modern-day foot washing Laura Guy reports on a new initiative at a London medical school


hristian medical students at Imperial College have been stewarding on sports nights in the medics’ bar since October 2010. This has been an opportunity to serve the medical school, raise the profile of CMF and – most importantly – scatter the seed of the gospel in previously barren land. On 1 January 2011, the Daily Mail published a full-page article about the drinking habits of Imperial medics, 1


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embarrassment for the medical school. The CMF stewards were mentioned, and for a while there was (incorrect!) suspicion that we were behind the tip-off. Thankfully, the storm has passed, and we have been allowed to continue our ministry in the bar. The idea for sports night stewarding arose during a meal at the CMF National Students’ Conference. A couple of us were discussing the tension between wanting to be more involved in medical school life, but also wanting to maintain our Christian integrity (which can be difficult in a drinking circle). We don’t particularly like the ‘holy huddle’ culture many


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Christians can appear to live in, as it can be exclusive and cliquey, and puts people off Christians. After all, Jesus made a point of spending time with the non-religious, often more than with the religious people of his day. Sports night was a way to engage with an important part of medical school culture from a different perspective. We knew that there was a need that wasn’t met and no one else particularly wanted to do it, and there’s certainly a Christian call to serve, so we thought why not do so in this context? The drinking culture seemed exclusive to those who weren’t up for getting smashed. Not many of our group are teetotal, but in a drinking circle it’s often not acceptable to say ’I’ve had enough thanks’ – it’s all-or-nothing. I remember thinking when I was a fresher that it seemed a shame that people didn’t feel able to have fun without drinking – though maybe that sounds naïve. It seems to be a form of escapism – perhaps from our apparently liberal, but in reality quite judgemental society.


SUMMER 2011


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