| The Ministry of Healing at Hope Episcopal Church by: Rebecca Hemphill |
Jesus gives the ministry of healing to all believers in the great commission (Luke 9:1-2): When Jesus had called
the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he
sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Then he commissioned 72 to more to do the same (Luke 10:17). Mark tells in even more detail the signs that will
accompany those who preach the gospel (Mark 16:17,18). "They will place their hands on sick people, and they
will get well." The Epistle of James (5:14-16) states that the congregation and clergy and lay leaders should be
expected to exercise a healing ministry.
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the
name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he
has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you
may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Although, as Bishop David Pytches writes, we shy from taking up the rest of the great commission beyond
preaching the gospel, because "the very idea of ministering in signs and wonders sounds presumptuous...the
plain fact is that [while] the Church is never to supply signs and wonders on demand.. neither must it deny signs
and wonders, which are part of the Church's commission." (Come Holy Spirit by David Pytches)
The Rev. Roger Wootten of St. Paul's Episcopal Church writes, in "Assembling and Training a Parish Prayer
Ministry," that "when an informed parish priest teaches from the Holy Scripture and from healing literature, and
his/her own example and faith...with that beginning it is soon discovered the Lord has already been there,
placing in the hearts and minds of parishioners an expectation of and responsiveness for the healing ministry.
Some parishioners will be discovered as specifically and mysteriously gifted as healers. Others will simply be
obedient to the Lord's call to minister."
This is how it feels it has happened, and is happening at Hope. From the days of the launching of Hope
Episcopal Church in June 1999, some of us who had never even discussed healing ministry, much less felt
gifted, somehow "knew" that Hope would have an active healing ministry in which we would not only hold healing
services, according to the Episcopal tradition, but also offer healing prayer at regular services. An increasing
number of Hope's parishioners are finding themselves gifted with healing prayer and a call to supporting a
healing ministry.
With this in mind, we at Hope are careful to adhere to Scripture and the wisdom acquired by other successful
healing ministries: The ministry must be shared by the laity; continuing education and supervision are a regular
part of the ministry; the teaching and preaching ministry of Hope includes proclamation of the healing work of
Christ and His disciples in Scripture and the church today.
the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, and he
sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.
Then he commissioned 72 to more to do the same (Luke 10:17). Mark tells in even more detail the signs that will
accompany those who preach the gospel (Mark 16:17,18). "They will place their hands on sick people, and they
will get well." The Epistle of James (5:14-16) states that the congregation and clergy and lay leaders should be
expected to exercise a healing ministry.
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the
name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he
has sinned, he will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you
may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
Although, as Bishop David Pytches writes, we shy from taking up the rest of the great commission beyond
preaching the gospel, because "the very idea of ministering in signs and wonders sounds presumptuous...the
plain fact is that [while] the Church is never to supply signs and wonders on demand.. neither must it deny signs
and wonders, which are part of the Church's commission." (Come Holy Spirit by David Pytches)
The Rev. Roger Wootten of St. Paul's Episcopal Church writes, in "Assembling and Training a Parish Prayer
Ministry," that "when an informed parish priest teaches from the Holy Scripture and from healing literature, and
his/her own example and faith...with that beginning it is soon discovered the Lord has already been there,
placing in the hearts and minds of parishioners an expectation of and responsiveness for the healing ministry.
Some parishioners will be discovered as specifically and mysteriously gifted as healers. Others will simply be
obedient to the Lord's call to minister."
This is how it feels it has happened, and is happening at Hope. From the days of the launching of Hope
Episcopal Church in June 1999, some of us who had never even discussed healing ministry, much less felt
gifted, somehow "knew" that Hope would have an active healing ministry in which we would not only hold healing
services, according to the Episcopal tradition, but also offer healing prayer at regular services. An increasing
number of Hope's parishioners are finding themselves gifted with healing prayer and a call to supporting a
healing ministry.
With this in mind, we at Hope are careful to adhere to Scripture and the wisdom acquired by other successful
healing ministries: The ministry must be shared by the laity; continuing education and supervision are a regular
part of the ministry; the teaching and preaching ministry of Hope includes proclamation of the healing work of
Christ and His disciples in Scripture and the church today.
| Healing prayer is offered at Hope's regular Sunday services during and after communion and continuing after service at the prayer station located at the bacl of the nave. Hope's Taizé Healing Prayer Service is held the third Tuesday of every month at Hope+in+the+Desert Episcopal Church, 8700 Alameda Blvd. NE. Service time is 7:30 - 8:30pm with doors opening at 7pm for quite meditation and prayer. All are welcome. Our healing prayer services attract people from all over town, from other denominations, and even other faiths. Soaking healing prayer sessions are also offered by appointment. Childcare available |
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