Suitable for marking St Luke or Healthcare Sunday
This act of worship to explore and celebrate wholeness and healing can be used at any time or specifically in connection with St Luke's-tide (18 October) or HealthCare Sunday at the end of October. More prayers, active worship ideas, a checklist of points to consider about wholeness and healing and a list of related books can be found at the end of the service materials below.
Set the scene
Display objects which represent different occupations in healthcare such as a stethoscope, bandages, first-aid kit, a red cross, blanket, cup and saucer, books and toys, a desk-diary and a telephone or computer.
Place a Bible at the centre of the display, or light a candle for peace and wholeness for the whole of creation through the light of Jesus Christ.
Hymn: such as 'Thou, whose almighty word (widely available) or 'Creating God, your fingers trace' (RS)
Pray
We come before you, O God,
with various measures of health and well-being,
from many places, to this place of worship.
God of Love, you are God of all things.
You hold the weak and the strong in your embrace,
you are present with the sick and those who are well.
You comfort our sorrows and give courage in our pain.
You bear us up and give us strength for our days.
You are glad when we are glad, and sad when we are sad.
We offer you all that we are this day for your holding.
We offer you our celebration of wholeness and healing,
knowing that in Jesus, you are a God who bears all things,
offering us well-being of body, mind and spirit.
So we gather before you in the name of Jesus.
Amen.
Further prayers are available below.
Leader: Introduce the reality of the miracle of everyday health and healing for human beings – where needs of food, water and shelter are met or in the healing of a cut, new skin growing quickly, the mending of broken bones, the body's natural way of regenerating for most of our lives. Don't forget to celebrate also the reality of the ageing process. Pets and people die. Hard as it is to accept, God did not design us to last for ever here on earth. Something better awaits us. God has surprises in store.
Reading: Isaiah 35.1-7.
This reading holds a vision for holistic health and healing for all people. All that follows is set in the context of this vision, which includes the whole of creation.
Hymn: such as 'Be still and know that I am God' (widely available) or 'We cannot measure how you heal' (CG, CP, HON, RS)
Reading: Luke 10.1-9 (Ask a group to prepare beforehand a dramatic version or mimed accompaniment to this passage.)
Reflection
- Focus on perspectives on health and healing that spring from the gospel of Jesus Christ and challenge each one of us in the way we think about health, our God-given well-being, and the wholeness of others, indeed the whole world.
- In Luke's Gospel, the 70 went out to towns and villages sharing the good news that 'the kingdom of God has come near to us'. They went in pairs, not alone. They travelled light and didn't waste time on the way. They spoke words of peace and healed the sick as they went. They also stayed in welcoming homes that gave them energy.
- Ask whether any present have some direct link with health and healing, either currently working or having worked, in some part of our complex world of healthcare.
- Draw out how much goes on at a hospital behind the scenes, apart from the actual up-front medical care, nurses and doctors. Include voluntary helpers such as WRVS workers on canteen care and trolley shop to patients on wards and charities like PAT (Patients and Animal Therapy – see Resources) .
- Explore the importance of working together in teams of volunteers and professionals. Think of TV programmes such as ER and Casualty. How essential is it to work in harmony for the best care of a patient?
- Ask how many present have ever been recipients of any form of healthcare, from a GP, hospital, physiotherapy, or one of the complementary disciplines such as aromatherapy and massage. Do not ask for personal stories. Simply invite a show of hands, revealing that the question is answered by an overwhelming 'yes'.
- This illustrates the importance of healthcare for the whole population. A degree of health is vital. We need to view it in a balanced way, without over-attention, but knowing our responsibility not to neglect what is necessary in terms of food, rest and exercise.
- We must also develop an awareness and understanding of the needs of body, mind and spirit for every person. It is not only people of faith who know that the fulfilment of spiritual needs are crucial for our well-being.
- Return to Isaiah's vision and look at other verses from this prophet that reinforce this vision (such as 61, 65). The basic needs of each human being in every part of the world for food and shelter will be remembered in One World Week.
Hymn: such as 'This we can do for justice and for peace we can pray' (RS) or 'Beauty for brokenness' (HON, MP, TS).
Leader: Wherever we are, we can be involved in some way in the ministry of health, wholeness and healing. God has a part for everyone to play! So we are called to respond.
Pray for healing
O God, through all the changing moments of our life,
we yearn for your healing and holding.
We pray for ourselves and all your people,
here in this place and far from here.
