By: Brooke Heerwald Steiner

This year, the worship team experienced a lot of energy around the question Jesus asks the sick man in John 5: “Do you want to get well?”

What does it mean to get well? Who doesn’t want to get well? Do we want others to get well? What is our role in offering healing and providing healing for others? What has kept people from the healing pool? What has kept people from being invited to the healing pool?

Worship on Wednesday begins by asking the question, Do we want the world to get well? We believe the answer is yes, as we celebrate the great work that has already begun through Imagine No Malaria.

On Thursday morning we will remember the lives of individuals and churches that gave themselves to the ministry of helping and advocating for others to become well.

At the service of commissioning and ordination on Thursday night we will recognize the commitment these set-apart leaders are making to join in the work of helping the church and the world get well and be well. They are saying they want to be a part of the healing process and we are rejoicing in that partnership.

Finally, on Friday morning, we will gather to remember our baptism and the lifelong call we all have to choose, again and again, to be well. We are then sent off into the world to bring healing and wholeness to all.

A big thank you to the worship committee and our conference artist, Kristine Marshall, whose silhouette images of health and wellness remind us that the kingdom of God is close at hand and God’s healing presence is moving among us.

Brooke Heerwald Steiner (brooke.heerwaldsteiner@wblumc.org) is associate pastor of White Bear Lake UMC and worship coordinator for annual conference session.