A Time for Healing *Updated

The Bishop was interviewed by Martin Cavender of ReSource, one of the main speakers for the Day. Alison Morgan, the other speaker, is also pictured.

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Asked whether the Wholeness and Healing Day represented a diocesan priority, the Bishop responded, “The whole Church has begun to claim the ground again, and this is something we do together; like we celebrate the Eucharist together, like we wash feet in the service of our communities together, and the healing ministry is something which we now have as a main line in the Church, and which I’m really glad is part of the life of the Diocese of Salisbury.

“The language of repentance is tied up with the ministry of healing, the language of wholeness is tied up with the ministry of healing, and it’s not always a straight and easy journey. We’re called into new things sometimes, so the language of pilgrimage is important, but it doesn’t mean it’s a constant thread.”

Questioned on work with the homeless in his previous parish, he commented, “The ministry of the laying on of hands for healing, the anointing of oil for healing, was just part of the regular liturgical life of the church, with people coming to ask for prayers for themselves or for others.

“It didn’t necessarily result in people being made physically better in the way that they might have come asking, but so often the healing was in their attitude, their relationship to their illness, to the way they lived with themselves and the people around them.”

Asked about his hopes for the healing ministry in the Diocese, he replied: “The ministry of healing is integral to the life of the Church, and the Christian gospel, but it’s not a ministry that is set apart and separate. What I would hope for is that the ministry of healing is something which every parish, every team within the Diocese, is able to offer.

"This is part of the adventure of being a Christian in the Diocese of Salisbury, and it's one to which everyone's invited."

ENDS

Links
Bishop of Salisbury
Wholeness and Healing page
The ‘Shalom in Sarum’ website 
ReSource website 

Further information contact
Michael Ford, Communications Co-ordinator
01722 438651, 07500 836989, michael.ford@salisbury.anglican.org