The Episcopal Church's healing services go as far back as the 16th century, when Archbishop Thomas Cranmer first compiled The Book of Common Prayer. Nowadays, as interest in spiritual healing has grown, the Church has carved out its own unique niche. Recently the Journal talked with the Reverend Jean Denton, an ordained Episcopal deacon. Reverend Denton is the director of National Episcopal Health Ministries, in Indianapolis, Indiana.
We started off by discussing the church services in general. "Healing services tend to be held on Wednesday mornings, and they're often in conjunction with the Eucharist," Rev.Denton began. "Some churches are now including them on Sunday mornings as well."
An integral part of the services is the laying on of hands and anointing with oil. It could seem, Rev. Denton said, "that somebody's just putting hands on someone's head or shoulder and putting a little bit of oil on their forehead." But these outward signs run much deeper than what the eye sees. "We believe that it's a way of connecting with a power that's much greater than any of us," she explained," and that the 'energy,' or God's power, can come and move in somebody's life and bring healing, which may or may not be curing."
