Service of Healing and Anointing
Ours is a hurting and broken world. Many United Methodist congregations now include healing prayer and anointing in worship services. The Bible affirms spiritual healing. When pastors and laity pray for people with the laying on of hands or anointing with oil, they are not claiming that they are doing something for the sick. They are not claiming that God will make everything better. They are seeking to be faithful to continue Christ’s threefold ministry of teaching, preaching, and healing.
The Bible clearly calls disciples to pray with and for one another, and this faithful ministry of touch with prayer pleads and performs (enacts) the grace of God. This touch bridges alienation, swallows isolation, breaks suffering, and opens discouraged human spirits.
When people are hurting, and when there is an invitation to share the pain, people respond. It is very natural and an act of hope in God. The ritual practices of healing prayer in the context of worship do not embarrass or expose people. United Methodist healing services use a simple sacramental approach to healing that expresses compassion, hope, grace, and a quiet confidence in God. There we can bring our insufficiencies to the all-sufficient Christ, who understands our need for wholeness.
Welcome to the First United Methodist Church, Belleville. May our lives be transformed together into the likeness of our Christ - teacher, healer and Savior of the world. We hope you will find what you are looking for at the First - the timeless splendor of a life in Christ. This is our mission, as we prayerfully:
SEEK. Join us as we seek God’s presence in worship each week; through a blend of old and new in what we like to call “New Traditional.”
GROW. We pray you will connect with a small group of people with the same passion as you for study and for ministry. Our Connection Team is here to help you with that.
LOVE. We also hope you will experience God’s love in the many forms of fellowship and as a friend holding your hand in times of illness or grief. Experience conversation and coffee at the Café Del Soul every Sunday morning, or just call the office when you need a friend and the Pastor and a member of the We Care team will convey God’s love by your side.
SERVE. Most importantly the First understands that what people are really seeking is a purpose; and we believe God has empowered and equipped the church to respond to the grace of Jesus Christ in service to the world. We believe that all things in the life of the church lead us to a life of mission to the least, lost and last at home and around the world. That is why we hope you will join us in our many forms of mission like a Volunteers in Mission Team or a Disaster Relief Team, or joining hands on Everyone Serves Sundays when the entire church leaves the building.
Shalom Aleichem (may you be well)
Lennie Maxwell,
Pastor