Loading...Last Wednesday I got to experience an hour of grace with a small prayer group at St. Luke's, Mechanicsburg.
They prayed for people from their parish, from their community, from the diocese, from the United States and from around the world. They prayed for those who are sick. They prayed for those who are struggling. They gave thanks for God’s gifts individually and collectively received. They prayed for peace for combatants on both sides of conflicts through out the world. They prayed for the women, children, and men. They prayed for the old and the young who are caught in the middle of these tragic life destroying wars.
The entire process was guided by a prayer book received from the Community of St. Luke’s. Over time they have revised and updated the original prayer book. What is extraordinary is the journey in the course of calling God’s healing power down upon others. It is a journey into the mystery of God and who God is. Part of the healing process is releasing our own needs and anxieties over a particular issue or outcome. The journey takes you to a place where you come to believe, where our faith is formed into an absolute conviction that God will heal. Knowing that God will heal in ways we can never know or expect, is transformative and revelatory. It brings new life to all who pray for God’s healing.
The prayer group takes about an hour. It is a time filled with joy. It is a joy that comes only from knowing God will heal all of us. It is a time when sadness and fear are embraced, and put aside. It is a time to release hurt and pain so Jesus can heal us with his insurmountable love.
For me just slowing down and letting these prayers drench me with God’s love was healing and reviving. I was healed and empowered to go and do as God has called me.
I asked a member of the group, “how long this has been going on?” They said 50 years or more. For fifty years a group has met at St. Luke’s Mechanicsburg to enter into one of God’s greatest mysteries so they can embrace God’s healing love and call it down upon others.
The revised prayer book used is available from St. Luke’s parish, as is the original prayer book from the Community of St. Luke’s. I would invite others to come and learn. I would invite others throughout the diocese to take an hour a week and come together and delve into God’s love. God is calling…are you listening? It is time to slow down. It is time to leave the world of chaos and to enter God’s mystery. It is time to come and be healed.
Invite, come and be with God.
