Ravi and the Sheik

Ravi Zacharias was the 2008 Honorary Chairman of the National Day of Prayer. He told the following story, excerpted from his keynote address at The Cannon House in Washington, DC, on May 1, 2008:

Please forgive me if this illustration is a bit sensitive. I don’t say it with any ill intent. Three years ago, I was with the Archbishop of Canterbury. He’d taken five of us to the Middle East to talk to the leaders of all factions to bring together some kind of semblance of peace, some discussion. There were many of those appointments I chose not to go to because of our nation’s caution on whom to see and not to see.

But the last day, I saw one of the leaders of Hamas, one of the four founders. I went there for one reason; I had one question for him. He gave us a great meal, told us of eighteen years he’d served in prison, some of his children had been lost in suicide bombings, and this and that. And I had a question. I said, “Sheik, I may never see you again and forgive me if I’m asking you the wrong question. Please tell me, what do you think of suicide bombing and sending your children out like that?” I didn’t like his answer. I couldn’t say much. The room was full of smoke.

After he finished his answer, I said, “Sheik, you and I may never see each other again, so I want you to hear me. A little distance from here is a mountain upon which Abraham went 5,000 years ago to offer his son. You may say the son was one; I may say it’s another. Let’s not argue about that. He took his son up there. And as the axe was about to fall, God said, ‘Stop.’” I said, “Do you know what God said after that?” He shook his head. I said, “God said, ‘I myself will provide.’” He nodded his head. I said, “Very close to where you and I are sitting, Sheik, is a hill. Two thousand years ago, God kept that promise and brought his own Son and the axe did not stop this time. He sacrificed his own Son.”

I said, “Sheik, I just want you to hear this. Until you and I receive the Son God has provided, we’ll be offering our own sons and daughters on the battlefields of this world for many of the wrong reasons.”

It was quiet. We walked out and the Archbishop just put his arm around me. As I was about to get into the SUV, the Sheik came over and he just patted me on my face. He kissed me on both sides. He was a strong man; he pulled me to him. He said, “You’re a good man. I hope I will see you again someday.” That’s all he said.

Click here to read Ravi's entire address, which is well worth your time.

Medical Career Fair

In Buffalo on Saturday, Oct. 20 at 6:00 pm

Following a free dinner there will be a formal presentation where over 20 physicians will have the opportunity to answer the question: “Why did you decide to go into your specialty?”

Throughout the evening, ample time will be provided for students to speak with the physicians and ask them about their specialty. Medical specialties represented:

Psychiatry, Infectious Disease, Ophthalmology, Ob/Gyn, Otolaryngology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Urology, Nephrology, Geriatrics, Cardiology, Vascular Surgery, Pediatrics, Pathology, Anesthesia, General Surgery, Physical Med & Rehab, Radiology, Endocrinology

Location: Christian Fellowship Church, 765 Niagara Falls Blvd., Amherst, NY (0.4 miles south of Sheridan Drive)

Click here for a PDF flyer. For further information, contact Lianne Reinhardt, Area Director CMDA of Western NY, (716) 636-1117.

Corner Society Meetings

The George Washington Corner Society for the History of Medicine, named after University of Rochester's first professor of anatomy, is a group of physicians, students, and other participants interested in the history of medicine. This year there will be five evening presentations on medical historical topics at the Rochester Academy of Medicine, 1441 East Ave. We will meet at the Academy between 5:30 - 6:30 pm for drinks and light fare; the presentation will follow from 6:30 - 7:45 pm.

The Corner Society is an important part of the tradition of medicine in Rochester, requiring ongoing support. Membership dues are $65 per year (waived for students but not for residents; couples pay $65 for a joint membership). Your dues allow us to invite out-of-town scholars as well as defray costs for medical students. In so doing, we hope to encourage their participation in the Society. If you would like to join, please send your check along with a completed membership form. Payment is by cash or by check payable to The Corner Society. If you know someone who is not a member, ask him/her to join with you. And, if your situation permits, please consider an additional contribution to the Society.

