Held April 20, 2006

An evening program, titled A Teaching of Healing followed by a Healing Service: by the Reverend Nigel Mumford will be presented at the Church of St. Luke, The Beloved Physician in Saranac Lake on Monday Evening, May 8, 2006 at 7:00 p.m. This significant and highly acclaimed healing minister is being hosted by the Spring Lecture Committee at St. Luke’s and is part of a series begun in the Year 2000 to celebrate the new millennium.

The Reverend Nigel Mumford was born and educated in England. He served for 6 1/2 years in Her Majesty's Royal Marine Commandos and continued his education while in the armed forces. His last two years as a Marine were spent as a drill instructor at the Commando Training School.

In 1980, he came to America and set up the Mumford Company Inc., a picture framing business in Wilton and Bethel, Connecticut, which he owned and operated for 13 years. In 1995 he sold his business and has since dedicated his life to the ministry of healing. 

His conviction to pray for healing came in 1989 when his sister, Julie Sheldon, a ballet dancer with the Royal Ballet in London, was healed by God through Canon Jim Glennon. This was a very dramatic healing from a disease called Dystonia, a neurological condition that curled her up into a fetal position and left her very close to death. Being a witness to her healing has had a profound effect on his life.

Fr. Nigel graduated from Episcopal Training, "The Ministry Exploration and Education Program" (MEEP) in June 1995, as a lay minister. The Episcopal Bishop of Connecticut formally installed him as the director of the Oratory in 1997. 

In 2004, Fr. Nigel was called to direct the Healing Ministries of Christ the King Spiritual Life Center. The Spiritual Life Center is a unique ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany. The Center blends a Camp and Conference Center for youth and adults with the religious order of Saint Mary, a Parish Resource Library, Chapel and Healing Ministry Center. Rev Nigel was ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church in June 2005, and was recently ordained into the priesthood on December 17, 2005.

His personal mission statement is: As a drill instructor in Her Majesty's Royal Marine Commandos, it was my job to teach recruits to kill or be killed. It is now a privilege to teach people to heal and be healed. My primary calling is to put people in touch with Christ the Healer, the Lover of souls.

Fr. Mumford is the author, Hand to Hand From Combat to Healing, Church Publishing Inc., New York, 2001; the International version is entitled: Hand to Hand, A Marine's Journey From Combat to Healing, Hodder and Stoughton Inc., London. 2002; Heartfelt Prayers For Healing, Oratory Press, Connecticut, 1998; A CD titled Relaxation and Healing Prayers, Oratory Press, CT, 1998. A prayer by Nigel Mumford was published in Race and Prayer, Morehouse Publishing Inc. PA, March 2003. Fr. Nigel regularly contributes to the quarterly magazines. Sharing and Fishnet.

The Rev. Nigel Mumford presented the Healing Ministry for The Episcopal Cathedrals of Boston, Hartford, and New York. Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore; Conference on Complementary medicine; Seminaries: Yale, New Haven, Connecticut, Trinity, Ambridge, Pennsylvania, and Nashotah House, Wisconsin. He has preached and led healing missions in many churches in California, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Missouri, Pennsylvania, Vermont, and Wisconsin. In the UK: Sussex, Kent and London. Nigel is a circuit speaker for the International Order of St. Luke and was the American National keynote speaker in 2003. He has given talks at the Universities of Cornell, New York and at Hobart, and William Smith, NY.

Thanksgiving, inspiration and encouragement from Fr. Nigel's father, The Reverend David Mumford an Anglican Vicar and his uncle, Alec McCowen, CBE. OBE, a renowned English actor, The Rev Canon Jim Glennon, Dr. Francis and Judith Mrs. MacNutt, Rena Larson, and the healing of Julie Sheldon, his sister, all led to the empowerment of his ministry.

Nigel is a member of The Association of Christian Healing Centers, UK. and is also linked with Burrswood, a Christian Hospital in Kent, England. Nigel is the vice president of Fishnet, an organization to encourage the healing ministry in New England. Nigel is on the National Advisory Board of Christian Healing Ministries in Jacksonville Florida, with Dr. Francis and Judith MacNutt.

Fr. Nigel is a Past President of the Wilton Rotary Club and is the recipient of the civic awards Paul Harris Fellow, given in appreciation of tangible and significant assistance known for the furtherance of better understanding and friendly relations between peoples of the world & he also is the recipient of the Wittnauer International Humanitarian Award in New York, given to notable personalities and unsung heroes who have made outstanding contributions to their communities.

Outside of the ministry Nigel enjoys sailing, canoeing, swimming, hiking, gardening, skiing, public speaking, woodworking and playing the violin, bagpipes, and clarinet. Nigel lives with his wife Lynn in Greenwich, New York.

Nigel's love for the healing ministry and his heart for the Lord are expressed in his words: "Something always happens when we pray." "Every one is healed, some are cured." "Take it to the tree." "We cannot nail ourselves to the cross, there will always be one nail left! Jesus died for us, we do not need to reenact the crucifixion." "Lord, unwrap the bandages and expose the healed me." "The healing ministry, the resurrection of the forgotten touch." Post 9/11, PTSD: "The mind is witness to a catastrophic event, it cannot cope with what it has seen. The body reacts physically under duress. The heart gets scar tissue, and the soul weeps. It is a total body experience." Be well, Amen