LINCOLN (SNR) – The fourth “I Am Love” event will be held Friday, Dec. 9 from 6 to 9 p.m. at North American Martyrs Church in Lincoln.
Led by Father Craig Doty, the evening will include praise and worship, teaching, Eucharistic adoration and healing prayer.
Father Stephen Graeve said the series was born from a collaboration of priests from the Archdiocese of Omaha and the Diocese of Lincoln who desired to offer healing services; as well as “the fruit of” their mutual involvement in Encounter Ministries.
“Encounter Ministries exists to unleash the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in the world through teaching, equipping, and activating disciples to demonstrate the love of God through the power of the Holy Spirit,” Father Graeve explained.
The ministry was founded by Father Mathias Thelen, a priest of the Diocese of Lansing, Mich., and Patrick Reis, a former youth director and maker of “Fearless,” a documentary on healing. They realized the power and importance of the supernatural demonstration of the gospel through signs, healings and wonders, and strove to share this with all Christians.
Healing is how Jesus evangelized, Father Graeve said, pointing out that about 26% of the Gospel is testimony of healings, and it’s also how Jesus commanded his disciples to evangelize (MK 16:20).
“As online students in Encounter Ministries’ two-year program, one of our class projects is to lead healing services,” Father Graeve explained. He said Father Walt Nolte, pastor of St. Patrick Parish in Fremont, desired to collaborate with various priests from Omaha and Lincoln for this, in part to build greater fraternity amongst the two dioceses.
“We formed a prayer group – Expecting Miracles – where we’ve been meeting once a month for food, fellowship, and prayer.”
One fruit of these priestly prayer groups is the “I Am Love” Healing Night. Father Graeve stressed that it is open to anyone to come, Catholic or not. They have hosted three events thus far, and several testimonies are available at https://www.facebook.com/lincolnequippingteam/videos.
