W H A T ’ S  T H E

  P R O B L E M ?

Immediately a man out of the tombs with an unclean spirit met him. He lived among the tombs and no one could restrain him any more, even with a chain….The chains he wrenched apart, and the shackles he broke in pieces; no one had the strength to subdue him. Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always howling and bruising himself with stones.

· Alcoholism is a disease

Mark 5   

· It is a primary illness, not caused by some outside circumstance. It is progressive, incurable and fatal.

· Alcoholism is a brain-chemistry matter, a medical issue, not a moral problem.

· Because of it, alcoholics have lost the power of choice in the matter of drink. It is characterized by the loss of control, the compulsive, destructive use of beverage alcohol.

· A person suffering from this disease is not a bad person who needs to learn how to be good, but an ill person who needs to learn how to be well.

· Alcoholism is a physical, mental, emotional illness that yields most surely to a spiritual remedy.

O blessed Lord, you ministered to all who came to you: Look with compassion upon all who through addiction have lost their health and freedom. Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy; remove from the  fears that best them; strengthen them in the work of their recovery; and to those who care for them give patient understanding and preserving love. Amen.

Prayer 56 BCP

WHAT'S THAT

GOT TO DO

WITH US? 

Jesus asked, “Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him Mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10

·  Alcoholism afflicts approximately one adult out of ten people sitting in your pews.

· The greatest cause of death among young people is traffic accidents; half are alcohol related.

· Alcohol is a factor in nearly one half of homicides. The average reduction in life span of a person who dies of alcohol related causes is 26 years.

· Alcohol plays a part in at least one out of every three failed marriages.

· 25-40% of general hospital admissions are for alcoholism and related causes.

· Some 18 million people in the US need alcohol treatment, fewer than one-fourth will get it.

· Alcohol abuse costs the nation untold millions.

· Alcoholism kills about 100,000 people each year

WHAT CAN WE DO?

Which of you, having a hundred sheep and losing one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness and go after the one until it is found?

Luke 19

·  Alcoholism is recognizable by those who are adequately informed. The clergy are uniquely related to the delivery of appropriate care to the specific needs of those who are stricken because the clergy are sent to search out the sick and needy and minister to them.

·  The nature of the disease of alcoholism is such that those who are its victims are incapable of recognizing the severity of their symptoms.

·  Clergy and laity alike must learn enough about what the disease looks like, how it manifests, and what its impacts are, so that effective pastoral response can be made and meaningful support offered.

· Get acquainted with recovering people in your parish; find out what Alcoholics Anonymous is; know about treatment facilities in your community; locate resources.

·  Encourage an informed congregation. Start a Recovery Ministries Commission (click here to find out how.)

· Read the book Alcoholics Anonymous. AAs call it the “Big Book”.

SUPPORT RECOVERY

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.

Luke 19

·  Visit  an Open AA meeting.

· Read “A Call to Action”.

·  Plan a “Recovery Sunday Celebration” every year.

· Schedule recovery events such as talks in your education program by recovering people.

·  Insure that clergy are knowledgeable about alcoholism and substance abuse, symptoms, intervention, and treatment.

· Plan and implement an educational effort in your parish so that every person knows some basic facts about alcoholism and its terrible cost to affected individuals, families, the Church and society.

· Make sure everyone knows this is a disease, not a moral failing.

DO THIS

Be merciful even as your Father in heaven is merciful.

Luke 6: 35-37

·  Enlist one person in your parish to act as the Recovery Coordinator to stay in touch with Recovery Ministries, to be the point to which information about publications, programs, seminars, retreats, and recommendations can be gathered, and who will disseminate that to parishioners.

· You and your parish become an active, participating member of Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church. (Membership information is here)

·  Adopt a Parish Policy on the use of alcohol at church events.

· Schedule recovery events such as talks in your education program by recovering people.

·  Get acquainted with recovering persons/groups in your parish and use them as resources for more understanding.

· Make space available in your buildings for recovery groups to meet. (See our pamphlet “Hosting a Twelve-Step Meeting in Your Church”).

RECOVERY SUNDAY...

WHAT IS IT?

Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy we have been born anew to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ…...

1 Peter

·  Recovery Sunday is a celebration of the deliverance by God’s grace of persons who have been imprisoned by a punishing and bewildering illness.

· Such celebration can include worship built around a  “Twelve Step” Eucharist, (click here for our 12-Step CD) a talk by a recovering person, or a sermon about God’s grace as offered and seen in recreated lives of recovering people. It may include distribution of educational pamphlets about alcoholism and other addictions, and information about what this parish does to support recovery, where help is available, and who to contact.

·  Some parishes arrange for a special “open” AA or Al-Anon meeting during the day, and Sunday school classes about the issue.

HOW TO DO IT

“Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor, the maimed, and the blind and the lame.”

Luke 6: 35-37

·  Decide what Sunday this year will work for your parish’s calendar. Set that day aside to Celebrate the inexplicable grace that empowers recovery.

· Locate a member of Recovery Ministries or an AA member who is willing to help. You can find someone with help from your Diocesan Recovery Ministry or from the local AA group.

·  Design your services around a 12-Step Eucharist and Recovery speaker.

·  Arrange for that speaker, or another, to talk to an adult class, or visit with a youth group later in the day.

·  Do advance publicity about the events you will have.

·  Call for literature from Recovery Ministries or visit the website for links and ideas.

DO THIS

So if the son makes you free, you are free indeed.

John 8:36

·  The cost of this disease, and others like it, to our society and our Church, is monumental. It breaks the hearts of those who love the alcoholic.

It wounds the Body of Christ.

· The people who suffer this illness eventually run completely out of hope. They have no way to continue life.

No way to live.

You know someone who suffers from it.

We all do.

·  God’s boundless mercy offers them the hope of new life.

When accepted, it’s a miracle!

Every alcoholic who has taken God’s offered hand and worked a recovery program is a miracle.

Re-created.

·  Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan for us.

Help your wounded brother/sister.

Do your sermon about the healing love and mercy and power of God.