A Service of Healing And Wholeness

by Bud Frimoth

"Are people really healed at that service ?", a friend asked as we changed into our street clothes after a workout at the gym.

"It all depends upon what you call 'healing,'" I replied. "In our simple Taize service there's singing, praying, candles already lit and those that people light as a symbol of prayer for either themselves or others. Why don't you come some time?"

Our conversation was one which I would not have offered a few years ago. The television "healers" are helpful for some but for many people they seem to be showmanship rather than "curing and healing". Where you begin and what you expect is basic.

A few years ago a young man came to Westminster Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR. He knew that our pastor's wife was suffering from a reoccurrence of cancer years after having had surgery and chemotherapy. He said that he was a "healer" and was there to help.

For a mainline church, to have a person you didn't know offer his help In this manner was cause for searching questions about faith and reality. But in a step of trust the young man and pastor began to meet Sunday evenings for prayer with Linda. Later others were added to this prayer group. While the cancer has not gone away completely, Linda has been able to continue with most of her activities.

Has she been "cured"? The obvious answer Is "no" since the cancer is still within her body. Has she been "healed"? In many ways the answer is 'yes' because there is more to being healed than Just being cured.

Thus began a two year struggle with whether to open this small group to others. Pastor Jim Moiso consulted with trusted colleagues. He learned of a "Taize Healing and Wholeness Service" on the second Sunday evening at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on the west side of Portland.

Members of the group attended their services and found deep spiritual significance and wanted to learn more.

Pastor Moiso initiated conversation with The Rev. Marianne Wells Borg, Canon for Spiritual Development for Trinity. She encouraged Westminster to engage in the Taize Healing and Wholeness Service. Pastor Moiso saw Westminster as a partner with Trinity by offering on different evenings, services that were quite similar but still distinctive. One on the east side of Portland and the other on the west.

The use of the Taize service of simple songs sung repeatedly like a chant was a key. Volunteers provide the choral and instrumental assistance for the congregation that meets the third Saturday evening each month. A setting of quietness with low lights, candles glowing in lustrous flames, offers a warm welcome to all attending. Worship becomes a reflective time.

At a certain time in the service, those who desire individual prayers come forward to one of three places to stand, kneel or sit. They ask prayers for themselves, loved ones or other concerns. One member of the prayer team at the kneeler anoints the person. Together members offer the laying on of hands. A brief prayer is shared, then a time of silence for personal prayer for God's presence to be received. Finally the other team member gives a simple prayer. The person returns to their pew when they are ready.

How does one describe such a moving experience? Has there been real healing? We leave that to God. The experience is an ancient Biblical practice which many mainline churches have set aside because of their association with the scientific and medical world. Interestingly, two of our prayer teams are a physician and nurse.

Perhaps, one of the most powerful experiences is the shared atmosphere of quiet prayer and searching music. Add to this the physical

touch of two persons gently laying their hands on the head and shoulders of the kneeler - just having someone praying for you has a depth of spiritual experience that our fast paced living seems to have left out.

A Service of Healing and Wholeness is just a simple way of sharing the love of Jesus Christ. A positive reminder that we are our brother's and sister's keepers.

Bud Frimoth is an active member of Westminster Presbyterian Church, retired Presbyterian pastor and hospital clown from Portland OR. For information about trying this in your community, feel free to contact Bud.

Check out each of Bud's stories ...
The Cardiac Ward -- A Place for Clowns?: 
                Bud and his wife as bring hope and good cheer.
Moving Beyond Weariness to $100,000: 
                A youth in Bud's church brings hope to the community.
A Walking Good Friday Service
                An ecumenical service which could be a model for visiting sites-of-need in your city.
A Service of Healing And Wholeness
                A mainline church reclaims its heritage of healing.
A Night in Hangzhou
                Walk through the streets of this city in China as Bud encounters kids begging to belong.
Is There Any Hope for Me?
                Clowning at a homeless shelter with free hug certificates.