New Life Clinic History

The New Life Clinic is a nondenominational religious service devoted to the healing of all physical and psychological illnesses. It is held every Thursday morning and is open to people of all faiths or no religious belief at all. While it is held in the Mount Washington Methodist Church, we respect all faiths in the simple belief that all of us are God's children and that Divine blessings are available to everyone.

The healing service begins at 11 a.m. and is usually completed within an hour. The nature of the service is similar to the standard Christian pattern. That is, a brief hymn, reading from Scripture, brief prayer, and then a fifteen-minute sermon on some topic related to healing. A time of prayer over the names that have been placed in the New Life Clinic prayer book follows. Most of the service consists of praying over and laying on of hands to those who come forward to the front of the church. It is our belief that God works best when we are calm and quiet, and so we ask that everyone be silent during this time, except for the softly playing organ in the background.

Because we believe that the healing power comes from God--not the individual person praying over those who attend-- we make no claim about our healing powers and cannot guarantee anyone a healing. We do not ask for an offering for our services at the church.

The New Life Clinic was begun at the Mt. Vernon Methodist Church in Baltimore in 1950 by Dr. Albert Day, a Methodist minister, and Olga Worrall. Within two years of its inception Dr. Day retired, and Mrs. Worrall moved the New Life Clinic to the Mt. Washington United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Since then, the New Life Clinic continues to operate. Currently the staff is comprised of Dr. Robert Leichtman, Rev. Ed Heuer, and Rob Depetris.

The New Life Clinic is described in the book by Ambrose and Olga Worrall as "a blend of faith and practicality, bringing the injunction of Christ to his followers--to go forth to heal the sick--into realistic daily endeavor." It was established in early 1950 through the combined efforts of two individuals who each experienced a call to healing ministry--Olga Worrall and Dr. Albert Day, pastor. of the Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church in Baltimore. Since that time, the Clinic has been the same, a weekly time of teaching and prayer. The New Life Clinic service, as designed by the Worralls and Dr. Day remains the same today: a prayer, a hymn, and a simple statement on some affirmation of Divine power. This is followed by a time of prayer and the laying on of hands at the altar. The service is always conducted "in the spirit of quiet surrender to God, in the hush of the certitude of his power."

Late in the 1950's, the New Life Clinic relocated to the Mount Washington United Methodist Church of Baltimore with the cooperation of Rev. Robert Kirkley. Under the leadership of Ambrose and Olga Worrall, working with the pastor of the church, a healing team has conducted the services each week for over 50 years.

Through the passing of Ambrose in 1972 and Olga in 1985, both the format of the New Life Clinic and the affirmation that "it is God who does the healing" remain the same. The healing team today is comprised of Dr. Robert Leichtman, Rev. Ed Heuer, and Rob Depetris and the many faithful people who gather each Thursday at 10:00 A.M. to focus the power of God through prayer into the lives of those who come in need of healing of body or soul.