Holiday Update

THE SAINT LUKE LETTER

A Publication of the Richmond Chapter

of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician

8787 River Road, Richmond, Virginia 23229

www.oslrichmond.blogspot.com

An ecumenical Service of Healing is offered every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the

All Saints’ Chapel, 8787 River Road, Richmond, Virginia 23229

 

A couple of reminders: 

There will not be a Healing Service on Thanksgiving Day.

The Christmas Luncheon will be December 8 following the Healing Service. Please plan to come, bring a dish and a friend.

Membership renewals are due by January 1.

 

The Rev. April Greenwood’s Homily Based on one of the Healings at Capernaum

Matthew 8:14, Mark 1:29, Luke 4:38

If you had to miss the November 10 OSL service in which the Rev. April Greenwood based her homily on the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law and the brown-bag luncheon message, you missed a blessing. Here are two brief overviews of her messages.

She said that in researching the three passages scholars agree that the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law must have happened because the healing passages appear in the three gospels. I had always thought this was a slightly sexist passage because the woman was healed only to prepare a meal for the men who stopped by after attending synagogue. The Rev. Greenwood suggested that after you have been healed you want to do something that you enjoy. Obliviously, this woman enjoyed cooking and serving.

Laying on of Hands

The Rev. Greenwood shared her earliest experience with the laying on of hands. She was a toddler with a temperature of 106 that her mother could not bring down. Her family lived in a rural area located over an hours drive from the nearest hospital. The family priest had recently returned from an Anglican convention in England where the laying on of hands was introduced. The mother asked the priest to lay hands and pray for her only child. Greenwood said she remembers as the priest prayed a bright light appeared to her and the fever broke. They later decided she must have had meningitis but it was not confirmed because she never went to the hospital.

How to pray over the sick

The Rev. Greenwood shared a time when a parishioner’s son had a heart attack while driving and almost died. The family called her as the ambulance was rushing the young man to the Medical College of Virginia. At the time of the accident he was driving slowly and did not suffer more than a few bruises but the cardiologist had to place him in a comma because of the lost of oxygen to the brain. The family and friends in the waiting room asked the Rev. Greenwood to pray. She thought “how should I pray for this tragic situation?” And then she thought I will pray as if this young husband and father was my own son. They continued to pray for him and one day the wife felt an unexpected squeeze to her hand as she sat at her husband’s bedside. When the mother visited her son, she also felt the movement. The nursing staff discouraged these signs of recovery as muscle spasms. Greenwood and the family chose to believe their prayers were being answered and continued to pray for recovery. The young man lives today to love and serve the Lord.

The Brown-Bag Luncheon Reflection – “Parting of the Curtain”

1Thessalonians 4:13-18

The Rev. Greenwood was the speaker for our brown-bag luncheon and I wondered how she could top her Healing Service Homily?

She explained that she places the words on page 507 of the Book of Common Prayer on the bulletin of every burial service she officiates – The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend. So, while we rejoice that one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn.

Soon after her ordination, she was called to be the Chaplin for a school in Rhode Island. Her daughter was placed in Miss Amy’s Preschool. April and her husband soon became aware they shared mutual interests with Miss Amy and her husband and the two couples became friends. The Greenwoods always wondered why their friends never started a family but never asked.

Years later after the Greenwoods were called to another parish they received the news that Amy had uterine cancer and was taking the latest treatment at Duke University. The Rev. April Greenwood had a difficult time accepting the lost of her sister like friend. She even told God that when she finished her current post she would hang up her clerical collar. At this point in her life she was the mother of two little girls and had accepted a call to a new parish. During this time of transition, she was looking for affordable housing for her family. She was constantly stymied by real estate brokers misrepresenting their houses.

April’s Dream

One night she had a dream about a ranch house she went to see. She was so disgusted with the thought of looking at yet another boring and abused ranch house that she was rude to the agent by not shaking his hand or looking into his eyes. He patiently took her into the house and she was amazed. The first room was huge and well appointed. The following rooms were equally as beautiful. She could not believe the vastness of the little rancher. The final room was the most beautiful sunroom she had ever seen. As a devoted gardener, she was taken aback by the botanical perfection of the room. It even had a thick carpet of moss on the floor and the furniture was covered with flowers. The only words she could say over and over were, “Oh my God!!! I never imagined that there could be anyplace so beautiful and so perfectly designed for me!”

The real estate agent said, “I thought you would like it, April. I designed it just for you.” The moment he spoke her name she knew who He was and instantly regretted her rudeness.  “As I turned to look into my Savior’s eyes, He disappeared before I could see His face. As I woke I heard him clearly say, ‘In my Father’s House are many rooms. If it were not so, April, I would never have told you.’”

