I got a phone call from a church member the other day. She asked me, "What does our church think about laying on hands?" Not the usual conversation starter. I told her that while it isn't something we do often, it isn't too strange for us to do, either.
After some more discussion about the hows and the whens, we looked at inviting people who wanted to receive special prayer and those who wanted to offer special prayer to stick around after worship in the sanctuary as everyone else went down to coffee hour. We did it and the response was wonderful.
About 10 or so people wanted special prayer, and about a dozen or so wanted to offer prayer (or were waiting for their spouse who was receiving, so they stayed and prayed as well). Those asking for special prayer formed a ring (not really a circle, because the area at the front of the church wouldn't allow for proper geometry), holding hands or doing the one-armed hug with their neighbors. Those wishing to pray formed a ring around the inner group, with their left hand on the shoulder of the person next to them, and their right hand on the shoulder of the person in the inner ring in front of them.
I offered a prayer, inviting God's Spirit, remembering God's love in the touch of our neighbor, and other things that seemed appropriate in the moment.
We did this again the following week, and it was well attended and well received again. What was missing was a box of tissues. Several people had tears in their eyes afterwards, both those praying and those receiving.
So now we are exploring some other traditions of healing within our faith that can be done in such a setting.
What amazing things happen when someone gets a little inspiration, passes it on to someone else, and they act on it!
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