Regardless of what issues you’re struggling with, there’s a local faith-based support group offering the tools you need to get help.
”It’s a support group for anybody that has a hurt, a hang up, or habit,” explained team leader Sherry Bourget. “It’s not just for people that have a drug or alcohol problem. It’s for people that have a broken heart, broken relationship, or broken lives.”
After a group of people had the desire for a faith-based program, Bourget said they decided to bring Celebrate Recovery to the area because “there’s nothing like it around here.”
”We found that the programs we were wanting to attend didn’t have a faith in them. They didn’t base their program on faith, and as Christians, that’s how we wanted to work with our issues,” she continued.
Celebrate Recovery started in the United States in 1991 at Saddleback Church in California. Now, years later, there are meetings held all around the world, with over five million people working through the steps.
The Bonnyville program started in January, however, Bourget said they just became a registered group with Celebrate Recovery earlier this month.
Similar to the teachings of Alcoholics Anonymous’ (AA) 12-step program, Celebrate Recovery adds a biblical principle.
”(AA’s) higher power is whatever the person can relate to and is strictly for alcoholics. We follow the AA steps because they... are faith-based. But, in Celebrate Recovery, they wanted to extend it to everybody so that they can work through it, because the program works for everybody,” detailed Bourget.
Attendance has been growing steadily since they started, and has allowed the nine team leaders to learn as they go.
”It’s better to go slow and build up, but, it seems like we have a new person almost every (meeting),” she noted.
Having it open to everybody was important for the group, because people start with a hurt in their life, according to Bourget.
”There’s lots of really good recovery programs out there, but this one focuses on Jesus being the centre of our recovery, or our faith being the centre of our recovery, so that makes it different than lots of other ones out there.”
Each meeting begins with worship, followed by a teaching on one of the 12 steps or testimonials from those in attendance. Bourget described them as “people’s lives who have been struggling that are now working on their issues and being set free from their issues that controlled their lives.”
Attendees start together, and then split-off based on gender to discuss the teachings.
”Once our numbers get up, we’ll be going into issue specifics, so whatever you’re struggling with, if there’s someone else struggling with the same thing, then we will go into a group together,” Bourget explained.
The local group meets at the Bonnyville Fellowship Alliance Church every Monday from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The program is free and open for anyone 18-years-old and up to attend.
For more information on Celebrate Recovery, visit celebraterecovery.com.
