CLEVELAND -- The city is ready for an unusual faith healing service set for Sunday, NewsChannel5's Ted Henry reported.
Dr. Issam Nemeh will lead a team of faith healers in a 13-hour service that is expected to draw thousands of cars downtown, which could turn out to be a traffic nightmare with many security concerns.
WEWS reported no church or religious auditorium in Cleveland is big enough to accommodate Sunday's event, so the Wolstein Center became the logical choice.
Two weeks ago, a daylong healing service at a suburban church drew more than 10,000, tying up traffic for miles. The event begins at 11 and is expected to run until midnight. No admission is required.
To prevent any problems on Sunday, 170 volunteer ushers and security personnel showed up at the arena Wednesday to prepare.
People of all faiths are expected to fill the arena. Organizers expect the crowd may reach 18,000.
Traffic is also a concern because people will be in wheelchairs and on crutches maneuvering through heavy traffic.
Henry reported Sam Lucarrille, the owner of the Minute Men, learned that the Wolstein Center would be available for Sunday's healing service, but for a fee of $18,000. He immediately wrote a check for that amount.
Lucarille's donation is in gratitude for Nemeh's prayerful attention to his sick wife, Linda, and for healing his sister Bernadette of third-stage ovarian cancer.
Nemeh has been praying over sick people in Cleveland for a decade. This will be his biggest service. Organizer Patrick Coleman said they are ready for thousands.
"Once they enter, because it's on a first-come first-serve basis, the ushers will taking them to one section at a time," Coleman.
Coleman, a suburban police officer and firefighter, volunteered for the job because of his own physical healing.
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