New Year Celebration for Celebrate Recovery | Celebrate Victory at Scio

A Scio church will celebrate its second year of ministry Saturday, January 5, in providing support for those struggling with all types of hurts, hangups, habits and destructive behaviors, many that may have occurred years ago.

Knights Creek Church at 2987 Knights Creek Road (County Road 9) will host an open house and personal testimony by an individual who found peace through support received through the Christ-centered Celebrate Recovery | Celebrate Victory ministry.  It will include an orientation for potential participants, along with family members and friends who would like to come alongside effectively someone who is struggling with one or more life issues.

Free weekly sessions are held year-around from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays, with refreshments at 6:45 p.m.

This support ministry started over 25 years ago at Saddleback Church in California, pastored by Rick Warren, author of the long-time best-selling book, Purpose Driven Life. It uses a 12 Steps and 8 Principles approach that provides an opportunity for healing from what may reflect a lifetime of personal struggles. All adults are welcome to attend because Celebrate Recovery is for everyone.  The church also is in the process of providing The Landing, a parallel Celebrate Recovery ministry for teens who are struggling with various types of life issues.

Celebrate Recovery is part of the church's more expansive Celebrate Victory umbrella for additional supports for individuals experiencing all types of struggles.

Circumstances that often are addressed include, but are not limited to, anger, depression, isolation, workaholism, grief due to the death of a loved one, including miscarriages, still births and prior abortions, separation or divorce, other types of losses, prodigal children, childhood or current physical, mental/emotional or spiritual abuse, substance abuse, sexual addiction, gambling, food addiction, and more.

There currently are four additional Celebrate Recovery groups in Allegany County, the most per population of any county in New York State, including men's and women's groups for inmates only at Allegany County Jail.

Organizers note, however, that they continue to seek churches or a coalition of churches in other communities in the county to offer the ministry due to some attendees being unable to participate due to transportation issues or seeking more than one meeting per week in their areas.

Weekly lessons are sequential,  but individuals are not required to attend every session, can join groups at any time and, due to each unit having its own schedule of lessons and testimonies, attend more than one session a week if needed.

Meetings, which include vibrant music, alternating weeks of lessons and personal testimonies, information on additional resources that may be able to assist participants in their current circumstances, and gender-specific support groups, are held year-around at:

      -- Houghton Wesleyan Church, a new group at 9712 State Route 19, across from the Houghton College campus, contact catmo57@hotmail.com or (585) 567-8162, and Yorks Corners Mennonite Church, 3350 Country Road 29, Wellsville, contact gene@yorkscorners.org or (585) 593-3287.  Both meet at 7 p.m. Thursdays, with York Corners also having an individual Facebook page at www.facebook.com/CelebrateRecoveryYorksCorners.

      -- Knights Creek Church, 2987 Knights Creek Road (County Road 9), Scio, meeting at 7 p.m. Saturdays with an individual Facebook page at www.facebook.com/KnightsCreekChurch. Knights Creek also is developing a parallel Celebrate Recovery initiative, known as The Landing, for teens who are struggling with various adverse behaviors.

      -- Representatives of both groups facilitate gender-specific Celebrate Recovery gatherings for both male and female inmates only on Tuesday nights at Allegany County Jail. Family members and friends are encouraged to let inmates know about these Celebrate Recovery Inside opportunities while they learn through one of the outside groups how to better assist prisoners when they are released.

Information on Celebrate Recovery at Knights Creek and the jail is available from Casey Jones at bps461@msn.com or (484) 435-0503.

A new Facebook page also has been created at Celebrate Recovery - Allegany County that highlights information about each of the weekly group meetings, along with a web page providing descriptive updates being hosted on the Partners for Prevention in Allegany County website at  https://ppaccentral.org/celebrate-recovery.