Nurses from many countries travelled to Malaga (Spain) for the Nurses Christian Fellowship International World Congress, from 27 to 30 June.

The conference happened in a Diocesan house and was attended by more than 300 people from 40 countries.

During the two preceding days, courses and seminars of the International Institute of Christian Nurses (IICN) were held in a pre-congress on topics such as the art and science of spiritual care, the value-based teacher, a training course for Christian witness, faith community nursing and care of the caregiver.

This NCFI world congress is held every 4 years in a different city of the world. On this occasion the International Committee chose Spain. Its national group, Enfermería Cristiana (Christian Nursing), accepted the invitation to co-organise it, taking on the challenge of an event of such magnitude.

Music, national representations, plenaries

The congress began with an opening ceremony with the Parade of Nations, in which the different countries paraded in their typical costumes and national flags. The opening also had a performance of the Victoria Gospel Choir from Malaga, who sang several classics of this genre.

The institutional representation came from the President of the Evangelical Council of Andalusia region (south of Spain), who was by the President of the Evangelical Council of Malaga.

A member board of the College of Nurses of Malaga and the Councillor for Citizen Participation of the City Council of Malaga also gave several words of thanks for the choice of the city to hold this event and wished the best auspices for its development. The general director and the coordinator of the congress and the president of the NCFI participated with several speeches.

The opening ceremony ended with a plenary session by Dr. Marsha Fowler, researcher and professor of ethics, spirituality and faith integration at Azusa Pacific University in California. She reflected on faith, ethics and nursing, noting that nursing care, ethics and faith are constantly intersecting, but that these aspects are currently being obscured by other disconcerting aspects that are occurring in our societies.

The day ended with a Spanish evening with a performance by the group FE (“Faith”, Flamenco Events), which combines flamenco singing and dancing with songs of praise. The performance thrilled the audience, who were infected by the joy of the show.

70 sessions, ‘posters’, biblical presentations

Based on the motto of the congress “Strength and courage to care – God’s love and resources for nurses and midwifes”, more than 70 sessions and professional ‘posters’ on many aspects of the nursing profession and Christian faith were presented in the following days with a high academic quality.

The idea was to reflect on the compassionate heart, which is the core of the profession and also of the Christian faith, and how health professionals need strength and courage to perform excellent care for the people in their care.

The biblical presentations were given by Fernando Ramos, president of Enfermería Cristiana de España, who through three biblical narratives: the 23rd Psalm, David’s confrontation with Goliath and Peter’s three denials, invited participants to reflect on how care is one of the most strategic and important areas of human activity.

Plenary addresses were given by Dr Elcie Thoby, Dean of the Faculty of Nursing at the Christian University of Northern Haiti, who spoke about strength to facilitate spiritual care in difficult times; Dr Benson Owusu, Professor of Nursing at the Central University of Accra (Ghana) who spoke about the need for courage in the delivery of care; and Professor Wilfred McSherry of Staffordshire University (England) who reflected on the strength and courage to uphold the nurse/patient covenant.

Various expert panels were also held on topics such as ethical challenges for nurses and midwives, self-care and missionary nursing: strength and courage to reach out to others.

Reports from countries

Participants also had the chance to visit the centre of Malaga and enjoy its monuments and the hustle and bustle of its streets and inhabitants.

The congress was attended by national and international exhibitors such as GBU (IFES), the Spanish Evangelical Alliance, Proceso Salina (Saline Process), the New Evangleical Hospital of Barcelona (NHE) or Mercy Ships. They all shared aspects of their work and the promoted chances of collaboration between nurses and certain projects.

The congress ended on Sunday 30th with reports from the participating countries, a time for the Lord’s Table, presided over by the president of the Malaga pastors' fraternity.

Anne Biro, president of the NCFI emphasised in a closing speech the importance of regularly accessing God’s love and using the resources and gifts he gives to strengthen and encourage nursing professionals and the patients being cared for.

The event was followed by farewells to the many relationships that originated during the meeting, recognising the value and impact of these relationships.

Inspiration and challenges for the work

Organisers said this World Congress had been of “inspiration, encouragement, and a challenge to provide competent, compassionate nursing care from a Christian perspective”.

“We thank God for having been with us from the beginning of the preparation of this event, helping us to overcome the difficulties that its organisation and development have entailed and for his grace that has been evident in every step we have taken”.

The organising committee also thanked Evangelical Council of Malaga for their help in connecting with the local civil authorities, and especially the group of volunteers and participants of Enfermería Cristiana de España for their “encouragement, energy and service throughout the event. Without their help and trust it would not have been possible to bring this congress to a successful conclusion”.