Jamie Ferger

OSL Coronavirus Precautions

• If any of us are not feeling well on the day(s) we are to do healing prayer, we will NOT participate.
  
• An M.D. has advised us that the anointing of foreheads with holy oil should pose no risk to the recipients of OSL prayer.
• Instead of explaining the practice of anointing, laying-on-of-hands and saying healing prayers, we will let the recipient decide if they wish us to receive the laying-on-of-hands.  We will NOT touch skin. We will only touch the fabric of their clothing.
• We WILL have hand sanitizer and we will use it after we pray for each person when touch was involved.
  

By Jackie Doss, Region V Director

Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”  Matthew 11:29

When I think of OSL, the first things that come to mind are Community and Discipleship. By joining an OSL Healing Community, we provide and have access to the kind of discipleship that was practiced by the apostles and the early church. In the midst of our community, we learn how to do what Jesus did.

This is an intentional walk by each individual, together with the entire Body, toward wholeness… so that we will not only “have life,” but have it in abundance. Countless times in this ministry, we see those who have been ministered to become ministers of healing themselves! THIS is how grace works! It is a beautiful example of what Martin Smith calls God’s “inexhaustible newness.”

Becoming a part of a community has its trials, just as being a part of any family can be trying. We are humans living in a fallen world with all of its stressors. But community in Christ is WORTH it! Let us seek to understand one another and work together to walk out our calling.

How can we ensure that our communities continue to thrive? Continue to disciple one another! Every new person who has an interest in healing ministry is HUNGRY to learn more. Offer training that will help them grow, and never forsake the responsibilities of living in Christian community. Continue to LISTEN – LOVE – PRAY.

Since the beginning of OSL, the local prayer groups have been called “chapters.” This seemed to be an appropriate way of designating these local gatherings of people offering healing ministry. In this last year, as we have tried to expand the vision and scope of OSL, it became apparent that the word “chapter” was too small to designate what our ministry is on the local level. “Chapter” designates a specific gathering, but it does not describe the deep connections and commitments found in our local groups.

During the past year the leaders of OSL began talking about how we could describe our local gathering more accurately and in greater alignment with the gospels. We recognized that we are seeking to form communities that learn about the healing ministry of Jesus and then live in his healing presence. We see in the scriptures that Jesus not only did healing ministry but also formed a healing community that carried on his work. We began to see our “chapters” as “healing communities” that do what the early Christian communities did.

Jesus created a healing atmosphere in which people experienced healing. As we seek to do what Jesus did, it is important to create an environment where people can feel wrapped in his unconditional love. This is especially From Chapters to Healing Communities important for offering inner healing. People who were hurt in a destructive environment in early childhood often need a healing environment to be set free from hurtful memories and destructive relationships. We can offer them that transforming environment in our healing communities.

For these reasons, and after consultation with many OSL leaders and prayerful discernment, the board unanimously agreed in April to change the name of “chapters” to “healing communities.” As we go forward, we ask OSL members to begin referring to your group as a healing community. As we talk with people about this, we will have a great opportunity to explain what we do and how we seek to relate to others in a healing and caring way as Jesus did. The way we care for each other and listen to each other’s needs will validate this new designation. I think this will give a new flavor to our ministry and open the door for more people to experience the healing atmosphere of a healing community. I believe it will be more compelling to invite someone into our healing community than to a chapter meeting.

Going forward, when you write new letters or brochures, we encourage you to begin using the new designation. During the transition time we may need to use both designations so that people know to what we are referring.

As a healing community, we befriend people with the love of Jesus, give them a place to belong and a community in which to become their true selves as Jesus intended. As we carry out this ministry, we will be richly blessed by the Presence of Jesus. Thank you for being part of this awesome ministry.

Rev. Paul Feider, President of the OSL Board