As I'm sure most of you have heard, we're very pleased to now be hosting a 24/7 AA Helpline in one of our offices. It's just upstairs from the Lewis Hall entrance and once there are enough volunteers, anyone needing help at any hour of the day will have a number to call with a live, sober person answering to offer strength and hope. It will also mean that there will be someone here on the premises any hour of the day or night in case someone needs a place to go to talk with someone with some sobriety under their belt. The coffee will always be hot! Thank you to everyone who has taken a time slot. Although the church's only role in this endeavor is to offer the space, we feel extremely grateful to have such an important center of healing located here at Grace. Thank you for making our mission of healing and wholeness more powerful with your service! If you'd like to help out, you can call them at 1-866-steps12.

This new hotline has also fueled a lot of creative thinking about using the facilities at Grace to foster more sobriety and serenity  in our wider community. I've heard talk about organizing sober dances in the church hall, organizing a speaker series here - even having playoff and superbowl parties right at the call center! (you can tell who I root for by the picture I chose...) I am thrilled to hear these ideas beginning to percolate because that was the vision when we renovated Lewis Hall. We were really hoping that if we offered clean, open and inviting space, people in recovery would find innovative ways to use that space to invite more people into recovery and healing. If you have any ideas for events that need space, I'm always around and would love to hear about them.

On another topic, the annual Diocesan "Celebrate Recovery Sunday" is coming up on January 27th. At our Sunday service that day (9:30 AM) our deacon Nancy Gage will share some of her own recovery story. It would be a good Sunday to try out Grace Church or to bring friends and family members to hear about the spiritual power of the 12 steps. 

You may have noticed that the monthly recovery service has been put on hold. When we moved it to Sunday night in the fall our attendance went down sharply, so obviously that was not a good night. In the interim, there have been very few inquiries about the service, making me think that it has run its course, for now anyway.

However, I wonder if I can offer experience, strength and hope as a clergy person and priest to you in other ways. Would you enjoy a Bible Study group? A series looking at the Sermon on the Mount and how it relates to the 12 steps would be foster some really good discussion. Or how about a book group? I've been really hoping to encourage people to read Richard Rohr's wonderful book, "Breathing Under Water: Spirituality and the 12 Steps." We could gather to read it out loud together over a series of weeks and discuss it. Our deacon, Nancy, has been wanting to offer a support group called "The Language of Letting Go," using Melodie Beattie's book of the same name. I know none of these books are conference approved literature, so these groups would not be AA or Al Anon meetings, but rather groups hosted by me and Nancy as a support to your work in steps 3 and 11. I know some people will have no interest in studying the Bible, but I think others are curious about whether this Jesus fellow might have something good and helpful to say. I think these meetings would be particularly helpful to those looking for ways to deepen their spirituality and explore the regions of faith. What do you think?

If you have interest in exploring some possibilities, I'm hosting a meeting to hear your ideas in my office on Saturday, February 2 at 8:45 or 9 - after the morning eye opener meeting. Do you think you might like to come and share your thoughts? If so, please take a moment right now to email me back

(elsa@gracetrumbull.org) so I know to expect you.

(all meetings take place in the Lewis Hall Meeting Room unless otherwise noted)

Monday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

7:30 am,   Al-Anon, Courage to Start the Day, Open discussion

(Meets in Parish Hall, rear of church, lower level)

 6 pm, AA, Steps to Recovery, Step Study, Open

Tuesday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

6 pm, AA, Steps to Recovery, Step Meeting, Open

8 pm, AA, Big Book Study Group, Open

Wednesday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

10 am, AA, Tears and Cheers Women's Meeting, Closed Discussion

7 pm, AA, Women's Meeting, Closed Discussion

7 pm, second Wednesday of each month, meeting for Caron alumni, family and friends, Open (www.caron.org) 

(Meets in Parish Hall, rear of church, lower level)

Thursday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

11:30 am, Al Anon, Paths to Recovery, Step Discussion, Open

6 pm, AA, Steps to Recovery, Speaker Meeting, Open

7:30 pm, AA, The Young and the Restless, Young People's Open Discussion

Friday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

7 pm, AA, Open Discussion

8:45 pm, AA, Spiritual Reading and Meditation, Open 

Saturday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

7:15 pm, AA, Step Meeting, Open  

Sunday

7:30 am, AA, The Morning Eye Opener, Open Discussion

7 pm, AA, Step 3 & 11 Meeting and Meditation, Open