Divine Healing Ministries is holding a 30th anniversary celebration on Monday.
This remarkable group was founded by Church of Ireland clergyman Brother David Jardine and Sister Margaret McStay, a Cross and Passion Sister, and has a unique ministry which includes bringing together former republican and loyalist paramilitaries in peace and reconciliation.
The anniversary service will be held in St Anne's Cathedral in Belfast. It is an important venue for Divine Healing Ministries, as the cathedral is where the first of its weekly interdenominational healing services, led by Br David, took place.
From the start of the initiative, on February 1 1993, the Monday night services were attended by Catholics and Protestants.
"During that time enormous healing has taken place in body, mind and spirit," said Br David.
"Indeed, there have been quite a number of notable healing miracles, and we wanted to come together to thank God for everything he has been doing over these 30 years."
The focus of Divine Healing Ministries is to "pray for the healing of individuals and of our land" and during its first decade it undertook a steadfast work to surround those decisive years of the political peace process – including the Good Friday Agreement – with eight or more hours of prayer a day.
The anniversary service will include a time of worship and testimonies of healing. Speaking with Br David will be Fr Pat Collins CM, a Dublin-based Vincentian priest who is well known as an exorcist and who has a long association with Divine Healing Ministries. The service starts at 7.30pm on Monday.
