This Saturday we will celebrate a special Recovery Eucharist at Faith@Five, which we have done for the past 4 years at the end of January around the feast day of Sam Shoemaker http://satucket.com/lectionary/sam_shoemaker.htm. Sam Shoemaker is the Episcopal priest whose spirituality was foundational in the creation of Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12-steps of recovery alongside Bill Wilson http://www.12step.org/references/12-step-versions/aa/ .
As Bishop Chilton Knudsen describes: “The Recovery Eucharist affirms the many avenues people travel for healing, regardless of the forms of addiction which we experience: 12 Step programs, other support groups, counseling, spiritual practices, medical treatment. The Recovery Eucharist celebrates the gift of recovery, invites us to strengthen our recovery practices, and commends to God’s care those in need of healing, who haven’t yet found their way into recovery.”
Our senior warden, Mary DeKuyper, will offer a reflection for the homily, and our prayers of the people will weave together the 12-steps of recovery and the Beatitudes from the Gospel of Matthew.
Whether or not you are in recovery or care for someone in recovery, this Saturday afternoon offers an opportunity to experience a sense of peace, liberation and healing in the context of a loving, supportive, prayerful community. Wherever you are on your journey of faith — seeking, walking, stumbling, falling, or getting up again — you are welcome.
Won’t you join us?
Cristina