The History of the Guild of Health and St Raphael

With the launch of the self-led online Chaplaincy Course, alongside a growing number of training partnerships with denominations across the UK, GoHealth expands its work to equip and support Christian leaders. This marks an important step in making high-quality, faith-informed training more accessible to those ministering in a wide range of communities and contexts.

At Easter 2025, GoHealth launched the LiFT Programme: an online learning experience exploring the key pillars of wellbeing through the lens of Christian faith. Developed with support from our clinical adviser, Dr Richard Pile, LiFT brings together trusted health guidance, practical approaches to habit formation, and the encouragement of learning alongside others. At its heart is a simple conviction: belonging is not an added extra to wellbeing, but one of the ways we flourish.

Throughout its history, GoHealth has supported churches to become places of healing. The launch of the first Healthy Healing Hub at Christ Church Southgate brought that calling into a new era: equipping churches with the confidence, training and safeguarding needed to offer healing ministry that is prayerful, responsible and safe.

With more churches than GP surgeries across the UK, local congregations have a unique opportunity to support the health and flourishing of their communities. Each Healthy Healing Hub helps a church discern how God is calling it to respond to local needs, empowering the whole congregation to become a visible and trusted healing presence where they live.

The launch of the GoHealth Podcast gave our movement a new voice in the world: a place for thoughtful, honest conversations about health, faith, healing and human flourishing.

Through personal stories and expert insight, the podcast explores both hope and complexity. Conversations have ranged from how to pray for healing, racism, addiction, public health and many of the difficult questions that arise when faith meets real life.

In a noisy and often divided world, the podcast creates space to listen without judgement, remain curious, and deepen our understanding together. By 2026, episodes had been listened to more than 14,500 times — connecting a growing community of people seeking wisdom, compassion and a more honest conversation about what it means to flourish.

In response to the health and spiritual needs of the world and our members, The Guild of Health and St Raphael begin streaming daily and then weekly prayer on social media platforms.

The Keeping the Faith reports revealed the vital role faith communities played during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, and the growing value of collaboration between churches, local authorities and community organisations. Their findings strengthened GoHealth’s work to connect health, faith and community, demonstrating that trusted local relationships can become powerful foundations for public health, wellbeing and lasting social change.

The first Denis Duncan Lecture took place in November 2014 with the Reverend John Bell as the lecturer speaking on the theme of In Search of the Common Good.

The Revd. Dr. Denis Duncan was a Scottish minister who had a huge influence on the healing ministry. To commemorate his life, the Guild of Health and St Raphael hold an annual lecture in his name to explore all aspects of healing, health and wellbeing for Christians and churches.

The Headquarters offered a weekly intercession group and Eucharist. Twice a month there were group counselling, relaxation and meditation sessions. Once a month there was a tape listening and discussion time. There were regular Saturday seminars, a Tuesday evening lecture programme and counselling as required.

The first few editions of The Way of Life were produced in joint publication with the Divine Healing Mission. This partnership remained until 1974

‘As the Divine Healing Mission and the Guild of Health set ut in closer co-operation, it is to offer not only healing but Life; Life in abundance. Life in all its fullness, New Life in Christ.’ (Editorial of the first edition)

Both the Guild of Health and St Raphael have a long history of Global engagement. The 1960s saw a surge in international relations in the healing ministry.

Canon Bird was chaplain of the Guild of Health and worked to established closer links across Europe, Canda, Bermuda and Nigeria. Mr James McGilvray, a member of the Guild was involved in the writing of The Healing Church, a publication by the World Council of Churches in 1966.

F.F. Sinker Peripatetic chaplain Guild of St Raphael.

F.F. Sinker travelled widely in England lecturing in theological colleges, to deanery chapters, and preaching in churches.

The Guilds were concerned that the nationalisation of hospitals may lead to a less human touch and a diminished sense of vocation by those employed in the medical profession.

The Churches’ Council of Healing had slightly more success with the British Medical Association than the Guilds, the council was set up in 1944 to bring together everyone interested in the healing ministry, including both Guilds, by the Archbishop of Canterbury William Temple.

The first St Raphael Quarterly is published in 1925

The guild of St Raphael Mats for Africa project also begins in the 1920s.

This involved Guild groups and members donating money for hospitals in Africa and in particular for the provision of mats for patients to lie on. The supporters of this endeavour were animated and excited at the prospect of the healing that might happen on those mats. This money was also used for the provision of general medical supplies, for example, in 1931 £80 was sent for to be shared among four diocese: Zanzibar, Masasi, Northern Rhodesian and Nyasaland.

Harold Anson becomes chair of the Guild of Health. He remained the chair for two decades, until 1930

Geoffrey Harding’s 75^th anniversary account has Harold Anson becoming chair after the war until 1930. ‘What in effect was the second founding of the Guild was largely due to him.’

He ‘longed to see healing regarded as the ‘salvation’ of the whole personality, not body only or spirit only, but the totality of the person, so that the Church should envisage ‘salvation’ as that state in which a person is set free from disease, ignorance, superstition and fear to serve God in freedom.’ (Looking Forward p.178)

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