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whilst she prayed for some of the ‗patients‘ One person received the baptism of the HolySpirit and another person surrendered their life to God as announced by the ‗healer.‘Before this service, a protective prayer was offered so that the healer was not afflicted bythe condition of the person to whom they were administering healing. During a service, theminister may ask the congregation to support his prayers by stretching out their handsduring the prayer for healing. This is a means of engaging those who wish to contribute tothe process and actively participate in prayer. This part of the service usually follows onfrom the usual service where the energy field in the church is charged with God‟s (Good)energy and the majority of the people are feeling uplifted from the prayer, singing, music,sermon and the testimonies of encouragement.8.4 Individual Experiences of Laying on of HandsIndividual respondents may use their religious framework for the understanding of healingto interpret secular therapies. The extract from COGIC Respondent 1 below describes herexperience of using prayer to get the most out of massage in the healing process.I was feeling unwell and went for a massage. This was done with soft music in thebackground and the masseur used different oils. I was also praying diligently for healing. Istarted to cough blood and what looked like bits of my lung. After this episode of coughingI felt better. When I went to see the doctor later, I was told that the blood did not comefrom my lungs. However he ordered a scan of my lungs. The results of the scan showedrecent scar tissues on my lungs and the doctor confirmed that the blood and whatappeared to be bits of my lungs were very likely to be from the scars that showed on thescan.271
In this respondent‟s‟ account, and also that of respondent 5 in Section 7.3 above, whereconditions had already been diagnosed by a medical doctor, prayer was accompanied withtouch and the anointing of oil. It appears that in both scenarios the doctors were able toconfirm healing which may or may not have been spiritual healing. Respondent 1 wastold by the doctor that there was recent scar tissue on her lungs which contradicted hisearlier statement prior to the scan that the blood did not come from her lungs. Respondent5 returned to the doctor for confirmation of her illness (or her healing) and did not have totake the medication prescribed by the doctor.In the extracts from the respondents and my observations there is no example of touchpurely by itself accomplishing healing. All the „Laying on of hands‟ activities that wereobserved in the healing services were accompanied by prayer and sometimes music.Those healed often describe improvement in their state of health as feelings of calmness,reduced pain, lifting of anxiety, improvement in conditions of feeling ill, a feeling ofwalng on air after the „treatment‟. It was also often reported that after massage therapythere is a general feeling of euphoria. Sometimes listening to the person seeking healingfollowed by a gentle touch on the arm, shoulder or forehead at the „right time‟ could have along lasting effect. Therapeutic touch, where the professional or the healer touches theperson with a health seeking request, invokes a certain amount of trust. In suchrelationships where the person seeking healing feels they are not alone, they become lessanxious and tense where reduced tension of the muscles reduces pain. This is illustrated inthe first observation of a URC healing service described under the heading „healing serviceA‟ in section 8.3.272
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Greenwich Academic Literature Archi
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AcknowledgementsI extend much grati
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Chapter 3: Methodology 633.1 Introd
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7.3 Prayer as Health Seeking Behavi
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CHAPTER ONEINTRODUCTION AND CONTEXT
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healing, bricolage and the use of s
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To remedy these gaps in the discour
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do with me‟ so she sent me to sch
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Interestingly, after 30 years of pr
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listening to a group of people that
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that I felt within the Black majori
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Chapter 3 describes the methodology
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espondents‟ perception of sufferi
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CHAPTER TWOLITERATURE REVIEW2.1 Int
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themes, it became necessary to revi
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suggests a combined approach where
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and healing as a kind of self-impro
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eports that the English believed th
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According to Davey et al (2002) ill
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deviant behaviour. The difference b
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church concretised the ideas of rel
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theology. It is no accident that th
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concept of culture we inevitably do
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When we look at the effect of cultu
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to help us to understand the totali
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information about the association a
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when emotional wounds are healed or
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climatic conditions, shelter and a
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cancers has been documented by Phil
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concepts of reality and destiny are
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healer intentionally through a proc
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attachments that meet humans' funda
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distinguish from mental disorders.
