Written by Karen Baldizzone, Ministry Leader for VCN’s Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery (CR) has been offered at VCN for two years. Originally started at Saddleback Church in California in 1991 by John Baker and Rick Warren, CR is offered today in over 30,000 churches worldwide. CR is a Christ-centered, Bible-based 12-Step Program to celebrate God’s healing power in our lives as we work on our recovery. We follow the 8 Principles which are based on the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-12) and the Scripturally-based 12 Steps.

There are times when the stress and hurts of life get so overwhelming that it tends to push some to search for unhealthy ways of dealing with it. Some will make decisions that eventually begin to destroy their and their family’s lives. This is when help is needed.

CR is a program for more than issues with drugs and alcohol. This is a program for hurts, hang-ups, and habits. Let me elaborate:

• Hurts – this is where it all began. Some were a child of a dysfunctional family. Some suffered from verbal, emotional, or sexual abuse. Others are dealing with abandonment issues. These are things that can lead to hang-ups.

• Hangups - beliefs we developed about ourselves from our hurts. Some deal with anger, trust issues, recurring negative thoughts, depression, and even fear. These are things that can lead to habits.

• Habits. Some deal with alcohol, drugs, gambling, eating disorders, or codependency issues, just to name a few.

Our habits stem from our original hurts. We must get to the root of these hurts so we can start to heal, and CR helps us do that. The steps and principles in this program allow the participants to dig deep into their past through group meetings. They can share hurts that have impacted them most of their lives and many times address behaviors for the first time. They finally experience the freedom of not being held back by their past. They experience acceptance and love without condemnation, which ultimately helps them grow in their relationship with God. This is achieved through our CR meetings. These meetings are where you delve deep within and work the 12 steps, all of which lead you on the road to recovery.

You are invited to come and check it out. We meet in the VCN Fellowship Hall every Monday evening at 7 pm. For more information, feel free to contact the Church Office at 941-488-5007 or, even better, attend a meeting! We look forward to seeing you soon.