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APRIL CONFERENCE: WINDOWS ONTO HEALING AND WHOLENESS

In April a joint team from Crowhurst and Burrswood led a three-day conference at Crowhurst focusing on aspects of the Christian healing ministry.  Designed for church leaders, healthcare professionals and all those involved in pastoral care, the conference was attended by 75 people. 

The Conference opened windows onto those aspects of the healing ministry that are most difficult to address.  Insights and experiences were shared by the team leaders, based on their years of experience in the Christian environment of caring and ministry. There was also time for reflection, prayer, a healing service and other worship based around the issues raised.

In the first session Kath Batte led us in a biblical overview of Christian Healing, focusing on wholeness of body, mind, spirit, emotions and relationships and the balance between harmony and dis-ease. She highlighted the Old Testament scriptures that point to a Healing Messiah and Jesus coming to restore humankind to wholeness. Finally she explored several of the Gospel stories of healing, drawing out what they teach us today about how our Lord can meet us wherever we are, whatever our circumstances.

The subsequent sessions, led by Gareth Tuckwell, Paul Worthley, Christine Garrard and Steve Talmage, looked at the issues associated with the un-cured, dying, disability, grief, over-stepping safe boundaries, and God’s often-strange sense of timing. Through a series of testimonies and case studies they gave us insights into coping with situations that are not resolved in the ways we would expect, especially when people are brought to wholeness but do not receive physical healing. We were reminded of how easy it is to characterise people by their condition, not who they are. We also heard about the importance of being aware of peoples’ feelings, both the sick person and their family; how easy it is to get things wrong and how important it is to really listen to what the people are saying.

The overall message from the Conference was that continuation of the healing ministry of Jesus cannot be accomplished by individuals alone, but only through loving, caring team such as those at Crowhurst and Burrswood, and those within local churches. Only in this way can wholeness be fully achieved.

Comments and feedback:

• Thank you all. May God richly bless what you all gave; it was costly, but such a blessing to us all
  
• The love and peace of the Lord, which is always so evident and tangible at Crowhurst, was important in enabling us to hear and receive what was spoken
• It has been a great privilege to sit and learn from such experienced, compassionate and humble teachers.
• Thank you everyone for your ministry, and for blessing me so much!
• I would definitely recommend a future conference to my friends and colleagues.  It has been really brilliant – thank you

‘I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.’ John 8:12

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