May we work and pray for the coming of your kingdom,
and catch glimpses of its coming, even here and now.
Bring your healing into each person's life
and give us the energy you know we need to be part of your healing of neighbour, church and world.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
Gracious healing God,
we hold before you our world in all its wonder and all its pain.
We ask for your healing touch on all places of war and conflict
that reconciliation may be known, and peace prevail.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
We pray for hospitals, hospices and all places of healing,
for medical and nursing staff, for volunteers,
those in research and learning,
for support and administrative staff,
and all who have shared their experience in healthcare.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
We pray for all who receive care,
any who await diagnosis,
those undergoing treatment and surgery,
those who are recuperating,
or who watch while loved ones are ill.
All for whom sickness and depression diminish their being.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
We share in the Lord's Prayer in whatever form or language is your own:
Our Father...
Hymn: such as 'Make me a channel of your peace' (widely available) could be used as part of the prayers.
Leader: We are sent out to become more aware of the needs of one another and others in our neighbourhoods and in our world.
Meditation
Ask one or more people to read out the following:
I wonder what I can do.
I wonder how I should be...
from now on for Jesus' sake
and for the sake of the world.
He taught us to preach good news to the poor –
O God, may poverty be over and done with.
Show us your way of feeding the hungry with good things.
He taught us to proclaim release to the captives –
O God, may all be free to live fulfilling lives.
Show us your way of bringing liberation to those who need it.
He taught us to bring recovery of sight to the blind –
O God, make each one of us see one another through your eyes.
Show us your way of envisioning hope and healing for all.
He taught us to set at liberty those who are oppressed –
O God, ease the loads of the careworn and weary.
Show us your way of lightening the path of the downtrodden.
He taught us to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord –
O God, give us courage to speak your truth in love.
Show us your way of kingdom living that peace and healing may abide.
And all this through the anointing, gentle power of your Spirit,
which rests on us and blesses us with love for love's sake,
for the well-being of the whole world,
in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Hymn: such as 'God's Spirit is deep in my heart (RS) or 'Go, tell it on the mountain (widely available).
Pray
May Jesus the wounded healer
walk with you wherever you go.
So that tending, listening, speaking,
through your love he will be known.
And as you love and as you care,
his peace and joy and gentle power
will bless and fill you all your days,
and you will know him well.
Amen.
Additional materials
Prayers
Offertory prayer
God of all peace and healing love,
as you shower your grace upon us,
accept the gifts which we offer this day.
As we celebrate your presence with us,
may each one here be filled with your joy,
joy that spills over to all around.
May peace and healing abound.
Amen.
Prayer of adoration
O God, holy and timeless one,
we come before you in praise.
We sing of your power in creation,
maker of the skies, the mountains and heights,
the seas, the deserts and depths of the oceans,
the day for work and play, and the night for rest,
what we see and what is hidden from our sight.
We thank you for calling us here today.
O Jesus, healing and saving one,
we feel your touch of compassion.
You mend our brokenness and heal our divisions.
You rescue us from our sinful selves
and restore us to new life.
In our stumbling attempt to walk in your way,
we thank you for calling us your friends.
O Holy Spirit, enabling and inspiring one,
we feel your presence as you breathe
the life of Christ into this moment.
Encourage us in our loving and our giving
to witness to the living word.
Make us long to see the world transformed
into God's eternal kingdom.
Breathe within us in this hour of worship.
O Holy God, Three-in-One,
you know our need even before we ask.
You know us better than we know ourselves.
We offer all that we are to you.
Make this time of worship a blessing to each one
that we might show your love in every place.
Change us into the people you need us to be
for your love's sake.
Amen
Prayers of intercession
Gracious, healing God,
you are present in our lives by your healing touch.
Give us an awareness of your presence, working with longing
to transform relationships in every place and meeting.
May the light of your love so shine from us
that others will sense your presence.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
Gracious healing God,
Empower us to bring well-being to others,
through sharing ourselves and the many gifts you give us.
Make our homes places of peace and refreshment,
where family, friends and the passing stranger
may know space and safety amidst the busyness of life.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
We pray for our churches and communities,
celebrating the ways in which you make us different.
Heal our divisions, help us to work together for unity,
doing nothing separately that we might do together.
Gracious healing God of love,
May we bring healing in your name.
We remember those who have died,
those we loved well, whose presence we still miss.
May we like them so live our days
that in the fullness of time
we see one another face to face with you.
