Student Travel Subsidies
All CMFnz Student Members who need to travel to attend one of our Reflect Conferences are eligible for a travel subsidy: apply as you register.
Dunedin-based students - up to $50
Wellington-based students - up to $75
Students based in other regions - up to $40

Dr Sam Bloore | Keynote Speaker
Senior Teaching Fellow, Venn Foundation

Sam Bloore is deeply passionate about the intersection of faith and culture, in particular how individuals establish and enhance a personal spirituality that is stable and sustainable. After graduating from medicine and bioethics at Otago University, he did his house surgeon years in Whangarei before heading to NSW to locum in Emergency Medicine and Psychiatry. In 2002, he began a gradual career change, and over the next few years Sam joined the staff of his local church and completed a Master of Arts in Pastoral Theology. He is now working towards a Doctorate of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary and while not practicing medicine, he maintains a connection with the profession - most recently, through involvement in the Euthanasia referendum. Sam and his wife Julia oversee the residential life of the Venn Foundation's Fellowship programme and are committed to developing the conversations and community practices that provide opportunities for grown and formation in all walks of life. They attend St Paul's Anglican Church in Auckland where Sam also works part-time as a Teaching Pastor.  

Sam will give three talks:

1. The biblical call to live wisely
   Wisdom is one of the “meta” themes in Scripture – throughout we find both implicit and explicit calls to live our lives wisely. But what exactly does that look like? And how exactly should we do it? Especially when those concepts of wisdom look like foolishness to so many others?
2. Navigating complex issues with wisdom
   Against a backdrop of Covid-19, 2020 threw up some other complex issues for the medical community, including: the Abortion Legislation Act 2020; referenda on cannabis and euthanasia; ongoing changes and disagreement over our understandings of sexuality and gender. Every medical specialty has its areas of complexity – how do we live and practice wisely in the midst of them?
3. Finding Hope: some encouragement from the book of Revelation!
   As our medical (or any other) vocations play out in the trenches of day-to-day practice, it is natural to go through seasons of discouragement. And depending on your exposure to the book of Revelation, it might seem an unlikely place to find hope and comfort.
   But it is! If an aspect of wisdom is “rightly naming reality” then an essential aspect of that is to “come up here and see” the larger reality with John.

Rev Dr Sarah Harris | Devotional Speaker
New Testament Lecturer, Carey Baptist College

Sarah Harris has taught New Testament Studies at Carey Baptist College since 2012. Her academic interests are the Gospel of Luke, hermeneutics, women and children in the ancient world, and social reconstruction of daily life. She is married to Craig who is the vicar of the Cedar Centre Anglican community church in Beach Haven and has four amazing adult children. Sarah is absolutely delighted to be able to speak at this year's CMFnz Reflect conference. Her aim is to encourage you in your faith and help you love Jesus more.

Sarah will bring a devotion from Psalm 46 "...therefore, we will not fear". Our world is facing immense challenges and change with Covid-19, but the world is not out of control. God is still at work, and an ever present help in trouble. In this devotion we explore the certainty of God in a changing world.

She will also lead a practical and explanatory seminar entitled Reading gospel stories as health professionals today at both the Auckland and Christchurch conferences.

FAQS

Are meals provided at conference?
Yes, conference is fully catered! Lunch and dinner is provided for all who register for conference, along with light refreshments for morning and afternoon tea. 

Are special dietary requirements catered for? 
We are able to fully cater for gluten-free and vegetarian diets, and there will be vegan meal options for lunch and dinner, though we cannot guarantee vegan food at morning or afternoon tea. We are not able to cater for other dietary requirements so if you have allergies you may wish to make arrangements for your meals independently for conference. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Feel free to contact us for any questions about food: [email protected].

How will conference work at the different COVID-19 Alert Levels?
At alert levels 1 and 2 hand sanitiser will be readily available, and QR-code posters will be clearly displayed for contact tracing purposes. You will be reminded by email in the week prior to conference that if you're sick, have cold, flu or COVID-19 symptoms or are legally required to self-isolate that you cannot attend the conference.
At Alert Level 2, a limit of 100-people will be placed on conference attendance, face masks will be provided for those who wish to wear a mask, and allowance for physical distancing will be made.
At Alert Level 3 or 4, conference will not be able to be held in-person, and every effort will be made to move the conference to an online format. Should this not be possible and conference needs to be cancelled, conference registration fees will be fully refunded.

What is your cancellation policy?
If conference is cancelled for any reason, all registration fees will be fully refunded. If you cancel your registration before 7th May, your registration fee will be fully refunded less a $30 administration fee. Cancellations after 7th May will result in 100% cancellation fee being payable, although partial refunds may be given under certain circumstances.
You can view our full terms and conditions here.

Is there any childcare available for my kids at conference?
At the Christchurch Reflect conference a creche will be available for preschool children but we are not able to offer childcare - you will need to bring a carer or childminder with you to supervise your child(ren). Please contact [email protected] if you intend to bring children and make use of the creche facilities: for our COVID-19-related planning, we need to have a clear idea of numbers in the event of running a conference under Alert Level 2. Unfortunately there are no childcare facilities available at the Auckland Reflect conference.

How can I become a member of CMFnz?
You can sign up to CMFnz membership here or learn more about membership at www.cmf.nz/membership. All members are entitled to a 10% discount on conference fees.

Have your questions been answered?

For all enquiries please contact [email protected].