Spirituality, Healing, & Wellness: A Curriculum for Congregations
Overview And Learning Objectives
Spirituality, Healing, and Wellness: A Curriculum for Congregations is a ten module course that helps participants accomplish the following learning objectives: to appreciate the connection of body, mind, and spirit in healing and wellness; to learn how spirituality affects health and wellness of individuals, congregations, and communities; to consider ways to move toward greater wellness for themselves, their families, their congregations, and society.
Congregants and other individuals may have diverse reasons for wanting to learn more about spirituality, healing, and wellness. They or their loved ones may be dealing with serious illnesses and looking for new hope. They may come looking for an increased sense of meaning or wholeness. Some may be motivated by faith to work for health care justice, or feel called to start or expand health ministries of the church. This curriculum will help meet these needs and goals.
The curriculum is designed as a broad survey based on many topics pertaining to spirituality, healing, and wellness. To address many areas of interest, the curriculum is divided into ten sessions, or “modules.” The curriculum can be used in a structured class setting as a series of adult Christian education seminars or as pullout modules that can be adapted for other settings such as sermons, retreats, (adult) Sunday school, or youth groups. While participants who attend multiple sessions will see relationships that tie the modules together, each module is self-contained, so participants can benefit even if they do not attend every session. While ten class sessions may seem challenging to complete, pastors and other teachers are encouraged to select those modules most applicable to their unique situations and missions. Other educational methods, such as book-study groups on texts from the curriculum could also provide valuable learning experiences, and the individual modules can be expanded to multi-session educational programs utilizing resources from the curriculum.
The suggested length for each session is one to two hours. Sessions should open with prayer and introductions of those attending. Most sessions anticipate a brief presentation of the topic by the pastor or other leader, followed by discussion and sharing of narratives by the participants. Some modules include a video or web presentation; for others inviting guest speakers with special expertise is suggested. The curriculum is designed to be interactive. Give participants the freedom to take discussions where needs and desires lead them. Giving participants space and permission to tell their stories can have healing power beyond the information provided in the sessions.
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There is increasing realization that as spiritual and relational beings, our health and wellness depends on more than merely having functional physical bodies. A sense of meaning, worth, and connectedness also contribute to healing and health. Whatever affects the spirit can affect physical and emotional wellbeing. With this understanding, it should not be surprising that healing the spirit promotes physical and mental health, or that an ailing spirit can cause diseases of the mind and body. Combating physical disease obviously remains necessary in health care, yet more people are seeing the need for care that addresses the fullness of their entire lives. With this evolving vision, pastors and other clergy have growing opportunities to promote healing and wellness...
Spiritual healing can be defined as an experience of the presence and action of God that is transforming. Using the “Spiritual Healing Project” of Rev. Dr. Bobbie McKay and Lewis Musil as a guide, participants are given an opportunity to share stories of times in their lives when “God became real” to them through transformative healing experiences.
“Life has a language.” In this session, participants learn the language of life as described by Rev. Dr. Gary Gunderson and Rev. Larry Pray who propose five “Leading Causes of Life.” Where these causes of life are nurtured, abundant life is likely to grow. “Life leads to life.”
Healing was integral in Jesus’ earthly ministry—and faith still has power to heal. Using Morton Kelsey’s insights into the still-present call for the church to practice healing, participants study stories of healing in Matthew’s gospel to see what their message is for today.
There is mounting evidence that a religious beliefs and practice can positively influence health. Utilizing the work of Jeff Levin who developed the concept of an “epidemiology of religion,” we examine the evidence and hear stories of how religion and health are interconnected.
True holistic healing encompasses more than healing of individuals, but the healing of society as well. Several options for studying health care justice are offered in this session.
No one faith holds a monopoly on spiritual healing. In this session participants hear about healing from multiple faith perspectives.
Opportunities for healing extend beyond the scope of Western biomedicine. In this session participants learn about and experience alternative and complimentary healing practices that help reinforce the connection of body and spirit.
Faith communities hold the potential for being sites of physical and spiritual healing. In this session participants learn how faith community/parish nurses can foster congregational health and wellness.
Healing relationships and spiritual healing are especially important at the end of life when we or loved ones are beyond the physical cure of bodily disease. This session focuses on compassionate end-of-life care including advanced directives, hospice, and palliative care.
When we affirm that mind, body, and spirit are not separated, we acknowledge that physical being is in contact with the transcendent. Spiritual healing is grounded in personal and communal ritual practice. Rituals have power to touch us deeply, connecting us with the transcendent to foster healing. In this session the class will discuss rituals and participate in a healing ritual.
What’s next? Following completion of the curriculum, participants are encouraged to meet again to envision how ministries of healing can grow in their congregations.
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