Appeal

Date for your diaryDon’t forget that this year’s CDF AnnualFamily Conference is being held 14 -16November 2014 at Hothorpe Hall,Theddingworth, Leicestershire LE17 6QX

This is sure to be a weekend full offellowship and laughter along withexcellent teaching in a beautiful setting.Booking information will be availablesoon. Make sure that you don’t miss out!

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 2

3Three-in-One • CDF

SPRING 2014

cdf-uk.org

Did you make plenty of New Year’sresolutions back in January? Accordingto Time magazine, the top tenresolutions made in 2013 were:

1. Lose weight and get fit2. Quit smoking3. Learn something new 4. Eat healthily5. Get out of debt and start saving6. Spend more time with family7. Travel to new places8. Be less stressed9. Volunteer10. Drink less

I’m not sure how many of themcorrespond with resolutions you havemade, but if you are looking for achallenge this year and you had resolvedto travel to new places or volunteer, howabout considering some of theseopportunities?

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED IN FIJI – MARINEREACH

Marine Reach is the mercy ministry part ofYouth With a Mission (YWAM), a Christianorganization and are dedicated to linkingresources to needs. They have beenoperating in Fiji since 2002 to providedental, optical and medical services toremote Fijian villages. In Fiji there arehuge medical and particularly dentalneeds in the face of a changing diet and

If the leaders of tomorrow are growing upin extreme poverty, not much will changein their future. Empower a Child believesin breaking not only the physical cycle ofpoverty but also the mentality of povertyin the future leaders lives. Throughacademic education, healthy living,vocational training, communitydevelopment and spiritual discipleshipEAC is reaching out to tomorrow’s leaders.

There is need for two dentists to work ona medical drive in a village called'Zirobwe' just north of Kampala for theperiod of the 20th July to the 10th August2014. You will be working along-side fivedoctors, a nurse and the staff of Empowera Child, plus a large group ofmissionaries. Please contact James Welchthe UK Director of Empower a Child on07764200029, james@empower-a-child.org.uk or our websiteswww.empower-a-child.org.uk andwww.empower-a-child.org.

UGANDA - DENTAID

Dentaid provides exciting opportunitiesfor dental professionals to volunteer toserve the oral health care needs indeveloping countries and use their skillsto provide some dental care and oralhealth education to those communities.

A key characteristic of Dentaid trips isthat, where possible, we look to providesupport to local dental professionals withthe care that they are providing to theirown communities.

Dentaid’s dental volunteering trips areusually delivered in partnership with localoral health care providers or NGOs so it isour view that the primary purpose of theDentaid volunteer is to assist localpartners with their delivery of oral careservices to the local community

Some opportunities with Dentaid thisyear include Uganda in September 2014where there are places for the wholedental team providing a DentalProfessional Mentoring Programme.Contact barbara@dentaid.org.

New Year, New Challenge?lifestyle. The growing diabetic,cardiovascular and dental problems arehaving an impact across both the Fijianand Indo-Fijian population. The limitedhealth resources and cost of access tothese resources is a reality for mostpeople especially those living in remoteareas. Marine Reach run two week medicaland dental mission trips throughout theyear to provide free access to medical anddental care to those in most need. Want tosee the ‘real’ Fiji and use your clinicalskills and resources to share God’s love?Then they have several opportunities foryou. If you enjoy meeting new people,want the challenge of working in adifferent culture with limited resourcesand want to use your clinical skills tomake a difference then we can use you.

Who: 2 Dentists, 2 Dental Assistants, 1Doctor and 5 nurses

When: 29 March-11 April 201426 July-8 August 20144-17 October 2014

Where: Remote Fijian villages throughoutmainland Fiji

Cost: $900 FJD (approx £300) foraccommodation, registration,food, local transport, uniforms,medications, cultural protocol,supplies. Additional costs areflights and travel insurance.

If you are interested in joining them for amission trip and would like any furtherinformation please contact JudithAnderson at judith@marinereach.com orcheck out their websitewww.marinereachfiji.com

UGANDA – EMPOWER A CHILD

More than 50% of the population ofUganda and 40% of Kenya’s population isunder the age of 16. In both countriesover two million of those children areorphans due to war, AIDS and otherdiseases. One million children alone areorphaned due to the AIDS epidemic.These children are the future of Uganda,Kenya and Africa.

