Historical Roots of the Christian Healing ministry

Jesus’ disciples - the 12 and later the 72 heeded His message to heal, and were given instruction by (Luke 10:9) as part of their training. Healing was an essential part of the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 5:12-16;). However the Christian call to holiness always took precedence, the being signs, but do not replace our personal journeys to find healing and peace through daily union with Jesus. Healing often addresses the issues which hinder our relationship with Christ (Col 3:10) – inner healing. Early Christians experienced a wide variety of healing. (James5: 14-16) “Is anyone among you sick? Let them call the elders of the church to pray over them and anoint them with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise them up. If they have sinned, they 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 person is powerful and effective.”

Irenaeus (b130CE) reported, “For they are able to give sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, to put all demons to flight…The infirm, or the lame, or those paralysed, or those disturbed in other parts of the body, are cured.”

And Origen (184-254CE), “For by these means (invoking the name of Jesus in prayer), we too have seen many persons freed from grievous calamities, and form distractions of mind, and countless other ills, which could be cured neither by men nor devils.”

Augustine (354-430CE) describes miracles of healing that occurred in his own Diocese of Hippo in N Africa, and in His book, “Confessions” he offers examples of Healing of Memories Prayer.

Gregory the Great ( of Rome 590-604CE) explained how healing helped people draw closer to God – Total union with God, peace with other people and harmony with creation – a foretaste of heaven. As time went on the prominence of healings seems to have diminished Bishop William Button 1 (Bath and Wells 1248-1264). The Corbels in St. Andrew’s Church Congresbury commemorate this Bishop who was famed for his healing work, especially with people suffering with facial aches and pains. The Corbels are original and painted in their medieval colours – some are quite explicit e.g. goitres and tooth aches!

Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) taught that the soul was more important than the body, and he did not readily see others bringing healing as Christ did.

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Luther and Calvin in the Reformation era (1517-1648) also tended to view the healing miracles as temporary phenomena and that faith, love, and a resignation to sickness with the grace of God to strengthen one through was the priority.

However the Counter Reformation did acknowledge the power of God to heal. St Philip Neri (1515) prayed for healing with the , expected it by faith, and witnessed it – a woman was cured of cancer of the breast. Francis Xavier (1506-1552) is also noted to have healed a dying child in Jesus’ name.

The Royal Touch: prevailed from the reign of to that of Queen Anne, that scrofula could be cured by the royal laying on of hands. A monarch’s divine ability to cure scrofula was an established ritual when James I came to the English throne in 1603, but he would not pracse the most significant aspect of English sacral monarchy, the miraculous healing of scrofula by the royal touch, as he did not wish ‘to arrogate vainly to himself such virtue and divinity, as to be able to cure diseases by touch alone….as the age of miracles is past, and God alone can work them’.

Book of Common Prayer 1662 Hebrews 12:5: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, not be weary when reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”

The key point is that the relation of grace and mercy and adoption as a child of God is constant in good times and bad. However, for us to try to identify the reasons in the divine mind and will for this “visitation” of ourselves or our loved ones is best not attempted; rather, let us rejoice in the high privilege of being “visited.” The doctrine in The BCP certainly allows for marvellous healing of the sick in response to prayer; but it also treats the visitation of God in sickness as part of the care of God the Father of his children to make them holy and humble before him, and prepared for life everlasting with him John Wesley (1703-1791) His own journal records demons being cast out through the power of Christ, individuals falling down, slain in the Spirit while he preached, supernatural visions, dreams and cases of miraculous healing from his own day.

Alexander Boddy (1854-1930) was the main pioneer of Pentecostalism in Britain during the early twentieth century. The Welsh Revival of 1904 attracted his attention, followed by a new Revival in Norway, with baptism in the Holy Spirit. Boddy crossed the North Sea to see things for himself. He wrote a pamphlet called ‘ for England’ and thousands were distributed at the Keswick Convention in 1907. The great outpouring in Sunderland in September 1907 began in All Saint’s Parish Church after the regular evening service. In the vestry prayer meeting afterwards ‘many received very marked blessings, and a few came through to a scriptural baptism of the Holy Spirit for we heard them speak with tongues and magnify God.’ The meeting finished at 4am the next morning! Besides prayer-meetings until the small hours of the morning, there was speaking with tongues, and testimonies to miracles of healing.