She woke up and shook her husband and told him that she knew her friend Amy, who had shared her love of gardening, was in a better place.

The Rev. April Greenwood said “This dream has sustained me throughout the last fifteen years of my spiritual journey.”

She is still wearing her collar and blessing us with her insight. Thanks Be to God!   

 

 

 

Fall Conference Highlights

THE SAINT LUKE LETTER

A Publication of the Richmond Chapter

of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician

8787 River Road, Richmond, Virginia 23229

www.oslrichmond.blogspot.com

An ecumenical Service of Healing is offered every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the

All Saints’ Chapel,

8787 River Rd. Richmond, Va. 23229

.

“May Your faithful love rest on us, Lord, for we put our hope in You.” Psalm 33:22

Annual Fall Conference October 14 and 15

“How Christ Heals the World” is the topic for the annual conference of the Order of St. Luke the Physician. The Rev. Thomas W. Simmons IV is the speaker Friday, October 14, 7:00—9:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 15 from 9:00 a.m. until noon at All Saints Episcopal Church, 8787 River Rd. Richmond, Va. 23229. The conference is free and open to the public.

The Rev. Simmons described his presentation, “We often focus on how Jesus Christ heals our bodies and relationships. On October 14 and 15 we’ll discover how, through us, Christ’s healing love is at work throughout the nations of the world.”

The Rev. Simmons has been the rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Purcellville, Virginia since 2002. It is a thriving church that hosts a well attended weekly healing service. In 2007 the national office of the Episcopal Church did a study of the fastest growing churches in the country. Two churches from the Diocese of Virginia were included in that report: Christ Church, Charlottesville and St. Peter's Purcellville.

 “To know the healing power of Jesus Christ, and to make it known” is the mission of the Richmond Chapter of the Order of St. Luke the Physician. The group is an ecumenical Christian healing ministry that meets on Thursday mornings at All Saints Episcopal Church.

September and October 2011 Highlights

Dates To Note:

September 8—Lori Wyatt Noon Brown-Bag Luncheon

   September 15—9:30 a.m. 26 Cases Class Begins

   September 25—5:00 p.m. 26 Cases Evening Class

   October 14—7:00 p.m.  and October 15—9:00 a.m.—noon Fall Conference

Lori Wyatt Speaker for

September 8 Brown Bag Luncheon

The OSL Board is excited to announce that the speaker for our first Brown-Bag Luncheon after our summer break on September 8 will be kidney transplant recipient and grief companion Lori Wyatt. The title of her talk is “Divine Healing”.

An article about Lori and her work as a grief companion and her kidney transplant appeared in the May 8, 2011 issue of the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Lori has a vivacious personality and is the type of person who never meets a stranger. She has crossed a few mountains of grief in her young life and is living proof that God’s love can heal the most broken hearted.

Lori is a former active member of our chapter and was great friends with our beloved the Rev. Rufus Womble.

Please plan to attend and invite a friend to hear this inspirational speaker. Her talk will begin at noon.

Two 26 Cases Classes Offered This Fall

The Rev. Barbara Ward has volunteered to teach the Thursday morning “26 Cases” class, which examines the Healing Miracles of Jesus. The class begins September 15 from 9:30 a.m. to 10:20 in the All Saints Library. The class will be consolidated into 13 weeks. It is scheduled to end on December 15. If you would like more information about this morning class, please call Barbara at 789-0075 or email her at revsbandg@comcast.net.

The Rev. Teresa McRoberts has volunteered to teach a Sunday afternoon “26 Cases” class beginning September 25 from 5:00—6:30 p.m. This class will meet at her home church, Trinity United Methodist, 903 Forest Ave, 23229. She has compacted the class into six weeks. For more information, please contact Teresa at tmcroberts@trinityumc.net.

Completion of the “26 Cases” class is necessary to becoming an associate member of the Order of St. Luke the Physician. To receive course materials and a new member packet, please send a $45 check payable to the Order of St. Luke to

P. O. Box 780909, San Antonio, Texas 78278-0909

. For an immediate response, email www.orderofstluke.org, click on “About OSL” and then “Join OSL” and pay with your credit card. The $45 cost includes study materials, OSL national membership for a year and a subscription to “Sharing Magazine”. 

The Rev. Tom Simmons Keynote Speaker for

Fall Conference October 14 and 15

Mark your calendars for the Order of St. Luke’s Fall Conference on Friday, October 14, 7:00—9:00 p.m. and Saturday, October 15 from 9:00 a.m. until noon with the Rev. Tom Simmons.

His multi-media presentation is titled “How Christ Heals in the World”. Rev. Simmons will help us explore how Jesus Christ is healing the world and how we can look at the world situations in new perspectives. The Rev. Simmons is the rector of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Purcellville, Virginia. It is a thriving church that hosts a well attended weekly healing service.