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 3

4 cdf-uk.org

At a recent talk that I heard at my homechurch in Nottingham, given by LesNorman, three questions were asked:What is in your heart? What is in yourhands? What is in your diary?

I was challenged by these threequestions.

Firstly, What is in your heart? We are tobe imitators of Christ, to grow in characterto reflect the heart of God. So what is inthe heart of God? The Bible speaks of Hislove for us: “For God so loved the world,that he gave his only son, so that whoeverbelieves in him shall not perish but haveeternal life” John 3:16, and “ You didn’tchoose me. I chose you and appointedyou to be my friend, go and producelasting fruit” John 15:15.

So I was challenged to think on what wasin my heart, for “Where your treasure is,there the desires of your heart will be”Matt 6:21. If you dare look at your chequebook or credit card statement and look atyour discretionary spending, that maygive us a clue.

Or perhaps we could ask ourselves thequestions “What has God been speakinginto your life recently? What has He laidon your heart regarding others?”.

There is a wonderful line in a well knowworship song that says “Break my heartfor what breaks yours”. If you dare askthis, then be prepared to have your heartbroken, but out of this and out ofcompassion you might just be led to dosomething amazing. Such was theinspiration and foundation of World Visionand Samaritan’s Purse.

Secondly, What is in your hands? Whatgifts has God given you? Physical andspiritual? What abilities, hobbies orinterests have you got that you can sharewith others or use to help them? It maybe the very important gift of listening. Weare all so much more than dentists orDCP’s. Many of the people skills we use inour jobs we can use in getting alongsidefriends and neighbours.

concerns and requests. Phil 4:4-7,“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it

again: rejoice! Let your gentleness beevident to all. The Lord is near. Do not beanxious about anything, but in everysituation, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your requests toGod. And the peace of God, whichtranscends all understanding, will guardyour hearts and your minds in ChristJesus”.

Seek and you will find - seeking earnestlytakes time. What are we seeking? Peace,discernment, wisdom? We may findsomething we didn’t set out to seek.

God loves it when we spend the time toseek his face.

Prov 8:17 “I love those who love me, andthose who seek me, find me.” And againin Jer 29:12-14 “ Call on me and come andpray to me, and I will listen to you. Youwill seek me and find me when you seekme with all your heart. I will be found byyou. “declares the Lord.

So seeking is going deeper, perhapsthrough meditation and it will bring uscloser to knowing God, his character andwill; seeking, listening and following, inother words being a disciple.

During the time at CDF Conference thisyear, the chapel was set up for space andtime with God, a quiet place for silentindividual reflection and meditation.There were various stations set up to offera diversity of opportunities to meet withGod. These stations ranged from music,to pictures of his creation, to candlessignifying the light of the world, and morebesides.

During the free time on the Saturdayafternoon, I led a meditation, based onGideon, who was the topic of one of thetalks from our speaker for the weekend,linking in with the theme of FlawedHeroes. Gideon: An Encounter with God,Judg 6: 7-24.

Meditation is a discipline and a learnedskill, which is easy for any one to do but

So thirdly, What is in your diary? This isthe expression of what is in our heartsand what is in our hands. This is how weworship God, not just in words and musicbut in our lifestyle. Time is one of ourgreatest assets and a gift from God. Loveis best measured in time. So how do weprioritise our time? At work and at home?Time with others, time to rejuvenateourselves and time spent with God.

One of the most precious and privilegedthings we can do with our time is spend itwalking with other people along thejourneys of their lives, through the goodand the bad.

Time spent with God speaks of our lovefor him. To be with Jesus requires time.

So as we pray let us remember the wordsof Matt 7:7

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek andyou will find; knock and the door will beopened to you.”

Ask and it will be given to you - Godwants us to ask, for he says “Ask and youwill receive and your joy will be complete”and “Ask in my name and if two or moreagree on earth it will be done in heaven,and for God’s glory” Matt 18:19.

