What's New at CBH
Why Would a Nonprofit Recovery Organization Host a Worship Service?
"Keep coming back. It works if you work it and it won't if you
don't." If you attend a 12-step meeting you will most likely hear
these words at the end of each meeting. Jan Brown, Founder and
Executive Director of SpiritWorks Foundation Center for Recovery of
the Soul, used to wonder what "it" was. She came to believe that
"it" is "spirit." In 2005 she decided to create a community
recovery organization in Williamsburg to be a safety net for those
coming out of treatment for addiction. The name SpiritWorks seemed
perfect. What works? Spirit works.
The second half of SpiritWorks' name is Center for Recovery of the
Soul. Addiction is a brain disease, and it is a disease of the
soul. It has been said that there is a God-shaped hole in our
hearts, and many of us try to fill that hole with our addictions.
Instead of seeking spiritual nourishment for our emptiness and
instead of filling our hearts with our higher power, we try to
stuff that empty hole full of alcohol, drugs, food, gambling, work,
sex, people, internet, television, busyness, or whatever person,
place, or thing we believe will take away the pain, hurt, and
loneliness that we carry around inside of us. Those things do not
fill us, though, and we are left just as empty as before,
frequently with big messes to clean up.
At SpiritWorks we believe that working a spiritual program is an
essential part of recovery, and we help people find the spiritual
program that works for them. It may be a 12-step program or
Celebrate Recovery. It may be a faith community or a support group.
The important thing is that the program helps us to do our inside
work. Being clean and sober is not enough. We have to learn to fill
our emptiness with God as we understand God instead of people,
places, and things. We need a community of support around us to
encourage us and hold us accountable, to cheer us on when we are
challenged, to lift us up when we're struggling, to celebrate our
accomplishments and to tell us the truth, even when we don't want
to hear it. The SpiritWorks community offers a safe place for
people to get the support they need as they recover from addiction
and its counterparts, mental illness and trauma.
There are a variety of ways to explore spirituality at
SpiritWorks. Some 12-step groups hold their meetings at our center.
We have an all Recovery group that incorporates Native American
spirituality. Occasionally we offer labyrinth walks. Our wellness
compass helps people integrate spirituality into their weekly
schedule. Most recently we have begun offering a Recovery Worship
Service on the first Friday of each month. It is a Christian
service held at Bruton Parish Church incorporating prayer, music,
scripture and spiritual readings, communion, and fellowship. Those
who have attended have found it to be a service of healing and hope
to which all are welcome. It is intended to offer an opportunity to
worship with other members of the recovery community and to grow
closer to God.
So, why would a nonprofit recovery organization host a worship
service? Because… Spirit works!
For more information about the First Fridays Recovery Service or
other SpiritWorks programs, please visit our website,
www.spiritworksfoundation.org or contact us at 757-564-0001.
Rev. Lauren McDonald is the Director of Community Programming for SpiritWorks Foundation and the Episcopal Chaplain to Christopher Newport University. She earned her M.Div from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Chicago and has a Certificate in Spiritual Care-giving for Addicted Persons and their Families from NACOA. She is in recovery from codependence.