OGDEN -- Anyone who feels a need for physical, spiritual or emotional healing is invited to participate in a special healing service outdoors on the front lawn at Elim Lutheran Church this Sunday.
The 10 a.m. service is sponsored by the Stephen Ministers of Elim Lutheran Church, 575 23rd St., in Ogden.
The service will focus on prayers of healing, laying on of hands, anointing with the sign of the cross and a period of silence.
"The Stephen Ministers feel that everyone needs healing from time to time," said Tom Robertson, a lay Stephen Minister at the church. "We just want to give people the opportunity to celebrate God's healing power."
And those who don't believe they need healing may participate in helping to bring healing to others.
"It can be an affirming thing to help somebody," Robertson said.
"We will invite people to take part as they feel comfortable," said Pastor DanaLee Simon, noting that all are invited no matter what their faith and even if they are nonbelievers.
While all will be invited to take part in the laying on of hands, Simon said, not all people likely will feel comfortable doing that and will not be required to do so.
Simon said she will offer a short devotional service and the rest of the program will be administered by the lay Stephen Ministers.
The Elim Stephen Ministers are a group of people, including some from other faiths and congregations, who meet at the church regularly in an effort to provide one-on-one healing assistance to those who have experienced a life crisis such as grief, divorce, job loss or end-of-life issues, states information released by the church.
They are part of an international network of Stephen Ministers now at work in more than 10,000 congregations representing more than 150 Christian denominations in 25 countries, a church news release states. More information about the Stephen Ministers is available at http://www.stephenministries.org.
Each of the Stephen Ministers completes 50 hours of training to learn how to provide this listening and confidential service to those they are assigned to help.
Some of the church's Stephen Ministers currently are without an assigned person.
The group has begun a short healing service following the regular church service each time a fifth Sunday arises on the calendar.
This group, however, decided to expand that service and make Sunday's regular church service completely about healing for all people.
"We decided we really wanted to make this service accessible to everyone," Simon said.
Robertson said those who have attended the church's healing services in the past have been very happy with the program.
For more information, call the church office at 801-394-5543.
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