Healing Prayer at St. Michael's

The Healing Ministry at St. Michael’s Church
The healing ministry at St. Michael’s Church was started and continually encouraged by the Rector. The ministry has grown through the guidance and leadership of his Assistant for Pastoral Care. It has been an integral part of the life and mission of the church since 1986. All of the clergy are actively involved and supported by a team of about seventy prayer ministers.

Prayer Ministry at St. Michael’s Church
Prayers for Healing On Sundays, during and after the 10:30 and 6:00 services, teams of trained and experienced Prayer Ministers are available in designated pews to offer prayer for intercession for healing, with the laying on of hands.

Holy Communion and Healing This service is held Thursdays at 10:00 am in the Church. Healing prayers with the laying on of hands follow the Communion service.

Prayers by Appointment Anyone who wishes to receive personal or soaking prayers (usually with a team of two Prayer Ministers) may make an appointment. You may call Patti Sosnowski at 723-0603.

Telephone Prayer Chain To put someone on the Prayer Chain, you may call a member of the Telephone Prayer Chain or call the office at 723-0603. All requests require permission of the individual to be prayed for, or of the person’s family.

Prayers for the Unborn We offer prayers for the mothers and fathers who are expecting a child. New or expecting parents may want a copy of the book, Praying for Your Unborn Child by Francis and Judith MacNutt. What might happen if pregnant mothers and expectant fathers learned to pray for their baby even before birth? Form more information call 723-0603.

Day of Healing Prayer

Day of Healing Prayer # 34 - November 1, 2008

Schedule
8:45 am Registration
9:00 am Worship
9:30 am Teaching by Joanne Ellison The Healing Character of God As Known Through His Name
11:30 am Lunch
12:15 pm Worship
12:30 pm Teaching by Joanne Ellison
1:15 pm Prayer Teams
2:15 pm Holy Communion for Generational Healing
3:00 pm Adjourn

Guest Speaker - Mrs. Joanne Ellison - Almost 20 years ago, the Lord began to plant the seeds of the Drawing Near to God Bible study in Joanne as she began to teach various studies throughout the community of Charleston, South Carolina. The Scripture that she bases the study on is James 4:8, “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” Joanne has also led numerous spiritual retreats and seminars throughout the community and state including the Healing Mission in Sumter, SC, the parish retreats for St. Michael’s Church in Charleston, SC and St. John’s Church on John’s Island, SC. She was the keynote speaker at the First Ladies Prayer Breakfast in Columbia, SC, the First Baptist Retreat in Charleston, SC, and at the Young Life Regional Retreat in Windy Gap, NC. She conducted her first DNG conference in Naples, FL last spring where she brought a worship and prayer team. Joanne will also conduct a DNG conference in the spring in Charleston and in other states in the future.
Joanne received her B.A. from the College of Charleston in Charleston, SC. She has attended numerous Bible seminars and has received intensive prayer ministry training. Joanne is married to Dr. Blount Ellison, a cardiologist, and is the mother of three and grandmother of eight. Joanne is the daughter of Dr. and Mrs. Peter C. Gazes. She was raised in the Greek Orthodox Church and is presently a member of St. Andrew’s Church in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

Training of St. Michael’s Prayer Ministers

St. Michael’s Prayer Ministers are experienced and receive comprehensive and ongoing training. Prayer Minister's training includes, Christian Healing Ministries Schools of Healing Prayer Levels I, II, and III, the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, and other resources.

Training Classes for Prayer Ministries

St. Michaels offers periodic classes for Prayer Ministers from novice to advanced. If your church is interested in training program, you may call 723-0603.

Training for Stephen Ministry Begins in September

Training to become a Stephen Minister will begin on Wednesday, September 24th. Training will continue on consecutive Wednesdays at 7 p.m. for two-hour sessions, for a total of 25 sessions, and 50 hours of instruction. There will be breaks to accommodate the holidays. Registration to be a part of this inaugural group of potential Stephen Ministers is due by Friday, September 12th along with payment of a $50 materials fee for the Stephen Ministers’ resource library of two workbooks and three books. Click below for a printable version of the application.

