Salt and Light
National Nurses Week provides abundant opportunities for Christian nurses to express God's love and grace to peers and co-workers.
Last year, the NCF nurse group in Charlotte, North Carolina, had a creative idea for Nurses Week. They received a grant from a church and put together special boxes containing a small vial of oil and a card explaining the traditional ritual of the Blessing of the Hands.
The group gave hand-painted boxes to an NCF Faculty Advisor and a nursing student instructor to use to bless their students and pray for them as they prepare for nursing. This year the group has more ideas for reaching out to nurses and students during Nurses Week.
Take advantage of opportunities to express God's love and grace to the people around you during Nurses Week, May 6-12, 2016. Nurses Christian Fellowship provides ideas for events, prayer, and a special Bible discussion on this year's theme.
Find out more about how you can make the most of National Nurses Week at http://www.ncf-jcn.org.
Benefits of NCF Membership
Members of Nurses Christian Fellowship are part of a large network of Christian nurses who are devoted to serving God in healthcare. NCF members receive significant CE discounts in more than 40 journals for numerous nursing specialties. Discount codes for CE and InterVarsity Press books are available after logging in to the NCF member pages.
Members, keep JCN coming to your door by renewing your membership promptly when you receive your renewal notice from NCF.
If you are a JCN subscriber, join NCF and continue to receive each issue of JCN as a free benefit when you become a member.
For questions about membership, benefits, or your renewal, go to FAQs at http://ncf-jcn.org/membership/faqs-members.
Connect with Nurses Christian Fellowship
You're busy. We know that. So once a month we bundle all the NCF news, highlighted resources, and stories of God's transforming work among nurses, students, and educators for NCF Connections. Don't miss this regular e-newsletter to encourage you in your faith and nursing practice. Sign up at http://ncf-jcn.org. You can also 'Like NCF' on Facebook for encouraging posts for Christian nurses.
JCN Problems?
NCF members who need help with their JCN print subscription or online account should contact LWW Member Services at 866-489-0443 or mailto:[email protected]
Intersections
As the national director of Nurses Christian Fellowship, I have mixed emotions as I approach my retirement on June 30, 2016. I love NCF ministry! I have a front-row seat to see how God radically changes the lives of nurses and nursing students who belong to him.
I first connected with NCF when I was an educator in Texas and joyfully discovered a life-giving community of students and faculty who wanted to grow spiritually and apply biblical, Christian truths to their personal and professional lives. I joined NCF staff in 1998 when God enlarged my view of him and showed me how NCF is bringing God's transforming love and power to others in nursing.
In 2009, I agreed to become the fourth director of Nurses Christian Fellowship, following the well-established path of Pat Emery (Hixon), Mary Thompson, and Grace Wallace. As director, I have seen many changes in NCF, but our vision remains clear: to equip and encourage students and nurses to invite their friends and co-workers to follow Jesus Christ with their whole lives. Now it is time to pass the baton to Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner.
As a JCN reader, you know Kathy as the gifted editor who puts together each issue of JCN. I want to tell you why I am so excited about Kathy's appointment to lead NCF into the future. Kathy is a compassionate nurse, a scholar, and a devoted student of God's Word. She cares for people, and she graciously and boldly shares the love of Jesus Christ.
Kathy has served as JCN editor since 2004 and will continue to stay involved in the journal as Editor-in-Chief. Paul Tokunaga, InterVarsity vice president of Strategic Ministries, says, "Kathy is highly regarded in both the Christian and secular nursing worlds. She is passionate about seeing nursing students and nurses come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ and become salt and light in healthcare."
The role of NCF director is a demanding one, but Kathy is ready to meet the challenge. We are both excited about what God will do in the coming years. Under Kathy's leadership, NCF will continue to see nursing students, faculty, and nurses transformed by God and have a biblical, Christian influence in nursing. Please join us in thanking God for Kathy and the gifts she brings to the leadership of NCF. I invite you to pray for a smooth transition in the months ahead. I will continue to be a part of NCF ministry in a volunteer role.
Finally, thank you for how you are representing Jesus Christ in the world around you, especially in nursing. Please be assured of my continued prayers that you will embrace all that God has for you, as you love him and serve others.
-Jane Hall, MS, RN, is the National Director of Nurses Christian Fellowship.
Spotlight On...
For the past 11 years, Kathy Schoonover-Shoffner, PhD, RN, has fueled God's call to nursing excellence and holistic care for nurses, students, and educators as editor of Journal of Christian Nursing.
Beginning July 1, 2016, Kathy will embrace a new challenge as the national director of Nurses Christian Fellowship. Jane Hall is retiring after seven years as the NCF director.
"I have loved my role as JCN editor and will stay involved as Editor-in-Chief," Kathy said. "This is a challenging transition, but God is in control."
Kathy will continue to provide visionary leadership for JCN and work with our publisher, Wolters Kluwer/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Plans are underway to hire a Senior Editor and other Contributing Editors, who will work with Cathy Walker, Associate Editor, in producing each issue.
Kathy has over 35 years of experience and expertise as a nurse, administrator, researcher and editor. She also has served as an NCF volunteer staff for students and faculty at Wichita State University and Newman University schools of nursing.
Kathy was first drawn to nursing as a high school senior working in a hospital. She was captivated by the life-giving power of the nurse-patient relationship. Kathy states, "After I witnessed the intimacy of caring for people, I knew nursing was for me!"
As a new nurse, Kathy cared for cancer patients and saw the importance of whole-person care of body, mind, and spirit. "I quickly realized the critical need to care for people spiritually, to be with them in their suffering, to help them reach out to God," Kathy said.
"It's so important for nursing students to understand these foundational concepts as they begin their nursing practice," Kathy said. "This is why I'm so excited to lead NCF ministry into the future. Today's students are tomorrow's nursing leaders. We can equip them to be rooted and grounded in God so they can bring faith, hope and love to their nursing practice."
Kathy received her PhD in Nursing from the University of Kansas, MSN, from Oral Roberts University, and BSN from the University of Texas, Arlington. She lives in Wichita with her husband, Richard. They have three grown children.
"I don't know all that will be needed to lead NCF in the coming years," Kathy offers, "but I serve the One who holds 'all power and wealth and wisdom and strength' (Revelation 5:12). God will lead NCF."
Find out more about NCF ministry for nurses, students and educators at http://www.ncf-jcn.org