Periodic Newsletter
Volume 12 • November 17, 2023
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| Hand-in-hand, we can work to REMOVE STIGMA and provide needed support and guidance to our congregation members and their families who are suffering from addiction. |
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Dear Savannah Faith Leaders,
You are receiving this e-newsletter because we have designed it for you. This is our 12th edition. We urge you to share this e-newsletter with anyone in your congregation or colleagues or friends who would find it helpful.
We are the non-profit Interfaith Addiction and Recovery Coalition of Savannah, founded in 2019. Our primary purpose is to provide education and support for faith leaders and laity on the subjects of addiction and recovery. Addiction – in its many forms — destroys lives and families and it thrives in secrecy. We aim to lift that veil of secrecy and make Savannah a healing community with the help of our informed faith leaders.
Our e-newsletter readership has expanded to include health care, treatment and mental health professionals, as well as people who have experienced addiction themselves and discovered the gift of recovery.
Newsletter Design: Ardra Hartz
Newsletter Content: IARC Vollunteers |
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In this issue:
* A Photo montage from Doors to Hope: Recovery in our
Community.
* A Link to the program, featuring William Cope Moyer, keynote speaker
* Rev. Dr. Ben Gosden, Trinity United Methodist Church, offers
his personal perspectives on recovery from addiction.
(Reprinted from Invite Resources)
* How actor Matthew Perry wanted to be remembered. |
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THANK YOU GULFSTREAM for funding our Oct 14, 2023 event featuring William Cope Moyers, whose presentation was phenomenal ! We are exceedingly grateful.
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Thank you, Mayor Van Johnson, for attending
the IARC Recovery In Our Community event !
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Doors to Hope: Recovery in Our Communilty
More than 150 people attended our first community-wide event on October 14 in Savannah featuring keynote speaker: William Cope Moyers, Hazelden Betty Ford public advocate for recovery and New York Times bestselling author of Broken: My Story of Addiction and Redemption. Four local panelists in recovery shared their valuable insights: Kevin Kelly, interim rector, The Collegiate Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Rev. Rev. Pacia Ferrel Vamvas, ConneXion Church, Evelyn Wilson with 51 years of continuous recovery and Tim Arpin, 12 step recovery advocate.
Program guests then gathered in Telfair Square for fellowship and refreshments, music by Irene Goodnight and Friends and many resource tables with information about addiction prevention, treatment and peer support, plus Narcan demonstrations by Lesli Messanger of No More ODs, Inc. Savannah
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PHOTOS BY CLARKE SCOTT AND IARC VOLUNTEERS
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| Guests sign in. Imam Ibrihim Abdul-Malik of Masjid Jihad Mosque offers the program opening prayer. Carol Pine, co-founder of Interfaith Addiction and Recovery Coalition extends a welcome. William Cope Moyers, best-selling author and national recovery advocate is our keynote speaker. |
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| William Cope Moyers spoke with heart and conviction. William chats with a guest after his presentation.Volunteer Sam Watkins greets Rev. Pacia Vamas, Connexion Church Savannah, program panelist. |
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| Rev. Dr. Ben Gosden of Trinity United Methodist Church, Savannah, which hosted the Doors to Hope: Recovery In Our Community event. William Cope Moyers with guests. Soloist Jillian Druant blessed the gathering with her performance. Rabbi Robert Haas, of Congregation Mickve Israel, chats with Imam Ibrahim Abdul-Malik of Masjihad Mosque, Savannah. Eric Church, Substance Abuse Program Director/Counselor, and Anger Management Program coordinator at Chatham County Sheriff’s Office, wanders among the many resource information displays. |
