Friends’ Fellowship of Healing

 

Yvonne Dixon

The Friends’ Fellowship of Healing (FFH) meetings used to take place once a month after the Wednesday midweek Meeting for Worship.

My prison chaplaincy work in the past prevented me from attending these meetings but I had hoped to attend them after laying down that work and was sad to see that they no longer seemed to be taking place once meetings gradually started in person again after the disruption caused by COVID-19.

Photo by J Henderson

After testing a discernment about the possibility of reviving these meetings and receiving encouragement from Friends at a Meeting for Clearness and at our April business meeting, I now feel a leading to revive something similar.  I have been a member of the FFH for about 15 years and have always enjoyed their magazine Towards Wholeness.

I have been trying to form a picture of what the meetings used to be like and have had enjoyable conversations with people about this form of ministry and the healing groups that have existed and still exist within this Area Meeting and others. I realised that there could be some doubt about whether such a meeting would overlap with the work of the Pastoral Care Group (PCG) and have been able to clarify this as I am concerned not to duplicate or compete with what the PCG does.

I envisage something along the lines of a reading from Towards Wholeness or some other passage on healing and then a period of silence followed by prayers for healing, focusing the Light on individuals or situations brought to the group by individuals requesting what is often referred to as absent healing or distant healing. I am clear that this would not be a therapy group for people wanting to talk about their problems or health conditions, and I would not be venturing to offer hands-on healing, for which a special training at the Quaker Retreat Centre Claridge House is required.

I am aware that issues of confidentiality, safeguarding and oversight are important. Ideally it would be good to have a regular group of people so that it need not always be me leading the group, and it would probably be helpful to have a regular time and place.

I now plan to hold this space once a month, whether or not many or indeed any people attend, and just see if it grows organically. Our first meeting will be at 1.30pm on Wednesday 3rd May and then every first Wednesday of each month. I am grateful to all the Friends who offered me guidance and encouragement as part of this process.


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Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 529 • May 2023
Oxford Friends Meeting
43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW

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