Bucov, Romania—"The Role of Faith in the Practice of Medicine" was the theme of a medical convention held in Bucov, Romania, in early March.
Approximately 100 medical professionals from the Reform Movement were present for this event, including medical doctors (general medicine and dentistry), resident doctors, students (general medicine, dentistry, nursing), pharmacists, nurses, laboratory assistants, pharmacy assistants, physiotherapists, and nutritionists. Along with their families and members from the surrounding churches, the attendance gathered over 250 people united by their shared interest in serving the Lord and people in need.
The convention began on Friday evening with a theme entitled "The Spring of Healing", presented by Dr. Emil Barbu, surgeon. On this occasion, it was emphasized that it is God who heals every disease, and that He is the source of all healing. Without ignoring the need for training, without undermining in the least the need for study, dedication, interest in patients, doctors and others who are involved in alleviating people's suffering, must look to God and implore help for the patient they treat. When the results are positive, all glory will be given to the One who can heal and restore peace and joy to sick souls. During the Friday evening program, the medical professionals were invited to the front, where they introduced themselves.
On Sabbath, the meeting began with a short program of praise. Then, after Sabbath School, Dr. Ivanov Dragan, an internal diseases specialist from Serbia, presented the topic "Biblical Remedy for the Suffering of the Soul".
In the afternoon, there was a Q&A session on medical themes of interest, followed by a public program consisting of medical professionals presenting experiences from their time at school or in service.
On Sabbath evening, a variety of workshops were held simultaneously for nurses, students, medical residents, primary care physicians and specialists, and for dentistry students.
On Sunday morning, some of the medical professionals shared experiences from the clinics and health centers in Breaza, Romania, Normandy, France, and Novi Sad, Serbia. This was followed by another Q&A session about practicing medicine in the global context. In the meantime, around twenty-five medical professionals volunteered in a community service organized within the church.
People from the general community of Bucov and its surroundings were offered free consultations. Around 150 people benefited from the free consultations and were touched by the willingness to sacrifice time and effort to help those in need.
After the positive impact the free consultations had on the public, the brethren in Bucov decided to implement a stand-alone medical office within the local church building. The medical office was equipped with a multidisciplinary ultrasound scanner and debuted its activity on May 6, 2024, with the sole purpose of offering free consultations to those in need. Medical professionals from the church are scheduled to come by rotation once every two weeks, helping people with different medical specialty needs. In the future, by God’s help, the activities offered here will intensify in volume.
We thank God for this event and wish all medical professionals the Lord’s blessings in their work. We pray that they will be a blessing to the patients, offering them not only physical healing remedies, but also spiritual comfort, peace, and hope in Divine help.
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The Sabbath programs were broadcast live on YouTube: AZSMR Bucov. The livestreams proved to attract interest as well, as the four public parts of the event reached over 10,000 views. More photos of the event can be seen on the Facebook page “AZSMR-Bucov”.