However, do we come with a shoppinglist, spending lots of time talking andasking and little time listening? Jesustaught us how to pray with the Our Father.This is a good model to follow or evenpray as it was written in Matthew’sgospel. But note the asking “Give ustoday our daily bread”, is done afterworshipping God “Hallowed be yourname”, and in the context of his will “YourKingdom come, your will be done, onearth as it is in heaven”, and in the spiritof confession “Forgive us our sins…”,asking for His help “Deliver us not intotemptation but protect us from all evil”,lastly recognising his sovereignty “Foryours is the kingdom the power and theglory”.

Let us not stop here but move ontoseeking God’s perspective on our

MeditationCDF Conference October 2013 – Hothorpe Hall

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 4

5Three-in-One • CDF

SPRING 2014

cdf-uk.org

just takes practice, so try it for yourself athome and get into the word of God, for“Thy word is a light to my path, and alamp to my feet” Psalm 119:105.

A few tips to help you get started are tofind a quiet space and set aside sometime 15-30 minutes.

A prayer to begin

Lord,

You know who I am,

How near or how far I am to you,

Draw close to me,

Let your Holy Spirit work in my life tochange me.

I come before you Lord,

With all my weaknesses and worries,

Meet me where I am,

Show me what you want me to do withmy life.

Then:

• sit in a comfortable position

• empty your hands

• become conscious of your breathing

• as you breath in take in the words “TheLord”

• as you breath out let the words “ispeace” flow over you and surround you.

Knock and the door will be opened.

We can approach the throne of God, intohis presence, with confidence. The curtainseparating us from the Holy of Holies wastorn in two when Jesus died. So now wecan knock and enter into His presence,and sit at his feet, confident that we arepresentable to Him. (Heb 10: 19-24) Thehigh priest in the temple could only enterthrough the curtain once a year, but nowwe can enter, and at any time.

Symbolically, take off your shoes, for youare on Holy ground, leave your shoppinglist and agenda at the door, and come inand worship and adore then listen.

So come and knock and enter and sit atthe feet of our Heavenly Father. Many ofyou may experience this when youworship, when you feel lost in wonder.This is what happens when we give dueworth and worship to God, when weacknowledge Him as King and sovereignover all. It is a bit of heaven touchingearth, to feel the blessing and touch ofGod, to see into His heart, to see thebigger picture of Life and His will for usand for his Kingdom.

So take time to knock and enter in, put itin your diary! He is our WonderfulCounsellor, Almighty God, EverlastingFather and the Prince of Peace. Isaiah9:5-7

Karen PatersonCDF Pastoral coordinator

My thanks to Les Norman and Rosy Russell fortheir help in preparing the meditation anddevotion at the CDF conference, 2013.

• keep going with this even when youfeel your mind won’t settle

• spend the time absorbing the truth ofthis phrase

• keep practising

Do this for two minutes to start with, butrepeat for an increasing length of time asyou get more practised. If your mindwanders bring it back to concentrate onthe words.

There may be a particular passage youwould like to meditate on, or if not thenperhaps start in the Psalms.

• Take your time

• Read the passage

• Read it again slowly

• Underline the phrases which stand outto you

• Pray

• Sit still with the words

• Picture what God is doing

• Listen to what God is saying to you

• Journal a prayer, a thought

• Encounter him in the text

This is an opportunity to hear from God,to listen to that soft quiet voice. Now isGod’s turn to speak - give Him the spaceand time to do this.

Keep in touchwith CDF

Don’t forget that youcan now follow CDFon Facebook. Keepup-to-date with ourmission partners andconnect with otherCDF members. It would be great tohave you join us. Like our page andhave a chat with us!

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 5

6 cdf-uk.org

Peter Wagg is an associate generaldental practitioner in Suffolk. Hequalified from University CollegeHospital, London in 1979 and has had avaried professional life working inhospital as well as practice. He iscurrently studying for an MA in PastoralTheology and is looking for volunteers tohelp his explore his dissertation subjectwhich will look at Christianity andDentistry.

