Neal, Emily Gardiner

(Oct. 22, 1910-Sept. 23, 1989). Leader of the healing movement in the Episcopal Church. She was born in New York. She was educated at Brearly School and David Mannes College of Music, where she trained as a violinist. She married Alvin Neal, who died in 1961. She was a writer, teacher, and “converted skeptic.” In 1956 she published her first book, A Reporter Finds God Through Spiritual Healing. From then until her death, Neal was noted as a lecturer, counselor, and leader of healing services. She was appointed to the Joint Commission on the Ministry of Healing by the 1961 General Convention. After twenty years of ministry as a lay person, Neal was ordained deacon on Jan. 31, 1978. Two of her most significant books on healing are The Healing Ministry: A Personal Journey (1982), and Celebration of Healing (1992). Neal served on the staff of St. Thomas Church, Terrace Park, Ohio, and made her home in latter years at the Convent of the Transfiguration, Glendale, Ohio. The Episcopal Healing Ministry Foundation was founded in 1987 in her honor, and she served as its first president. Neal died at the Convent of the Transfiguration.