Stephen's Ministry Application

St. Michael’s Church has only just recently enrolled as a Stephen Ministry parish. Stephen Ministry is a system through which parishioners are trained and organized to help provide Christian caregiving to members of the congregation who are struggling with such issues as grief, loneliness, terminal illness, or a crisis in job, marriage, or family. Those receiving care from Stephen Ministers benefit because they receive prayer and support throughout the crisis they face. Stephen Ministers benefit through the spiritual growth they experience from being involved in meaningful ministry. Our clergy and congregation will benefit because the care-giving ministry at St. Michael’s Church will be expanded and enhanced and fewer people will slip through the cracks. Our enrollment as a Stephen Ministry parish allowed us to send selected members for training at a week long Leadership Training Course that has now qualified them to return to St. Michael’s to provide training. Elizabeth Cooper and Gretchen Kroncke have just completed this training and are now prepared to offer the classes beginning September 24th for our first potential Stephen Ministers.

A Stephen Minister is a caring Christian lay person who, on a one-to-one basis, listens, understands, accepts, and prays for and with a care receiver who is working through a crisis or difficult time. A potential Stephen Minister will receive 50 hours of training, continue to meet twice a month for supervision and continuing education and make an initial commitment of two years. After training, the Stephen Minister will meet with an assigned care receiver an average of one hour per week.

Stephen Ministry began in 1975 when Dr. Kenneth Haugk, a pastor and psychologist, saw that there were many more needs for care in his congregation than he alone could meet. Dr. Haugk drew from his background in pastoral care and clinical psychology to train nine of his parishioners to provide biblically based, psychologically sound, one-on-one care. The ministry was so successful that it quickly drew the attention of other congregations. Today over 8,000 congregations from over 100 denominations are involved in Stephen Ministry. Several of our neighboring congregations have used this ministry with great success for years.

If you are interested in becoming a Stephen Minister, please sign up now for this inaugural class. At St. Michael’s, we have set as a prerequisite for our Stephen Minister training the completion of the basic course for the International Order of St. Luke the Physician. This training can be completed simultaneously. The OSL course will be offered on Monday’s starting September 15th. If you do have further questions, please contact me through the office at 723-0603 or bob@stmichaelschurch.net.
~ The Rev. Bob Lawrenc

Healing Missions

St. Michael’s Prayer Ministers have been called to offer healing prayer ministries throughout the Low Country and abroad (Ukraine, Rwanda).

Please click here for photos of our our mission activities.

Click here if you would like to see the 2005 Ukraine Healing Mission Team Diary for our 2005 trip.

The 2007 Healing Mission Team traveled to and around Zhytomir, Ukraine September 27 - October 6, led by Johnnie and Jean Corbett, with team members from St. Michael's: Prioleau Alexander, Ellen and John Hollingsworth, Swain Marion, David and Marty Richardson, Barbara and Ned Simmons, Christine Turner, and Michele Bryan (St. John's, John's Island), Bill and Susalee Sasser, (St. Andrew's, Mt. Pleasant) and Weezi Shaw (Church of Our Saviour).

Past team members include: Prioleau and Heidi Alexander, Ed and Kate Barnett, Johnnie and Jean Corbett, David Richardson, John and Patti Sosnowski, Christine Turner - from St. Michael's, and Michele Bryan (St. John's, Johns Island), Bill and Susalee Sasser (St. Andrew's, Mt. Pleasant), and Weezi Shaw (Church of Our Saviour). If you wish to read a compilation of reports from many of our missioners, please click HERE..

Links of Interest

Christian Healing Ministries
www.christianhealingmin.org

The Order of St. Luke the Physician
www.orderofstluke.org