God has mysterious ways of working through our lives and experience, sometimes bringing us to a stage which we would not have dared to imagine for ourselves. If someone had told me ten years ago, when I was suffering greatly through acute rheumatoid arthritis, that I would become the Archbishops’ Adviser for the healing ministry, I would have been amazed and pondered on how that could ever come to be. Through these years, has grown the mysterious synergy between profound suffering and a great passion for serving God. Out of this has emerged a clear sense of vocation within ordained priesthood, inextricably linked with great desire to proclaim the healing and reconciling dimensions of God’s mission in this world.

The opportunity to serve both the Archbishops of Canterbury and York as their Adviser is a wonderful way to live out this twin vocation. The only person with a comparable role was Bishop Morris Maddocks, who died recently. He was special adviser on health and healing to the Archbishops of Canterbury and York from 1983 to 1995. Fortunately, Bishop Morris and I were able to meet about a year ago to reflect on the development of the healing ministry over the last thirty years. We shared strong views on the importance of preaching, teaching and practical expressions of the healing ministry, the need to develop it in ways which relate to the needs of contemporary society, and to raise awareness of the ministry of reconciliation.

As Archbishops’ Adviser, I continue to put my heart and soul into the work I have been doing for the last ten years, to support and develop the healing ministry and the ways in which it relates to the wider ministry and mission of the Church nationally, within the dioceses, deaneries and parishes, ecumenically and beyond. Bishops, advisers and others have commented on the value of the presence of someone within the central structures of the Church as a point of reference and support, who holds a mainstream position on this ministry. They need to know that this ministry at the centre is in safe hands and that a common understanding of good practice is being supported and developed.

I will build upon the foundations and progress made through the report for the House of Bishops, A Time to Heal, and the work done between 2001 to 2007 through the House of Bishops’ Healing Ministry Steering Group. Strategic plans for medium to long term development of key areas within the healing ministry include more effective support structures, training, networking for interest groups, ecumenical cooperation, www presence, and specialist areas of research. One of the greatest challenges the Church faces is to help people become more aware of the healing and reconciling dimensions of God’s mission. So I look forward to exploring how the healing ministry can express in fresh ways the holy Gospel within this world and to discerning how I may most effectively serve as Archbishops’ Adviser for the healing ministry.

This was held on Saturday, 20th October 2007, at St Chad's Sunderland.  There was a particularly good attendance this year, with numbers around a hundred and fifty.  Daphne Maher, a Guild Council member sends this report:

The Festival was at once inspiring and confirming.  The beautiful spacious and light building lifted the heart, the liturgy inspired confidence, and our Warden, the Bishop of Sheffield, preached a simple sermon, the profound implications of which (as so often) remain.

Bishop Jack has some delightful three year old grandchildren, of whom he is very fond.  The little boy, when told that they were driving to have Holy Communion, said:  'I don't like Holy Communion, I only like sausages'.  Bishop Jack, quoting Mark 10.13, then spoke about having a child's heart, simple, trusting and uncorrupted.  Like his granddaughter - a chatty girl, but one day, sitting on a swing she was unusually silent.  After a long pause she said:  'Daddy, you are my bestest friend'.  Hardened hearts (Pharoah's for instance) feature in the Bible.  But Jesus wants to give us warm, responsive hearts so that we can live in his kingdom.  Your only passport to that kingdom is to become as a little child, the bishop emphasised.  Simple, profound and hard to achieve.

Later when the company had gathered for a meal, Bishop Jack said:  'Christianity can be summed up as Prayer and Parties - Love God, love your neighbour'.  We left encouraged and refreshed.

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At Southwell Minster on the 3rd May about 600 people congregated to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Community of the Holy Cross. Fifteen bishops attended, as did about 90 members of religious communities.

