Healing has been a Quaker tradition since the time of George Fox. Learn more in this Friends Journal article about the history and practice of this profound work, with its invitation to share your own experience of Meeting for Worship for Healing
For most of the time over the last twenty-five years, there has been a monthly Healing Meeting at Live Oak Friends Meeting. Even when we had no meetinghouse home, a small group of us met at Holly Hall Retirement Community regularly.
Now with the restrictions of Covid-19, we meet on line. Contact healing@friendshouston.org for the Zoom link to join the meeting.
Generally two to five individuals come together simply to spend time holding concerns in the Light. The concerns may be for members and attenders of LOFM who are sick, or experiencing emotional pain or difficult circumstances in their lives. We also hold in the Light situations that we are aware of that need Light, both local to our community and in the world at large. For instance, we have brought a world globe and placed it in the center of the group as we hold our planet in the Light with prayers for peace. We often hold our meetings’ clerks and committees in the Light. Many times we hold world leaders in the Light. Recently (for several months in a row), we have spent time holding various media and news organizations in the Light.
What might I expect if I join the Meeting for Worship with Attention to Healing on a Saturday morning?
We loosely form a circle and sit comfortably as we check in with each other to develop our list of those who have asked to be held in the Light. When our list is complete, we begin our worship in silence, grasping hands for a few moments. Then, we let go of hands and settle into our worship time. One participant calls out the items on the list and each one is “held” for a few moments before another name from the list is spoken. Near the end of the list, there is time to think of other people or situations that have come to mind, which we wish to hold in the Light.
When and where do we meet?
Every third Saturday of each month is our regular time to meet. We hope to gather again in the Little House (where our Children’s educational rooms and our Library are located) after COVID; for now we gather online at 11:30; and we are finished by 12:30 pm.
On several occasions we have traveled to hospital rooms or hospice bedsides to spend time with Live Oak Friends, or visitors from other places who are in Houston because of our medical center.
If you have a person or a concern that you would like to hold in the light,
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