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Dorothy Kerin (1889 – 1963), a woman of great personal sanctity, obedience to God, and Christ- centeredness. She was a leader in the recovery of the Christian ministry of healing, in England and abroad. She stressed the importance of cooperation between religion and medicine, the local vicar and GP. She insisted that true Christian healing is concerned with‘whole-person care’ - physical illness can’t be separated from a person’s spiritual, mental or emotional state, and that people must be cared for as a whole – body, mind and spirit. Burrswood was founded in 1948 by the 20th century healing visionary. In 1912 Dorothy Kerin was a 22-year-old who had been confined to bed for five years with tubercular meningitis, peritonitis and diabetes, when a miraculous cure restored her to full health overnight. Her healing earned her national attention and press headlines of ‘ Girl’. I believe that some of you are coming to receive the laying-on of hands. Before you come I would ask you to remember three things; first, there is no magic about the healing of our Lord Jesus Christ. It does not come immediately, sometimes it does not come at all in the way we hope. Therefore we must come with one prayer in our hearts and minds, and that is that God's Will may be done in us and for us. Secondly the one thing our Lord asks of us is that we should come in faith. So unless, through the grace of God, you can come, believing you are coming to touch the hem of His garment and hear Him say, 'Go thy way, thy faith has made thee whole', remain in your seats and pray for those who do come in faith. Thirdly, and perhaps most important of all, that you lose sight of the who pray for you, who are nothing, have nothing and can do nothing except to offer themselves as an empty reed for the use of the Lord. There is only one Healer, our Lord Jesus Christ, Who in His love uses His human instruments, unworthy though they are. It is His Power, and His Power only” The Guild of Health and St Raphael The Guild of Health and St Raphael was was formed in 1904 to bring together members of the clergy and medical professions together to study and promote the healing ministry of the Church. It is the oldest organisation in the UK working in the field of Christian healing. In 1915, the Guild of St Raphael broke away and dedicated itself to promoting and practicing Christ’s ministry of healing as an integral part of the life and worship of the Church. The Guilds reunited in 2014 bringing back together both the professional and sacramental, and continues today to be at the forefront of engagement with the professional and academic world, as well as supporting individuals and parishes in local expressions of this work. Bishop (1928-2008) In 1972, Morris was appointed Suffragan , where he remained until 1983. He was known during this time for, among other things, ministering in the Selby coalfields. His experience in the church began when five laypeople visited him at St Martin's, Scarborough, in 1963 and together they prayed for the healing of the sick. His key understanding of Christian healing was, "Jesus Christ meeting you at the point of your deepest need." Morris and Anne were offered a building - Whitehall Chase in Bordon, - plus annual funding for the work of Christian healing and this saw the genesis of the Acorn Christian Healing Foundation.

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John Wimber(1934-1997) - Vineyard movement Wimber is known for a strong emphasis on "authenticity" and doing nothing for "religious effect" Here are some of his comments in this regard: "I also visited several healing meetings... and became angry with what appeared to be the manipulation of people for the material gains of the faith healer... Dressing like sideshow barkers. Pushing people over and calling it the power of God. And money - they were always asking for more, leading people to believe that if they gave they would be healed..." "I have also seen groups where the expected behaviour of the ones being prayed for was that they fall over. This was nothing more than learnt behaviour, religion at its worst. "During the time of prayer for healing I encourage people to 'dial down', that is, to relax and resist becoming emotionally worked up. Stirred up emotions rarely aid the healing process, and usually impede learning about how to pray for the sick. So I try to create an atmosphere that is clinical and rational... while at the same time it is powerful and spiritually sensitive. Of course, emotional expression is a natural by- product of divine healing and not a bad response. My point is that artificially creating an emotionally charged atmosphere militates against divine healing and especially undermines training others to pray for the sick." "I have made it a matter of policy never to accept gifts for healing. Greed and materialism are perhaps the most common cause of the undoing of many men and women with a healing ministry... When I pray over people for God to release the healing ministry, I always instruct them never to accept money for healing." "I don't have any objection to phenomena, per se. I think Jonathan Edwards has adequately addressed the issues of phenomena in revival... However, I think if it's fleshly and brought out by some sort of display, or promoted by somebody on stage, that's abysmal. But if God does something to somebody, that's between that person and God." “Some Christians believe we should never struggle with doubt, fear, anxiety, disillusionment, depression, sorrow, or agony. And when Christians do, it is because they're not exercising the quality of faith they ought to; periods of disillusionment and despair are sin. If those ideas are true, then I'm not a good Christian. Not only have I suffered physically with health problems, but I also spent a great deal of time struggling with depression during my battle with cancer”.

One of the key foundations of his teaching was intimacy with God, rather than religious habit and discipline. He preached extensively from the gospels. He strongly emphasized signs and wonders (aka "Doin' the Stuff"), the priesthood of every believer and that every Christian has the ability to prophesy and heal the sick. While this is not a new concept, Wimber was a key figure in the introduction of the concept that praying for the sick (or anything else) shouldn't be saved for special healing services, but should take place at every Church service, and out on the streets (by every believer). As a result, many churches have prayer time after the sermon.

“A Time to Heal” Church House Publishing, June 2000

This report from the on the ministry of healing offers an overview of the then present state of this ministry, a look at how the ministry takes shape at local level, and a framework for the development of the healing ministry in the 21st century. There are answers to key questions, guidelines for good practice, and radical recommendations for improved effectiveness. “As the report stresses,” says the , ”there is nothing predictable in the ministry of healing except the assurance of God’s love and care. Where physical healing does not take place, a healing on an emotional, psychological or spiritual level may be the primary need.

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