I’ve been giving a lot of thought recently towhat I think ‘The Christian DentalFellowship’ stands for and means topeople, and I would really like to hear yourviews. I’ve been to the CDF website whereit states: “CDF is a UK based, inter-denominational organization of peoplewho are joined together by a commondesire to serve Christ in their own lives, intheir profession, and (through theirprofession) in the world”, but I’m not surethis gives me the answer I’m looking for. Inthe UK at least, I guess most people woulddefine a Christian as someone whobelieves in Jesus as the Son of God but,beyond that, I imagine people havevarying ideas about “serving Christ in theirlives and profession”. I presume we havea clear understanding of what Dentalmeans; however since CDF welcomesanyone involved in dentistry, there may bedifferent takes on that word too. Finally“fellowship”, are we to treat it as a nounor a verb: is CDF an organization (noun), oris fellowship what we do (verb)?

As a Fellowship, we seem to be united bytwo shared interests: dentistry andChristianity, but in his Letter to thePhilippians, Paul wrote”I want to knowChrist and the power of his resurrectionand the fellowship of sharing in hissufferings, becoming like him in hisdeath, and so somehow to attain to theresurrection from the dead” (Phil 3:10).

I incline to the view that what really unitesus is the sense in which we share inChrist’s sufferings. We could ask whetherthis suffering is mental, physical orspiritual, but since compassion means “tosuffer with”, I feel that it is whenever andhowever we suffer with or for a child ofGod. Paul explained to the Philippiansthat Christ took the form of a ‘suffering’servant: “Taking the very nature of aservant, being made in human likeness,And being found in appearance as a man,he humbled himself and became obedientto death—even death on a cross”(Phil2:7-8)! What I’m suggesting is thatwe serve Christ by assuming thevulnerability of the servant’s yoke. Inother words, we reach out to the worldbecause we sense that Christ reacheddown for us. Fortunately, we are notpowerless since we reach out in thepower of the Holy Spirit and from withinthe solidarity of a redeemed community.

Is a redeemed community the faithcommunity where I regularly worship orCDF? Maybe both since Jesus said,“Where two or three come together in myname, there am I with them” (Matt 18:20).As brethren in dentistry, we share alanguage and experience that others inthe wider Christian community don’t. Inassuming a dental persona we accept arole as a clinician and advisor; one inwhich the fear of being “weighed in thescales and found wanting” can prove hardto bear. So, does CDF have a purposebeyond being a talking shop? Yes. Thereis a foreign mission field to support, butalso one at home, and part of that rolecould be “speaking truth unto power”—

Under “Aims” the Website states: “theprincipal aim of the CDF is to provide anactive Christian influence in the dentalprofession”, and under “Specific Aims” itsays: “To give practical support tomembers who are overseas …”, and ‘tohelp all members of the dental team toshare their faith in Christ and His ethicalteaching within the profession’. Twice Ifind the expression ’with’ or ‘in’ theprofession but nowhere is there anythingspecific about being a personal exampleor witness to members of the public.Please don’t misunderstand me, I’m notadvocating overt evangelism, rather whatI’m thinking about is “martyrdom”, fromthe Greek word “martureo” meaning tobear witness.

Simply by being Christians we arewitnesses—maybe good, maybe bad—but witnesses nonetheless.

The mission statement is right to inclinetowards a personal element but maybewe should articulate what that means. Ifwe are joined together by a commondesire to serve Christ, what are weactually doing jointly? The Apostle Paulused the term ‘ambassador’ to describe areconciling ministry: “We implore you onChrist’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2Cor 5:20), but however much we maywant to say this to patients, I doubt it’swhat we’re doing day after day in oursurgeries. On the other hand, Jesus isreported saying: “Whatever you did forone of the least of these brothers of mineyou did for me” (Matt 25:40). So we havea clear mandate for acts of kindness;indeed any act of kindness counts an actof ‘service’ to the King. In other words, wehave a ’caring’ manifesto.

“Fellowship” is defined by the ‘ConciseOxford English Dictionary’ (2002), as:

1. Friendliness and companionship basedon shared interest

2. A group of people meeting to pursue ashared interest or aim.

The Christian Dental Fellowship — What’s in a Name?

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 6

7Three-in-One • CDF

SPRING 2014

cdf-uk.org

sharing our collective knowledge, wisdomand experience with the wider dentalcommunity and the world.