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| Evelyn Wilson with 51 years of continuous recovery from addiction shared her experiences in a panel discussion; Coalition volunteers Ardra Hartz (left) and Elizabeth Johnson (right) with IARC banner; Pacia Vamas visits an information table. Linda Dunlap, event co-chairperson, chats with guests. |
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| Members of the panel discussion, moderated by Rabbi Robert Haas: (from left): Tim Arpin, Evelyn Wilson, Rev. Pacia Vamvas, ConneXion Church and Interim Rector Kevin Kelly, The Collegiate Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Savannah. After our Doors to Hope: Recovery In Our Community program inside Trinity Church, guests were invited to Telfair Square for music by Irene Goodnight of Beaufort, S.C. and her band, refreshments, and resource tables and representatives with information about prevention, treatment and recovery from addiction; The Addiction Alliance of Georgia, a collaboration of Hazelden Betty Ford and Emory Healthcare, attended and supported our event. |
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| Carol Pine greets a guest. Warm conversations around the issue of recovery occurred at resource tables. Rev. Jason Talsness, Messiah Lutheran Church, Savannah, with Drew Brooks, Director of Faith Partners, a national program equipping congregational teams to address addiction and foster recovery. |
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| Iris MaClean , IARC volunteer and representative of Evolve Adolescent Behavioral Health, shares information.. Clarke Scott browses the outdoor setting, taking photos of a successful event. |
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William Cope Moyers, best-selling author and in-recovery addict, tells his own gripping story in Savannah at our first community-wide educational event, October 14, 2023. Hear his presentation by clicking this link:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0lby1SZr4nl-MPU6YSnbqw |
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In every quiet moment I can find to calm my mind and think through the day, I am meditating…By clearing my mind and asking my Higher Power to guide me, I find answers to my concerns….God gave me instincts as a help, not a hindrance. The more I am quiet enough to discover and follow these instincts, the stronger they become. C ourage To Change, Alanon Family Group Literature, page 173 
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Did you know that MANY recovery meetings are “OPEN”, which means that persons who are not regular attendees are WELCOME ? We encourage you… strongly encourage you… to attend an open meeting so that you can know first-hand the surrender, the clarity, the mutual support, the love, the spirituality that exists in those rooms. Below are local lists of open meetings for AA, Alanon, and NA as well as information on the Adult Child of Alcoholism meeting. Find one that fits your schedule best. (All of these meetings are “OPEN.”) And GO. Soon. You will be so glad that you did ! Please note: this is not a complete list of meetings in Savannah, but rather a sampling of open meetings. For a complete listing, google each program individually for meeting details. ( ie. Alcoholics Anonymous Savannah GA.)
AA Meetings:
* Wilmington Island, 450 N. Cromwell Rd, Sundays, 7:30 PM
* Unitarian Universalist Church, 311 East Harris St., Thursdays 7i:30 PM
* St. John’s Church, 27 W. Macon St., Monday – Saturday, 7 AM
* Skidaway UMC, 54 Diamond Causeway, Saturdays, 7:30 AM
* Clubhouse, 1501 Eisenhower Dr., Sat. nights, 10 PM
* Clubhouse, 1501 Eisenhower Dr., Saturdays 2 PM
* Clubhouse, 1501 Eisenhower Dr., All week, 7:30 AM
* Clubhouse, 1501 Eisenhower Dr., Monday – Sat. Noon
* St. Michael and All Angels, 3101 Waters Ave, Wednesdays and Fridays , 8 PM
* First Presbyterian, 520 Washington Ave, Tuesdays, 8 PM
* St. Thomas Church, Isle of Hope, 2 St. Thomas Ave, Sundays 5:30 PM
* Tybee Island, All Saints Episcopal Church 804 Jones Avenue, Tybee Island 6 p.m.
