The Bethlehem Lutheran Addictions Recovery Ministry will serve the needs of our congregation and the community; providing education, resource information, outreach and support to people affected by addiction.
The Recovery Ministry Team is made up of men and women, some with personal recovery experience, and others who share the mission of reaching out to those in our community who express a desire for healing from addictions. We are, above all else, servants of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we want to share the experience of God's grace in our lives with others.
The Recovery Ministry Team invites Bethlehem members to join this ministry team. There is no requirement that someone interested in this ministry have knowledge or experience with issues of addiction. Rather this can be an opportunity for anyone seeking to strengthen their faith by service. If you wish to explore this possibility, please contact Chris Thompson (612.827.1017) Gretchen Dahlberg (952.484.9037) or Joel Kvamme (763.784.8804).
The Bethlehem library contains several books on alcoholism, recovery and a Christian approach to recovery and healing. A useful primer is a Hazelden guidebook: "Love First." Much information is available on the web. The following government websites offer an array of information and many links:
www.samhsa.gov and www.niaaa.nih.gov
The above mentioned book, "Love First" may be very helpful to one attempting to assess a problem and beginning to think about finding help. Both someone concerned about his/her own circumstances or someone concerned about the well being of another should find this discussion helpful. It is a discussion that is reflective but also specific and informative.
We live in an area blessed with a lot of institutional resources. Minnesota is sometimes cast as the land of 10,000 treatment centers! Prominent resources that have worked with recovery missions include:
The Retreat - www.theretreat.org
Hazelden - www.hazelden.org
Fairview - www.fairview.org