The Ministry of Healing & Anointing is an ancient custom. Anointing guests with oil as a mark of honour is recorded in the ancient Middle Eastern cultures, & it was a common custom among the ancient Hebrews. During Jesus’ life & after his Ascension his disciples anointed & laid hands on those who were sick. Throughout church history, in the eastern and the western church, there has been a ritual of healing prayer & anointing.
The Anglican Church of Canada has not placed an emphasis on cure, but rather on healing. We are called to anoint and to pray for God’s healing grace to all who are sick in body or mind, injured or disabled, “that they may be made whole.” One prayer from the church in England is for “anyone who is lonely, anxious, or depressed that they may be granted an awareness of God’s loving presence”. Any of us who pray & anoint are simply broken vessels who anoint in the love of Christ, as members together in this community of faith.
On Sundays you are invited, if you desire healing for yourself or on behalf of someone else, to come forward during Communion to the prayer station on the right side. Give your first name and briefly state your prayer need. You will receive prayer with Laying on of Hands and Anointing