A CHURCH has been set up next to a doctors’ surgery to offer people the power of prayer after they have seen their GP.

St George’s Church has opened a healing room, where the faithful, and non-believers alike, can have their afflictions prayed for.

People suffering from everything from aching joints and colds to long-term illness are encouraged to drop into the healing room, next door to the church, in Rushbottom Lane, Benfleet.

Vicar Anthony Rose said he got the idea after witnessing the healing power of faith first hand.

He said: “For a long time I saw people going in and out of the doctors’ surgery next door and I thought ‘we could help these people as well.’ “We are not in competition with GPs, we’re just offering a different type of help.

“We see everything we do as complementary to medicine. We have always believed in the power of healing prayer at St George’s.”

Patients using the healing room will sign a form giving details of their afflictions, before two worshippers pray for them.

The rev Rose said: “It’s just an everyday room really, there’s nothing fancy about it, just a few chairs and a desk.

“But, we usually do the prayers standing up as we’ve found it works better that way.”

The Rev Rose said the church has even put posters up advertising the service in the waiting room of Rushbottom Lane doctor’s surgery.

He said: “It’s like anything. You don’t know until you try.

“We have prayed for people in the past and seen the results.

“The first day we opened the healing room a gentleman came to us with a sore back.

“He said as soon as the prayer finished he walked away painless.”

The healing room is open every week on Wednesday, between 9.30 and 11.30am, and Thursdays, between 4.30pm and 6.30pm.

The service is free, and there is no need to book.

St George’s Church is part of the New Wine movement.

Founded in 1989, it has headquarters in St Paul’s Church, in Ealing, west London. New Wine is a Church of England group that is allied to the charismatic movement of Pentecostal Christians.