Healing Ministry at St John's
Wholeness and Healing - the Church’s Healing Ministry at St John’s
Our Lord Jesus Christ went about preaching the gospel and healing. He sent out his disciples and gave them authority to lay hands on the sick that they might be healed. This was not just for the time when Jesus was on earth, but through his people by the power of the Holy Spirit, he still heals today. In the book of James (5:14) we are told:
Are any among you sick? They should call for the elders of the church and have them pray over them, anointing them with oil in the name of the Lord.
During the service of Holy Communion on the third Sunday of the month (except if it is Easter Sunday or Christmas Day) we offer the opportunity to be prayed for and anointed. This takes place in the narthex at the back of church. You can also come for prayer for someone you are concerned for.
Christ Stanisstreet (Reader and Pastoral Worker) and Stewart Jackson (Pastoral Worker) will be the people offering prayer and Rev Clare or Rev Trish will anoint.
What can we hope for through this ministry?
We believe that God loves us and wills the very best for us. But we also know that suffering of all kinds and ultimately death are conditions from which we cannot escape. Jesus shared in this life’s suffering and death on the cross, and he can draw close to us in times such as these. However, his resurrection in the power of the Holy Spirit gives us hope that we might have a foretaste of his kingdom here and now and that through the Church’s ministry we shall receive his love, strength and healing touch.
When we are faced with illness or injury we want to get back to normal as quickly as possible. But the Christian understanding of healing is not the same as cure. God longs for a relationship with us and he is concerned with the whole of our being, not only the issue we want to recover from.
When we are prayed for, we do not know what form that healing will take but we can be sure that God will hear us.
Healing may:
- Help to carry us through a prolonged illness or disability
- Lead to recovery more rapidly than expected
- Mean we lose our fear of death as it is driven out by God’s love;
- Be a healing which is so unexpected that we immediately want to thank God.
We can also seek this ministry for difficult situations, seeking God’s healing and being open to God changing us (for example taking away our fear) so we can play our role in the healing of the situation.
If I can’t get to church, will you come to me?
If you live in the parish we will come and pray for you at home. Please contact Rev Clare to arrange this (details on the home page).
The prayer list
We pray every Sunday and Wednesday morning and on a Thursday evening for people who have asked to us to pray for them either directly or through a church member.
Sermon from Revd Timothy Hupfield
The diocesan advisor for healing, Revd Timothy Hupfield, came to preach at St. John's in May to explain more about this ministry. Read his sermon.
Listen to sermons on healing
Rev Clare Leal
Rev Trish Cope