“In the beginning …” From thoughts andsentiments, words spill over into speechor text, giving expression to our hopes,meanings and ideas. But more thanembodied minds we entertain a plethoraof emotions. According to Ilia Delio:

“Knowledge of God … begins with the feltexperience, a withinness that is at oncereal but ineffable, felt but ungraspable.”

It may begin this way, but knowledgegrows through discourse with a referencegroup—people with similar experiencesand interpretations—CDF needs to besuch a reference group, where knowledgeand experience can be freely shared.

Experiences in my first decades promptedme to ask existential questions which afaith community answered. Havinghanded my life over to Jesus I embarkedon my dental career with a powerful senseof vocation. I’ve tried to live as one“rescued from the dominion of darkness”(Col 1:13); to “win the respect ofoutsiders” (1 Thes 4: 11); to clothe myselfwith “compassion, kindness, humility,gentleness and patience” (Col 3:12); andto not let the world “squeeze me into itsown mould” (Rom 12:2). I’ve tried to be alink in the chain of grace, but sometimesfelt like Sisyphus endlessly condemned toan impossible task. I’ve been a member ofCDF since my student days but myinvolvement has been patchy. I used toattend conference regularly when my

“There is no way that we can live a richlife unless we are willing to sufferrepeatedly, experiencing depressionand despair, fear and anxiety, grief andsadness, anger and the agony offorgiving, confusion and doubt,criticism and rejection. A life lackingthese emotional upheavals will notonly be useless to ourselves, it will beuseless to others.”

Volunteers Please!

Four years ago I sold my practice andreverted to being an associate. I enrolledon a Master’s course in Pastoral Theologyand I’m now at work on my dissertation.My title is:

“How does my own experience ofattempting to integrate dentistry andfaith resonate with the experience ofother Christian dentists? “

I need fifteen volunteers to help me.Anything you tell me will be treated instrictest confidence and you will receive aparticipant information sheet and consentform. I would love to hear from you ifanything above resonates with you. Letme know how you came to faith andwhether you think your faith makes anydifference to your dentistry. I want to lookat issues of care, conflict, and gender—whether you think gender issues have anybearing on faith and dentistry. Thenthere’s faith itself; has dentistry changedyour faith perspective? Please, if youthink you can help me, contact me. Mye-mail address is peter@wagg353.plus.com.Alternatively, call me on 01502 478353.

Peter Wagg

Delio I. ‘The Unbearable Wholeness of Being,God Evolution and the Power of Love’. 2013Orbis Books Maryknoll, New York.M. Scott Peck, The Different Drum: the Creationof True Community – the First Step to WorldPeace. 1988 Rider, Arrow Books Limited, London

The opinions expressed in this article are thoseof the author and do not necessarily expressthose of the Christian Dental Fellowship councilor their members.

children were young enough not tocomplain. But I sometimes came homeafterwards feeling disheartened. It was alltoo easy to make comparisons and windup feeling inadequate. It was so mucheasier to stay away and plough my ownfurrow.

What is community?

It can’t be easy to forge a communitywhen we only meet face-to-face once ortwice a year - pseudo-community yes, butcommunity no. What’s the difference?

M. Scott Peck describes ‘pseudo-community’ as a ‘fake community’:

“Beware of instant community.Community making requires time aswell as effort and sacrifice. It cannot becheaply bought’. … In pseudo-community a group attempts topurchase community cheaply bypretense. It is not an evil, consciouspretense of deliberate black lies.Rather it is an unconscious, gentleprocess whereby people who want tobe loving attempt to be so by tellinglittle white lies, by withholding someof the truth about themselves and theirfeelings in order to avoid conflict. Butit is still a pretense. It is an inviting butillegitimate shortcut to nowhere.”

