Church of the Good Shepherd hosts Healing conference

Photo by Pam Roman L to R, Maggie Carnes, Norma Dearing, Rev. John Rice, Pastor of the Church of the Good Shepherd.

"My mission is to be in the will of God, to be where He wants me to be, doing what He wants me to do, mentoring to the people that He wants me to mentor to," said Norma Dearing, named one of the Most Outstanding Women in America for her expertise in Christian healing.

Where God wanted her to be, doing what He wanted her to do on Saturday, March 29th was at the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Hayesville, addressing a conference on the healing power of prayer. Nearly 100 pastors, lay ministers, caregivers, patients and concerned loved ones filled the church pews, joining thousands of individuals and church groups she has trained in healing prayer and evangelism.

The attractive blonde grandmother opened the session by speaking of "inner healing" as the answer to world peace. Her lecture focused on the ways people worldwide can achieve the inner peace Jesus promised His followers.

She spoke of ways memories affect inner peace, saying we should pray about negative memories and then live in the fullness of the Spirit and let His death on the cross heal us and move on. She also cautioned that comparing oneself to others is detrimental to inner peace.

"Comparison is the thief of joy," she explained. "We compare ourselves to others and often feel we fall short- others are more attractive, better educated, have larger homes, a more interesting job. It's a normal thing to do," she added, "but it's not a godly thing to do."

In addition to speaking and teaching engagements, Ms. Dearing hosts a late-night radio broadcast, The Healing Touch, which is heard live in more than 30 states throughout the United States. Most of her listeners and callers are lonely truck drivers, for whom she prays during the program.

In the afternoon session, she spoke on Forgiveness, stating that forgiveness is a supernatural grace from God; it's not within us to forgive so we need that grace from God.

She acknowledged that it's a mystery why some of the most beautiful, brightest, loving people suffer a major illness and early death, while some of the meanest and most violent are healed. She also expressed concern that some well-meaning Christians depend on prayer alone when seriously ill at the exclusion of medical attention, which she feels goes hand-inhand with prayer.

During the afternoon session, Ms. Dearing's husband spoke briefly on his prison ministry. Like his father, the late Rev. Frank Dearing, Peter Dearing, ministers to the lost. A circuit court judge in Duval County, Florida, he is active in a prison ministry, often praying with incarcerated men and women he sentenced at trial.

Evangelist Jarvis Emill Bridges, noted Atlanta gospel singer, led songs of praise and worship during the conference and at the evening worship service.

The conference was organized by Maggie Carnes and prayer ministers of the local River of Healing Chapter of the International Order of St. Luke's Healing Ministry.

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