Faith Practice Four: Healing

Focus of the session:

We explore how we can take the faith practice of healing more seriously; broadening our concept of healing to include the Hebrew notion of Shalom, making it possible to speak of healing when there is no hope for a cure.
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The faith practice of healing becomes especially important for understanding what wholeness and healing mean even when there is no cure. Healing in this sense draws on the deeper meaning of God's Shalom, i.e., the peace and wholeness that come from sensing God's presence. From a faith perspective, death is the ultimate healing.

This session contains music, activites and discussion points on the topic of healing. Music like "We Cannot Measure How You Heal" helps to underscore the idea of God's healing work in our lives while activities such as "Sadako and the Paper Cranes" which illustrates the importance of public memorials for healing. Discussion points like "Faith Healing" help the participants understand the biblical principles of healing and the role we can play in the healing process.

Key Points:

• Healing is wholeness, Shalom
• Healing is part of our Christian vocation
• Healing is what God intends for all of creation
• Healing is an art
• Healing can happen when there is no hope for a cure
• Public memorials are important for the healing of nations