The History of the Guild of Health

The Guild of Health and the Guild of St Raphael reunite in 2014 and is now at the forefront of engagement with the professional and academic world, as well as supporting individuals and churches in local expressions of the ministry of health and healing.

‘It is no longer certain that Guilds and Fellowships are wanted…Memberships of most of the healing societies tends to be on the elderly side and does not show obvious signs of self-renewal. Yet the objective of the re-establishment of the complete ministry to the sick, as part of the normal work of the Church, has been partly achieved far more is going on now than ever before. This very fact makes it harder to see what the role of our societies should be.’

Dr Martin Israel + John Gravelle 1977.

The name Chrism was adopted in 1965; before then it was ‘The St Raphael Quarterly’.

The Editor of the Quarterly and then Chrism was Henry Cooper, from 1955 until just before his death in 1982.

Henry Cooper devoted almost a lifetime’s work to promoting the ministry of healing in the Church through the Guild and in 1958 played a major part in the Convocation debates on the Report to the Archbishops ministry of healing.

The vision of Chrism throughout its history has been ‘to match pastoral practice with learning from the fields of theology, ethics, medicine and health studies, to offer constructive criticism, to assess the ethical implications of healing problems and to continue to set its face “firmly against any kind of superstition or heresy based upon an unbiblical view of man.’ (Rev Martin Dudley 1991)

Edward Wilson House becomes the headquarters for the Guild of Health.

Edward Wilson House (26 Queen Anne Street, London) was named after the brother of Fr Jim Wilson (1881 – 1972), Chaplain to the Guild of Health in the 1950s and 60s who left an indelible mark.

The house was named after his brother, the doctor, naturalist and artist who died with Scott of the Antarctic in 1912. The vision behind the house was for the Guild of Health to be located in the medical quarter of London where doctors and clergy could get together.  The house was used for daily prayer and personal counselling under the guidance of the Chaplain.

Father Jim Wilson – much loved chaplain to the Guild of Health.

Father Jim Wilson’s influence is said to have charted the course of the Guild for the two decades after he stepped down from being the Chaplain in 1957. He was a champion of contemplative meditation as a means of healing – he was still taking meditation groups up til two weeks before his death.

‘There still seems to be a widespread belief that sickness is God’s will, and the first thing to do in every place is to break down this idea, and to search out the underlying causes of disease. From this point it becomes necessary to build up a strong faith that sickness and disease can be overcome by the power of God through prayer and meditation, and again and again one realises that the great importance of the work of the Guild is to try to teach people to live the abundant life. We are a Guild of Health before a Guild of Healing.’

During the war the Guilds operated with ‘the unshaken belief that these times call not less but more for the distinctive message entrusted to it’.

Both Guilds considered the war a moment of ‘ real awakening of interest in Healing Services and Divine help’ and that there was much work ahead for the Guilds. The Guild of St Raphael born on the threshold of WWI recognised the need for the Guild to respond to the ‘opportunities to increase the usefulness of our Guild and further to extend its work.’

In response to the rumblings of war in the 30s and in particular the Disarmament Conference held in Geneva in 1932 a very powerful piece was written encouraging Guild of Health members to educate themselves in the things that are for peace and to wish and pray for a ‘peaceful world-order:’

Founded by Bishop Hough, suffragan bishop in the Southwark diocese and Canon Roseveare of St Paul’s Deptford. The other driving personality behind the foundation of the Guild of St Raphael was Miss Caroline Biggs, the Guild’s Honorary Secretary.

‘The Guild of St Raphael came into being as a result of a split in the Guild of Health…Although remaining for fifty years on good terms with its parent body it is still clear that there is a need for a sacramental ministry to the sick which an interdenominational body cannot fully foster. This is the justification for the Guild of St. Raphael’s continued existence.’ Chrism editorial, 1965

The Guild of Health and St Raphael, as it is known today, was formed in 1904 to bring together members of the clergy and medical professions together to study and promote the healing ministry of the Church.  It is the oldest organisation in the UK working in the field of Christian healing.

The Guild of health was started by the famous Anglican scholar and liturgist, Dr Percy Dearmer, prominent Christian socialist, Conrad Noel and Harold Anson who became the chair of the Guild from 1908 – 1928.

Noel and Anson outlined two particular reasons for beginning the Guild; they saw the surge of  interest in healing outside the church, through Christian Science and other health movements, as being ‘driven into heresy by the Church herself having forgotten to preach spiritual healing and having lost the power to practise it.’

And in response to a theology within the Church that was resigned to suffering and disease as ‘being something sent by God for our good, or else a method of distracting men’s [sic] attention from the sorrows and injustices of this world by rising it upon a life to come, which made this world of comparatively of no account.’  The Guild intended to challenge this ‘gospel of the value of disease, of injustice, of disappointment as the necessary education for the spiritual life.’

‘Christ healed the sick and instructed his followers to do the same. Why was the Church no longer doing it?’ Rev’d Geoffrey Harding, The First 75 Years of the Guild of Health