Kay Totten performs a healing prayer service at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church. The next services  which are open to everyone  will be Sunday after the 9 a.m. service and Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. (Baker City Herald/Lisa Britton).

HEALING SERVICES

Kay Totten is offering healing prayer services twice a month at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church. The next services are Sunday following the 9 a.m. church service, and Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. For information, call the church office at 523-3196.

The Healing Rooms of Baker County are open every Thursday from 5-8 p.m. at Agape Church, 650 Highway 7. Directors are Garth and Tonia Johnson. For information, call 523-6586.

By LISA BRITTON

Kay Totten sits perfectly still, her head bowed in prayer toward a single candle where the flame doesn’t flicker in the motionless air.

She has been this way for half an hour, quiet in contemplative prayer as she prepares to perform a healing service for a parishioner at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.

As she begins the service, Totten’s voice is so soft and soothing the words seem to sink into the soul.

andquot;I invite us to take a look at the candle. For the last thirty minutes the flame has been still,andquot; she says.

andquot;I invite us to go in to the deepest part of us, that is our true self that is totally whole, totally well, that came from God and will return to God.andquot;

Try to use andquot;less of our mind and more of our heart,andquot; she says.

After reciting from the prayer book, the service moves to the altar where Totten lays her hands on the one in need, then anoints his head with oil.

She closes in prayer, silence descending upon the small chapel after the whisper of andquot;Amen.andquot;

Totten belongs to the International Order of St. Luke the Physician, an ecumenical organization dedicated to the Christian healing ministry that was founded in the 1930s by the Rev. John Gayner Banks and his wife Ethel Tulloch Banks.

These days the Order of St. Luke has chapters in North America and abroad. Members undergo training and attend conferences to hear speakers and experience healing prayer for themselves.

andquot;They’re mostly nurses and physicians, and mostly Episcopaleans, though it is nondenominational,andquot; Totten said.

Totten is a registered nurse, and works part-time in surgery at St. Elizabeth Health Services.

A healing service, she says, is not a replacement for medicine.

andquot;I’m not a person who doesn’t believe in medicine and surgeries. I have a lot of faith, but I’m extremely in the real world,andquot; she said. andquot;I see things through a nurse’s eyes, but I do offer people an opportunity to come and have healing prayer.andquot;

But she sort of shies away from the word andquot;healing.andquot;

andquot;It’s more of a praying ministry than a healing ministry,andquot; she said.

She’s now offering these services twice a month at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, 2177 First St.

The next services will be on Sunday, Nov. 5, following the regular morning worship that begins at 9 a.m., and on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at 5:30 p.m. Both will be held in the small chapel off the sanctuary.

It’s sometimes tough, she said, for people to seek healing prayer.

andquot;For a lot of people it’s just plain scary to ask for it,andquot; she said. andquot;To be present with another person and admit you have a need is a form of vulnerability. I believe God blesses that.andquot;

When asked for prayer, Totten first finds out if people are there for themselves, or for someone else.

andquot;I call that ‘standing in the gap’ God is there with that person,andquot; Totten said.

She also lets the person dictate the details some, for instance, will share the reason for surgery and the name of their physician.

andquot;I get a feel for how specific they want to be,andquot; she said.

The andquot;laying on of handsandquot; and anointing with oil also depends on the comfort level of each person, she said.

Totten hopes the prayers help ease worries and anxiety, especially in the case of a pending surgery.

andquot;I ask them to recognize they won’t be alone,andquot; she said. andquot;I think it’s helping them claim the faith they may or may not have. And it’s a way for the community to pray for each other.andquot;

If prayer requests are few and far between, Totten practices centering contemplative prayer.

andquot;I sit very quiet and just wait,andquot; she said.

Her role, she says, is to be the connection.

andquot;I am not magic. This is a channel of energy I ask the creator to help this person,andquot; she said. andquot;Sometimes cancer doesn’t go away, sometimes pain comes back. But if you come to God and want to be heard, God hears.andquot;