For all seeking healing in body, mind or soul
Are any among you sick? Call for the elders of the church to pray and anoint with oil, and the Lord will raise you up.” James 5:14
Service of Anointing with Oil for Healing, Sunday January 12, 12-12:15 p.m., the McPherson Chapel, led by the Rev. Dr. Greg Davidson
Healing and Wholeness are part of the Kingdom of God, and part of the work we do as a church in Christ’s name. The Presbyterian prayer books have a service of Anointing with Oil for Healing. This can be for you or someone you love.
One explanation puts it this way: “Health of body, mind, spirit and relationships has been part of our heritage of faith from its beginning. The scripture passages that will be read in a moment illustrate this fact. Unfortunately, we have in recent years delegated this work to professionals who do their tasks outside the life of the church, and we may sometimes forget that life and health come as a gift from God our creator. While we value and trust the work of the many kinds of health care workers, this service is intended as a reminder that we are ultimately dependent upon God for salvation and wholeness.”
This is not magic. Anointing with oil and laying on of hands are symbolic acts of claiming for God’s rule the person so touched. The persons who have requested this ritual and our prayers have done so as a way of committing themselves and their illness to God. We expect that God’s Spirit will move through these actions and these prayers to bring peace, strength, hope and comfort. We expect that healing of bodily ailments will take place. Because our bodies are finite and destined for death, this healing may not take the form of restoration of perfect health, but of health relative to what otherwise be experienced.”