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take a phenomenological and ethnogr
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coming but her method is not primar
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from posters on the church notice b
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Healing services in both churches f
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Qualitative method can, however, be
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3.5 Problems of participant and non
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difficulties that were to be presen
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isolating experience was certainly
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not necessarily addressed through t
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It may not be possible for all the
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signed to their awareness and appro
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Consequently the practice relating
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problem free. Ethnography requires
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ecommended by the Pastor. When they
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The greater proportion of females i
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difficulties involved in constructi
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musical Pentecostal style of worshi
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The different emphases in soteriolo
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literature may remain in its infanc
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does not mean „Pentecostal‟ nor
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church, the cultural differences we
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umbrella of churches. The leaders c
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local autonomy, the majority of Con
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The post-1905 Pentecostals saw thei
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the Holy Ghost). Interestingly the
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the churches they are busy breaking
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friends started to meet in the home
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such as COGIC, have developed a str
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the church group to strangers. In t
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and illustrate the oral tradition o
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4.8.1. Description of the inside of
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The order of service below is based
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forgiving note may signify partial
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Table 3 Organisational hierarchy of
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One of the original churches which
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communion table. To the right of th
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Minister used an acronym to illustr
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GloriaPrayer for grace or collectSc
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service whilst URC church attendees
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mainstream Christianity, their doct
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on the project and make requests to
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made to integrate the white people
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‗Garlic is good for reducing high
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4.13 ConclusionThis chapter began w
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organization. This role can only be
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5.3 The Authority and Power of the
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to become approved (professional) m
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majority. In recent years with Brit
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leadership although it is about aut
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Azusa Street outpouring in 1906. Af
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other who wal sorderly, and not of
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Although the Holy Spirit was presen
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Respondent 3 covered topics includi
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Respondent 10 (below) has similar v
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of rejection by the host community
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ehaviour model. In this situation,
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and they feel. It is not everybody
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many sections of society. It also s
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people. These qualities, however, a
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came across as though he was presen
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very important for this.On occasion
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CHAPTER SIXSUFFERING AND HEALING6.1
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mind body and spirit implies that i
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suffering. Most of these situations
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Respondent: Not for my sister she h
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man to repent and return to the cre
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clotting treatment. After the treat
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gift of miraculous powers go with t
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What I teach on this matter is, tha
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The bible does not condemn, forbid
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possibility of impending change in
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prayer or they are rested. What is
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„Whatever the educational attainm
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„The message of Job is a comfort
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he has questioned God‟s purposes
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pray for them. In the words of seve
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demonic forces. Explanations of spi
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In the observation example quoted a
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employed by the mother had she live
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Page 231 and 232: in the account of a young mother in
Page 233 and 234: y not having a normal relationship
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Page 241 and 242: when the healer petitions God in pr
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Page 249 and 250: ministers like Harris (2002) 3 . Th
Page 251 and 252: Healing services in the URC are mor
Page 253 and 254: Respondent: You have to have the gi
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Page 257 and 258: Chapter 2, without taking some posi
Page 259 and 260: Prayer for distant healing takes pl
Page 261 and 262: Although prayers for healing are sa
Page 263 and 264: The healing services also include f
Page 265 and 266: The method and processes of closing
Page 267 and 268: 7.7. ConclusionThis chapter has exa
Page 269 and 270: This chapter was born out of observ
Page 271 and 272: website (http://www.stonybrookmedic
Page 273 and 274: For those who reject traditional Ch
Page 275 and 276: hands on the forehead of each perso
Page 277 and 278: The minister also invited the rest
Page 279: service closed with silence accompa
Page 283 and 284: Below are brief parts of extracts p
Page 285 and 286: service was when the speaker came t
Page 287 and 288: observed believed the aura of the h
Page 289 and 290: Ministers/healers of these two cong
Page 291 and 292: constituent of worship even where t
Page 293 and 294: to herself, and argues that music h
Page 295 and 296: could not read or write. Such music
Page 297 and 298: linking the psychic/mythological an
Page 299 and 300: group coordination through rhythmo-
Page 301 and 302: People can become so involved in a
Page 303 and 304: visual and auditory areas which act
Page 305 and 306: Campbell (1998) argue that as music
Page 307 and 308: The extracts from fieldwork notes b
Page 309 and 310: In COGIC the singing is accompanied
Page 311 and 312: when I was ill. Then my mum died th
Page 313 and 314: The passage cited from Respondent 1
Page 315 and 316: CHAPTER TENCONCLUSION AND RECOMMEND
Page 317 and 318: etween health professionals and chu
Page 319 and 320: The initial aim of the study: „to
Page 321 and 322: part of worship services a priority
Page 323 and 324: health professionals and spiritual
Page 325 and 326: are culturally conditioned rational
Page 327 and 328: professionals. Despite the differen
Page 329 and 330: prominent amongst people who attend
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ReferencesAchterberg, J., (1985) Im
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Bentham, J., (2001ff, originally 18
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Department of Health, (1999) Saving
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Hall, S., (1985) “Religious Ideol
Page 339 and 340:
Katz, J. J., (1990) Metaphysics of
Page 341 and 342:
http://emedicine.medscape.com/artic
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Pullar, P., (1988) Spiritual and La
Page 345 and 346:
Comparative Perspective, Berg, Oxfo
Page 347 and 348:
International, London and New York.
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