A Power Greater Than Ourselves

Beloved in Christ, 

My life has been immeasurably enriched by the privilege of having walked closely with a number of people who are in recovery from different forms of addiction. While I have never been active in a recovery group myself, the spirituality of the twelve steps has had a major impact on my life, faith, and experience of God. Many of the most mature and inspiring followers of Jesus I know are those for whom the twelve steps have been a cornerstone of their spiritual journeys. 

We live in a culture of addiction. We have any number of distractions, devices, substances, and just plain busyness that we variously use to fill the void and ache that exists in each of us. Most people I know can barely stop at a stoplight without looking at their phones. I've long held that just about all of us suffer from the dynamics of addiction, whether or not our particular addiction is a matter of life and death. We spend so much time trying to escape from our own lives and numb the pain that is an inevitable part of life. Christian spirituality is about learning to find God by becoming fully present to our lives as they really are. The twelve steps are one tried and true path to help us do that. Step 2 alone—"we came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity"—would be transformative in our lives and faith communities if all of us really and truly committed to turning our lives and wills over to God every day. 

Episcopal priest Samuel Schoemaker, whom we commemorate on January 31st each year, was a key figure in the development of the twelve steps. As part of that legacy, last year we celebrated the first ever diocesan Recovery Eucharist to celebrate and give thanks for the wisdom and spiritual vitality that movement brings to our life together. We will celebrate this year's on Tuesday, August 15 at 6pm at St. Mark's Cathedral. I hope you will plan to join us for that. 

I have also appointed a diocesan recovery commission to help organizing the Recovery Eucharist every year, as well as promote the movement generally in the diocese, and support congregations as they support those in their communities who are in recovery. The members of the commission are the Reverends Vicki Lambert, Tom Gehlsen, and Colleen Tully. We are continuing to build that membership, so if you or others might be interested in helping with that work, please do let me know. 

A.A., N.A., and groups like them are a global movement of people who are finding healing, love, and new life every day of the week in church buildings and other spaces all over our communities. They hallow our spaces by meeting in our buildings, and we have much to learn from the vibrancy and vitality of that movement. I  hope you will join us on August 15, and continue to pray for, give thanks, and engage the deep wisdom the recovery movement brings to all of us on the journey toward the healing we all so deeply long for, and that God so deeply longs to give us. 

Grace and Peace,

The Right Reverend Craig Loya
X Bishop