An investigation into the phenomena and practices of spiritual ...

workplace and difficulties in gaining promotion in employment seemed like a contributoryfactor in the high incidence of hypertension and stroke (Balarajan et al.1989) in Black andethnic minority populations, a correlation confirmed by the 1991 Census (Raleigh andBalarajan, 1994). Their regular attendance at church, seeking healing through forgivenessas well as physical healing, is indicative of a resilience that vaguely matches theexperience of Job. In addition to this there is the issue of suffering as a result of being in acold country where the climate is as cold as the host population.During the winter months the average attendance at church services are usually below50% of the total membership on the grounds of coughs and colds which as Calley (1965),remarked more than forty years ago, may be is sufficient grounds to keep the person athome or in bed. My research shows that there are usually more requests for prayer for sickmembers and relatives during the winter months. This research also found that the requestsfor prayer during the winter months were similarly frequent in the URC and COGIC. Itmay be that things have changed in the forty-five years since Calley‟s research and there ismore parity between the two races and cultures and the churches. Alternatively it may bethat there are more young people in the COGIC and more elderly people in the URC. Onemight speculate that as the incidence of hypertension and stroke is lower for the WhiteBritish population, it is possible that the level of stress is lower and therefore churchattendees do not seek spiritual healing so often for these conditions. They may however,seek spiritual healing or adopt the sick role for other conditions such as cancers.6.6 Drawing on Job as an Example of SufferingThe use of Job as an exemplar of suffering by respondents is parallel in view in itstreatment in popular theology. Atkinson (1991) offers a pastoral exploration of Job‟s story.207