The Conference is free and open to the public. Please feel free to invite friends to attend with you.

The Rev. Bob Friend Retires 

as Chaplain of the OSL Chapter

It is with mixed feelings that our chapter must say good-bye to our devoted Chaplain, The Rev. Bob Friend. He will retire as the rector of All Saints on September 27.  We wish him well in this new chapter of his life but will miss his leadership and devotion to our chapter

The Rev. Friend has arranged for the Rev. April Greenwood to be the chapter’s Chaplain while a search for the new rector of All Saints is completed. The Rev. Greenwood  will begin her service to our chapter on October 13 and will continue until December 22.

The Rev. Bill Queen, Associate Rector of All Saints, will also lead some of the Thursday morning Healing Services.

The Rev. Friend shepherded us through the sad time in the life of our chapter during the passing of our beloved Rev. Rufus Womble. The OSL Board would like to honor the Rev. Friend during the September 8 brown-bag luncheon with a cake and gift. If you would like to contribute to his gift, please make your check payable to OSL with gift noted in the memo line.

Newsletter

THE SAINT LUKE LETTER

A Publication of the Richmond Chapter

of the International Order of St. Luke the Physician

8787 River Road, Richmond, Virginia 23229

oslrichmond@gmail.com
"Healing Through Jesus"

An ecumenical Service of Healing is offered every Thursday at 10:30 a.m. in the

All Saints’ chapel.

Summer 2011 Issue

“You will keep in perfect peace the mind that is dependent on You, for it is trusting in You.” Isaiah 26:3

CONVENER’S CORNER

Summer is here, that luscious time of slowing down and enjoying overflow of fresh fruits and vegetables from our neighbors’ gardens. Unfortunately this summer, I am running up hill trying to reach the high bar that our past convener Liz Forman set. What a tough act to follow! She could do everything with what seemed like the snap of her fingers. Thank you Liz for a job well done, you left me excellent notes as did another convener Estelle Call. As a past convener, Estelle has time to devote to her garden. She shares her bounty with our OSL group each Thursday.

Many thanks to the Rev. Bill Queen for the generous gift of his time teaching the four-week “Pastoral Caregivers Training” class. We had several people attend from the community in addition to several OSL members take advantage of this wonderful class. I had an opportunity to share some of my new knowledge over the Memorial Day holiday with one of my husband’s fishing buddies. A dear friend of his had died and he was in a quandary as what to say and do for his friend’s widow. Over hamburgers and potato salad on our patio, I was able to share some of my new knowledge.

We have so many behind the scene people who keep our Order of St. Luke group running. I especially want to thank Brenda Atkins, Pete Fawcett, Teresa McRoberts, John Ogle, Pat Taylor, Sandra and Charlie Wayland and especially the generosity of All Saints for giving us a place to meet each week and the All Saints office staff for their support. 

IMPORTANT UPDATES:

The Annual OSL picnic is Thursday, June 16, 6:00 p.m. at Roslyn, 8727 River Rd. The screened-in picnic shelter is close to the main entrance. This is a Potluck Picnic, and it will give us some time for fellowship, especially with our members who work during the day! You may call me at 784-4386 to let me know if you can be there and what you’d like to bring.

There will not be a chapter meeting in July and August. The next chapter meeting will September 8 following the 10:30 a.m. Healing Service. Former OSL member Lori Wyatt will be the speaker. Perhaps you saw the article about her in the May 9 issue of the Richmond Times-Dispatch. She and our beloved the Rev. Rufus Womble were “good buddies.” More information about her inspirational talk will be in the August newsletter.

The Rev. Barbara Ward has volunteered to teach the 26 cases class beginning September 15 from 9:30 to 10:20 in the library of All Saints. To be a member of the Order of St. Luke you must complete this course. Please let me know if you would like to attend this course. If the time is not good for you I would like to know.

Mark your calendars for our October 14 and 15 conference with the Rev. Tom Simmons.

His multi-media presentation is titled “How Christ Heals the World.” Detailed information will be in the August newsletter. In the meantime, let us know how you would like to participate ….registration, ushering, hospitality, etc.

The Rev. Tom Simmons is pictured to the right.
We are delighted to welcome him back in the fall of 2011.

Riso Therapy

Healing through Laughter

“If you can laugh it will help you avoid getting sick. If you aren’t well and you can laugh, it can help you get better sooner. If you know someone who isn’t well and you can make that person laugh, it can speed the healing.” The Rev. Rufus Womble

Noah’s Problem

The Sunday School teacher asked Billy, “do you think Noah did a lot of fishing on the ark?” “No,” Billy replied, “How could he, he only had two worms.”

Wishing you all a happy, peaceful and blessed summer, Mary Martin