Amen
Blessing
May the blessing of our loving God,
the healing Christ,
and the empowering Spirit,
be with you and all whom you love
as you celebrate this day
and ever more. Amen.
Active worship
Suggestions for ways to respond to and explore the theme
- Encourage discussion which promotes the widest view of healing. This subject, so central to the kingdom of God, needs to be handled sensitively. Ideally an all-age group can plan a service (such as the outline on the previous page) to bring a perspective that focuses on well-being and wholeness, not only for each person but for whole communities and nations. Keep the lens wide-angled, so as not to become fixed on single issues and expectation of miracle-cures for individuals. Include ideals of peace and justice, for these are priorities that also affect personal health.
- Make links with all routes towards health and healing, the medical world usually being the first route. Include staff within the NHS and voluntary workers, complementary therapies, local community support. Explore how churches, through the liturgy, pastoral care and prayer, can work in harmony with medical and nursing care.
- Keep prayer ministry straightforward where children are present. Do not avoid this, however, for children and young people are natural and effective in the healing ministry.
- A prayer may be offered with the laying-on of hands, either in a place to one side or in situ by elders, or offered to one another in a corporate moment and repeated for the second person. Alternatively the whole congregation holds hands and repeats this prayer:
- God of all love,
present in this place and in every place through your Spirit,
give to ....... all s/he most needs for wholeness and healing.
Help her/him to rest in your peace,
knowing that in body, mind and spirit
you will touch her/him in this moment and in the days to come.
In Jesus' name we pray.
- If you are not including the laying-on of hands at this service, consider the importance of sharing the moment of graced presence, of touch for another by the whole church as representative of Jesus Christ. Invite everyone to hold hands at close of worship, during the words of sending and blessing.
- A creative prayer idea could be to offer foot-washing or hand- washing to one another in one part of the church. This needs to be announced ahead of the service so footwear can be right. Provide soft towels for drying. Extempore prayer could be offered which asks for the blessing of the touch of Jesus in giving peace and healing and in accepting and cleansing us from all that harms or hurts us.
- Add aromatic oil to the water to make a connection between the ancient Christian rite of anointing and its modern benefits in giving well-being.
- Explore the power of laughter for healing and the role of the clown.
Short checklist of points to consider when thinking about the ministry of wholeness and healing within the church
A group exploring wholeness and healing might draw up these aims:
To be more aware of the issues explored, where God is active and where each person might be able to be the hands and feet, the compassionate touch of Jesus Christ.
To understand that the healing of relationships and emotions on an individual level and in families and neighbours is as much involved as physical healing.
To use those aspects of healing where most people seek healing, such as the NHS, to affirm those people who work in different areas of health care, and to commit them and their work to our regular prayers.
To realise the connection between our own well-being and the wholeness of the creation, in particular environmental issues and basic human rights.
To share any understanding of the concept of the wounded healer.
To explore how worship and liturgy can forward the ministry of healing, not only in special services but in every act of worship.
Books and other resources
Prayers for Health and Healing: An SPCK Prayer Collection, Robin Keeley (ed.), SPCK, 2000, ISBN 0281052735.
Praying for the Dawn, Ruth Burgess & Kathy Galloway (eds), Wild Goose Publications 2000, ISBN 190155726X.
Manual of Ministry with the Sick, Martin Dudley (ed.), SPCK, 1997, 0281049033.
In His Hands, David Dale, Darton, Longman &Todd, 1989, ISBN 0232518513 (limited availability).
The Love that Heals, David Pale, URC, 1999, ISBN 0853461872.
The Christian Healing Ministry, Morris Maddocks, Abingdon, 1996, ISBN 0687066271.
Health and Healing: A Ministry to Wholeness, Denis Duncan, St. Andrew's Press, 1988, ISBN 071520615X (limited availability).
A Time to Heal; A Contribution towards the Ministry of Healing, Church House Publishing, 2000, ISBN 0715138375 (limited availability).
Healing, Francis MacNutt, Ave Maria Press, 1999, ISBN 0877936765.
Health, Healing and Wholeness, Howard Booth, Kevin Mayhew, 2002, ISBN 1840039256.
Love's Endeavour, Love's Expense, W. H. Vanstone, Darton, Longman & Todd, 1977, ISBN 02322513805.
The Stature of Waiting, W. H. Vanstone, Darton, Longman & Todd, 1982, ISBN 0232515735
Deborah McVey is a URC minister in Cambridge and works as Community Chaplain in a local doctor's surgery, actively promoting the ministry of healing.