The former Archbishop of York, the Rt Revd Dr David Hope, who is the Community’s Episcopal Visitor, presided at the Eucharist, which was concelebrated by the priests who regularly celebrate mass for the sisters at Holy Cross Convent, Rempstone. The address was given by the former Warden of the Community, Canon Thomas Christie. The music, which include Parry’s ‘I was glad’, John of Portugal’s ‘Crux Fidelis’ and Haydn’s ‘Te Deum’ was sung by the choir of Southwell Minster and the Girls’ Choir and Men from Lincoln Cathedral. Parts of the Eucharist were sung in Latin plainchant.

Many were interested to see the range of the sisters’ contacts and the breadth of their support. Revd Mother, Mary Luke, said at the end of the service that the Community was astounded and humbled by the support for its celebration.

The Bishop of Southwell and Nottingham, the Rt Revd George Cassidy, had very kindly offered the use of his garden to erect two marquees in, so that we could feed everyone. Although the weather at the start of the service was cloudy, cold and windy, by the time it had finished the sun had come out which enabled everyone to enjoy sitting in the garden. Bishop David Hope said, ‘Today’s wonderful celebration is a testimony to the dedication, tenacity and faithful witness of members of the Community through the years, and a clear demonstration of the need for a continuing prayerful attentiveness at the heart of the Church’s life.’

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St Gwenfaen and her Well

The parish of Holyhead is unusual in several ways, not least in that it is an island—Ynys Cybi or Holy Island, a parish separated by the Inland Sea from the rest of the Isle of Anglesey. The parish is also unusual in having two churches dedicated to saints who actually lived on the site during the sixth century and two holy wells, although the first—Cybi's Well—is no longer to be seen. However, the second well, the Well of St Gwenfaen is still very much in evidence and is still visited for its healing properties.

The well itself is situated on a spectacular stretch of coast between Borthwen and Rhoscolyn Head and is one of the best preserved well chambers on Anglesey. Steps lead down to a small chamber with stone seats in front of a pool. Tradition has it that the well is particularly efficacious in curing mental illnesses and that those visiting should throw in two white quartz pebbles as an offering.

Each year on or around St Gwenfaen's Day (November 4th) a Eucharist is held in the church of St Gwenfaen and this is followed by a pilgrimage to the well for those who are sufficiently agile to make the walk. It’s a wonderful experience as we gather around the well for a short service followed by individuals descending into the well for a blessing and sprinkling with the water. Some people bring their dogs and they, too, receive the blessing. November may not seem the ideal time for this trip, sometimes we experience rain and high winds, but the year when we tried to change the pilgrimage to mid-Summer the weather was much worse! So now we stick to November and the pilgrimage is part of our annual celebration of Gwenfaen, one of our parish saints.

Little is known about Gwenfaen (pronounced Gwenn-vine) other than the fact that she was a daughter of Paul Hen and came from the area around the Firth of Forth in Scotland. The family had fled from the ravages of the Saxons and Gwenfaen settled in Rhoscolyn, founding a church here, probably as a member of the Colidei and living the life of a Celtic nun

To stand on the headland surrounded by some of the most magnificent views one can imagine is a real privilege and our simple service makes us feel very close to the natural world, a reminder of the place where Gwenfaen herself worshipped so many centuries ago. Whether it rains or blows a gale doesn’t really matter for we always return home from our pilgrimage with a real sense of well-being and gratitude for the beauty of the place in which we live.

Sister Mary Cuthbert from the Community of the Holy Cross, Rempstone near Loughborough, reports a steady stream of requests for prayer over the internet from many sources—including the USA and India. This was what we hoped for when we added the Prayer Requests page to the Guild website. Now the sisters feel that the time has come to make this service available to Guild members and others who are not online.

So, if you have a prayer request, and do not have access to the internet, you can now send it by ordinary mail. The address is:

Prayer support will be given initially for one month, but people are invited to keep in touch and in particular to let the sisters know if the situation changes in any way.

And of course, as you obviously are on the internet, you can still use that service either direct or on

gsr.rempstone@webleicester.co.uk

To find out more about how you can ask for prayers for particular people or situations click on Prayer Requests