I expect you know the word hypocritederives from the masks worn by Greekactors. We are adept at wearing masksbut how sad when we don them for eachother. How do you deal with conflict?When, for instance, your personal senseof right and wrong conflicts with themorality of the institution? Could youresist the pressure to conform or find thecourage to be a whistleblower? CDFoperates a mentoring scheme for justsuch ethical dilemmas. There was nomentoring scheme when I was strugglingwith the dilemma of whether to go privateor not. I felt caught between a rock and ahard place and being a Christian onlymade my dilemma worse. Scott Peck alsowrote:

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 7

8 cdf-uk.org

CDF, PO Box 12023, Colchester, CO1 9NXEmail: cdf.sarahfelton@gmail.com Website: www.cdf-uk.org

Christian Dental Fellowship is a registered charity. Charity No. 261350

CDF has a number of regional groupswhich give us the opportunity to meettogether in a more local setting. At theconference in October, there was anopportunity for these groups to meet andeat lunch together and get to know oneanother better. There are regional groupsin the following areas:

Avon and GloucestershireEast AngliaEast MidlandsLondon NorthLondon South and South EastNorth EastNorth WestNorthern IrelandPennines EastScotlandSouth WalesSouth WestThames ValleyWessexWest Midlands

The regional groups try to meet togetherat least once a year. Here are details ofupcoming events for some of the regions.They are an excellent source of supportand fellowship with others in your area.

If you would like more informationregarding the groups then please contactIain Corran our Regional Group Co-ordinator via Sarah, the CDF administrator(cdf.sarahfelton@gmail.com.)

Saturday 1st March 2014Annual Scottish Christian DentalFellowship Conference

The Annual Scottish Christian DentalFellowship Conference will be held atLetham St Mark’s Church of Scotland,Rannoch Road, Letham,Perth, PH1 2HHfrom 9.30 am. There will be teaching byRev David Ollerton on“Philippians 2: Whatdoes it mean to be a servant of theServant King?“ David Ollerton is a leaderof Waleswide, an organisation whichseeks to plant and support churches sothat each community in Wales has arelevant expression of the gospel.

Saturday 10th May 2014East Anglia

The East Anglia Regional Group areinvited to a shared lunch at thepresidential residence in Hingham,Norfolk. Tea and Coffee will be servedfrom 10.30am .We hope to hear fromBarrie Lawrence about his experience ofpublishing two books, with a preview ofthe second. Weather permitting there willalso be a chance to explore historicHingham as we share time together.Please feel free to bring any dentalprofessionals not yet members of CDF andspouses.

RSVP and further details fromvictoriarushton@btinternet.com

Saturday 17th May 2014East Midlands

The East Midlands Regional group will bemeeting at Karen Paterson’s house: 15aBurleigh Road, West Bridgford,Nottingham NG2 6FP from 12.30 for a

“Bring and Share” lunch. Please RSVP:karen.paterson@ntlworld.com or mob to07941 806418

London: North

The London: North Regional group will bemeeting at The Giffard Pub, BroadwayAve, Giffard Park, Milton Keynes,Buckinghamshire MK14 5QN for lunchfollowed by a short walk. There may be apresentation on an aspect of CDF missionwork. For more details please contactJonathan Longhurst via Sarah(cdf.sarahfelton@gmail.com)

London: South and South East

The London: South & South East regionalday will start at 11am. As well asfellowship there will be a time ofdiscussion about CDF mission work andwe will share a buffet lunch together.

For more information please contact MaryBurke 193 Rosendale Road, London, SE218LW Tel: 020 8670 2963

Thames Valley

We will be meeting at the home of RosKipping in Bloxham, near Banbury. We willshare lunch and are hoping to havesomeone talk about their visit to Ugandaand the work of Christian Relief Uganda.

For more details please contact ChrisEvans: drchris.evans@ntlworld.com

31st May 2014Northern Ireland CDF Regional Day

We meet for coffee at 11am in Katesbridgewhere local dentist, Ivan Martin willdiscuss ‘Holistic Spirituality - howprofessional dentistry can be used by theHoly Spirit’ and share about his work inthe community through social economyand development projects.

For more details, please e-mail HelenDouglas: hcdouglas@hotmail.com.

Regional Group Meetings

Deadline for the next issue of Three-in-One is 31st March 2014.Please send contributions to Tracey Dalby: traceydalby@hotmail.com

31521 cdf_3in1 Spring14:1 28/1/14 15:03 Page 8