Feb. 8-12 Focus on Healing

article by Eva Lapp in the Reflector (Feb. 8 issue)

Are you in need of healing?  Are you hurting or wounded? If so, you aren’t alone. This week is Spiritual Life Week (SLW) and the theme and topics that will be discussed center around this idea of “healing.” 

The SLW committee, composed of faculty members Dale Shenk, Eileen Becker-Hoover and Marcelo Warkentin, has been planning this week for the past few months. Eileen commented about the week's theme, “Different people need different types of healing.”  As we prepare ourselves for the week ahead, it is looking to be a great opportunity for both spiritual and emotional growth for all.

The week’s schedule will be busy, filled with sharing, singing, prayer, guest speakers, and small group discussion. On Monday, we will discuss the different ways in which we are wounded or hurting. On Tuesday, guest speaker Klaudia Smucker, pastor at College Mennonite Church, will talk about miracles and how prayer for hospital patients is effective and helpful, even if not all patients are physically healed. In the next session, on Wednesday, we will focus on the question, “What do I need to do to be healed?  Is it simply a gift?” and some of the school’s faculty will share how they maintain both spiritual and emotional health in such a busy world. Finishing off the week students will respond in chapel to the speakers we’ve heard and the discussions we have had. This will be a time to share about your own pain, be anointed, and have others pray for your healing and growth.

Throughout the week we will also listen to scripture readings and see a few dramas about the disciples and their thoughts on healing. The trio presenting these dramas will be composed of juniors Seth Krabill and Kyle Miller and senior Austin Loucks.

Brokenness, Healing, and WholenessOf course it wouldn’t be Spiritual Life Week without a worship band! Made up of seniors Luis Lopez, Joel Fidler, Clarissa Lora, Leanne Hochstetler and Emily Grimes, the worship team that has led us throughout the school year will once again lead us in the coming week.

The visuals for the week will be a display of water fountains and a series of pictures/paintings, all representing the theme of brokenness, healing, and becoming whole again. The artists behind these visuals are juniors Sang Hyoun Han and Jama Yoder and freshman Maddie Gerig.   

So if you are hurting, in need of healing or prayer, want to share with others and praise God, this is the week for you. Come with a positive attitude, an open heart, and let God prepare you to be healed.