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Some of the leaders of Allegany County Celebrate Recovery
and Celebrate Recovery Inside groups gather to kick off a new holidays campaign
to acquaint individuals and churches with the ministries. From left are Casey and Anita Baird Jones,
community outreach missionaries at Knights Creek Church at Scio and
facilitators for Celebrate Recovery and Celebrate Recovery Inside at Allegany
County Jail, Cathy Morley of Houghton Wesleyan Church, and Patty and Robert
Stalker, facilitators for the jail ministry.
Celebrate Recovery also is available at Yorks Corners Mennonite Church
at Wellsville.
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A Christ-centered recovery ministry is launching a holiday
campaign to connect with individuals and their families, including teens, who
are struggling with all types of hurts, hangups, habits and destructive
behaviors, including common addictions.
Knights Creek Church at Scio, one of three Celebrate
Recovery sites in Allegany County, has been awarded $2,047.50 from the Western
Regional Addiction Resource Collaborative for joint promotional efforts with
Yorks Corners Mennonite Church at Wellsville and Houghton Wesleyan Church to reach
out to those in need during the oftentimes trying Thanksgiving to New Year's
holidays season.
Funds also will be used for engagement with churches,
encouraging them to start, either individually or in partnership with others,
additional Celebrate Recovery groups in the county's population centers,
including companion ministries of The Landing for struggling teens and
Celebration Place for children experiencing trauma. Last year, the Collaborative provided funds
for Celebrate Recovery to obtain a full range of materials that can be used by
existing groups and to help startup of others, including church supports for
outreach to the large numbers of individuals who struggle with mental health
issues in any one year.
Casey Jones, community outreach missionary at Knights Creek,
who with his wife, Anita, facilitate Celebrate Recovery Saturday nights at the
church, and also participate in the weekly Celebrate Recovery Inside component
for both men and women at Allegany County Jail, said it is unfortunate that
many individuals believe the 12-Step ministry is primarily for those with
substance abuse issues.
He said that “Celebrate Recovery is for everyone” who is
struggling with any type of hurt, hangup or habit at any time, particularly
during the Thanksgiving to New Year's holidays season, noting that many
individual trauma situations also can be
related.
Issues can include workaholism, food addictions, marital
discord including separation or divorce, anger, gambling, job loss, validation
issues, co-dependency, both men and women's sexual addictions or abuse, chronic
pain, loneliness and isolation, abandonment, various mental health issues,
abortions, caregiving, singleness, and more.
Nationally, only a third of Celebrate Recovery attendees
struggle with chemical dependency issues, Jones reported, with groups sometimes
actually having no or few participants in that category at any particular time
since attendance varies.
“Celebrate Recovery
has been found to be highly effective for those who concentrate on their
overall wellness,” the facilitator said, noting groups now are sited in over
35,000 churches world-wide, along with more than 370 Celebrate Recovery Inside
locations in jails and prisons in 42 states.
“Allegany County has
the most Celebrate Recovery groups per population of any county in New York
State, along with two out a half dozen in jails and prisons,” Jones said, “but
we are seeking to establish more due to lack of transportation for some who are
in need, along with those attendees who benefit from attending more than one
group a week.”
The ministry was started nearly 30 years ago at Saddleback
Church in California, led by senior pastor Rick Warren, author of The Purpose
Driven Life. The book now has sold more
than 30 million copies in over 85 languages.
Celebrate Recovery was developed by John Baker, a corporate executive
who struggled with alcohol, attended other 12-Step groups, and found need for a
ministry that was focused on the healing power of Jesus Christ as the true
higher power.
Current groups in Allegany County include Houghton Wesleyan
Church, 9712 State Route 19, able to be contacted at catmo57@hotmail.com or
(585) 567-8162, and Yorks Corners Mennonite Church, 3350 County Road 29,
Wellsville, at gene@yorkscorners.org or (585) 593-3287, both of which meet from
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Thursdays.
Knights Creek Church, 2987 Knights Creek Road (County Road
9), Scio, meets at the same times Saturday nights, and includes The Landing
ministry for struggling teens, with Celebrate Recovery Inside available on
Tuesday nights for inmates only at Allegany County Jail. Further information on both locations are
available at bps461@msn.com or (484) 435-0503.
Additional information about the ministries also are
available at www.facebook.com/CelebrateRecoveryAlleganyCounty and
www.PPACCentral.org/Celebrate-Recovery.