NA Meetings:
* ” Against All Odds”, Herty Drive at Berkley Place, Tuesdays Noon
* ” Free At Last,” 4700 Waters Ave., Thursdays, 8 AM
* Tybee NA, 204 5th Street, Saturdays, 7:30PM
* ” Kickin’ It”, 2020 Bull St. Saturdays, 6:30 PM
* Universal Group, 443 Jefferson St., Thursdays, 5 PM
* Universal Group, 443 Jefferson St., Wednesdays 6 PM
ALANON Meetings
* 1st Presbyiterian Church, 520 Washington Ave, Tuesday, 5:30 PM
* Skidaway Island UMC, 54 DIamond Causeway, Monday, 4 PM
* Clubhouse, 1501 Eisenhower Dr., Wednesdays, 1:30 PM
* St George Episcopal Church, 15 Willow Road, Saturdays, 9 AM
* St. Luke Episcopal Church, 155 Goshen Road, RINCON, Tuesdays or Fridays at 7i:30 PM
* Tybee Lighthouse, 911 Butler Ave. Wednesdays, Noon |
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Rev. Dr. Ben Gosden: On His Experience
In Personal Recovery
The 12 Steps have their foundation built upon the first three steps: 1) We are powerless; 2) God’s power can save us; and 3) We make a decision to give our life and will over to the love and care of that power greater than ourselves. It seems simple and straightforward. I thought the same. These are basic Sunday School lessons we learn as children. Little did I realize that we all drift from the moorings of these seemingly simple lessons as we grow and become more and more engrained with the myth of our own self-sufficiency.
I still remember the day I sat in a recovery meeting and said those words, “I’m Ben and I’m an alcoholic.” It wasn’t at my first meeting. Or my second. But when I uttered those heavy words no one in the room but me could hear the seismic shift in my inmost being. That was the day I finally realized I’m powerless over my addiction. I’ve lived my entire life striving to be self-sufficient and successful at all things. And here something small like alcohol licked me. Little did I know that day that it was just the beginning – every day thereafter would end up being a journey toward the realization that I’m powerless over more than just alcohol. I’m powerless over most everything, except how I choose to act and react to the world around me.
I’m also coming to learn that it’s one thing to pray or sing about the power of God at work in our lives; it’s entirely different to live as though it’s true. Living in the light of this power greater than us means we must come to terms with things like how we can’t control everything, we don’t have all the answers all the time, and we’re not ultimately in charge of other people. We must recognize that these things come under the jurisdiction of God – and that God is most definitely not us.
The transformational nature of this way of discipleship means the heart of my morning prayer is to pray for God’s will to be done, not mine.
I’m a driven, task-oriented person, so I also need to pray to slow down more. Often, I find myself praying to “move at the pace of your grace, O God” so I can work on not trying to get too far ahead of God and accidentally losing sight of who’s really in charge as a result. Asking for God’s will to be done also seeks to give myself the grace I need to not be the loudest critic in my own life. If God loves me as I am at any given moment, I can begin to love myself, too. I can’t tell you how many years I’ve spent being my own worst critic heaping all sorts of unnecessary grief and guilt on myself for not living up to some ridiculous expectations I have about how perfect I think I need to be for others. Some of my best prayers are asking God for the strength and willingness to love myself the way God loves me.
These days, discipleship looks like a relatively simple set of practices of prayer and self-examination: Prayer every morning to surrender my life and will to God as I give thanks for a new day and for my sobriety which is the strongest evidence of God’s healing power at work in my life.
A time of silence where I seek to rest in the quiet presence of God. This time can be short, but not rushed. Much like we can simply sit in the presence of a loved one without words, we should learn to sit in the presence of the God who loves us most fully.
Time spent journaling through my gratitude and how God might be stirring my soul. In the evenings I try to journal a daily inventory: Where have I dealt with fear, resentment, honesty, and self-will and how do I need God’s help for tomorrow?
We can do other things like read Scripture, go to worship, serve, etc., but this inward practice leads me to a different way of showing up in the world. The other means of grace can supplement and help me grow. But if I don’t spend time inwardly through prayer and examination, then I really have no hope to show up throughout my life with less ego and more dependence on God.
In other words, I need to spend time with Jesus fully as me – good, bad, and in-between – if I have any hope of growing into the person he wants me to be as I plod along this broad highway of faith. It begins and ends with His love and power at work in me and through me. The rest I hope to respond to faithfully. One day at a time.
Ben Gosden is senior pastor at Trinity United Methodist Church, Savannah. He wrote this article for Invite Resources, a Christian publishing company.
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