Click here for the lecture schedule and registration form. Please contact Andrea Ehmann or Dr. Stephanie Brown Clark in the Division of Medical Humanities at URMC (275-5800) with any questions about membership or about the meetings.

Dr. Fountain Workshops

Dr. Daniel Fountain will be returning to the area to conduct 2 workshops on Whole Person Medicine this month.

The first is a five-hour workshop on Whole Person Medicine in Syracuse on Saturday September 15 organized by Dr. Tom Masten. Dr. Dan Fountain and his wife Miriam will be flying in to do the teaching. Over 36 have already registered, many of whom are pastors and church leaders. Dr. Fountain says, "I'm delighted to have pastors and church leaders come and will include considerable stuff relevant to the role of the church in healing." The event will take place at Grace Evangelical Covenant church in Clay NY (northwest Syracuse) from 8 AM through until 3 PM - five hours of CME approved sessions. If you missed Dr. Fountain when he was Rochester last year, this is your chance! Invite your pastor, register, and take the trek to Syracuse. For more info, contact Dr. Masten.

The second will be Dr. Fountain's full workshop at Elim Bible Institute spread out over five days from Monday-Friday September 24-28. This is designed for students in Elim's medical missions track, but might be able to accomodate a few partipants from the community. Click here to review the proposed schedule If you're interested, please contact me.

2007 CCHF Conference

Providing Distinctively Christian Care

May 31 – June 3, 2007
North Park University, Chicago, IL

Download Conference Logistics

Download Conference Brochure

Download Conference Registration Form

Completing Your Call

Dear CMDA Leaders,
As leaders within your communities or campuses, you, more than most, have felt God’s tug on your lives. CMDA is also holding a special distance learning course through the Paul Tournier Institute for a few doctors who want to explore much more deeply God’s call into ministry. This is an 18 month course that we are offering only to leaders. It will require time of reading, projects, conference calls, and three residency weekends. The course will begin on January 1, 2007 with the book, The Question of God, by Dr. Armand Nicholi, followed by a telephone discussion with him, followed by a weekend exploring truth with Dr. John Patrick in Bristol in February. We anticipate accepting about twenty participants every two years. Click here for a full course outline.
If God is leading you in this direction, please reply to me with your contact phone numbers and times to call. I will call you and we can move you in the direction God is leading.
In Christ alone,
Al Weir , MD, Director of Campus and Community Ministries, CMDA

Whole Person Medicine Workshop

On September 25-27, 2006, Dr. Dan Fountain conducted a 3-day workshop on "Caring for the Whole Person" at Roberts Wesleyan College. Dr. Morehouse assisted him again this year. The course was open to pastors, counselors, students, and health professionals in our region and offered up to 21 hours of Category I CME credit for physicians who attended.
Dr. Fountain is the author of numerous books in English and French on community health, primary health care, and care for the whole person and served as a missionary physician in Kenya for 35 years before returning to the States where he currently serves as the Director of the Center for Global Health at King College.
Click here to view a PDF Brochure for the Workshop. PowerPoint presentations of many of the sessions are accessible through the schedule posted online here.

2006 CCHF Conference

Health Care for the Underserved

This year's conference, May 18-21 at Eastern College in Philadelphia, will address the theme of Spiritual Inheritance for the Next Generation. Convinced that investing in equipping the next generation is capacity building at its best, the theme will be reciprocally important for veteran, new, and emerging Christian health care professionals. Plenary Speakers will include:

• Christine Sines, M.D. Physician, professor and author who faithfully assists churches and Christian organizations to engage the challenges of the 21st century.
• David Hilfiker, M.D. Physician, activist and author who has committed his life to social justice in the practice of his professions and living among the poor.
• Kenneth Robinson, M.D. Pastor, physician, and Commissioner for the Tennessee Dept. of Health whose passion is holistic and comprehensive approaches to public health and individual well-being.
• Ruth Naomi Floyd, Christian jazz recording artist, will serenade the group in a special evening of coffee house jazz on Friday evening.

Click here to download a conference brochure. We're planning to have at least one carload from Rochester and another one from Buffalo attend this year. Contact us if you're interested in participating.