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PAA assists Presbyterians as they minister in an increasingly addictive society to restore people to God’s promise of wholeness.
Join PHEWA and take part in this ministry. |
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Substance Abuse — Getting
out of the Church Basement
by Nancy Troy, PHEWA executive director
From the 4th Quarter 2007 PHEWA Newsletter
With news about the passing of the Rev.
Donald C. Hancock and his commitment to PHEWA’s efforts in ministering
with persons struggling with substance abuse, you may be asking what is happening
to those efforts. Let me bring you up to date.
At the January 2007 Biennial Membership Meeting in
New Orleans, PHEWA members were informed of the PHEWA Board of Director’s
decision to call an hiatus to the Presbyterians for Addiction Action (PAA) leadership
team for a time of reflection on where our work on addictions needed to be focused.
For a number of years, we felt that we needed to move into more education and
prevention, while maintaining our position that the 12 Step programs that many
churches host are contributing greatly to the healing of persons and families
affected by substance abuse. A survey designed by the PAA leadership team which
went to every presbytery, confirmed that presbyteries were dealing with a variety
of addictions beyond substance abuse. We are still not clear where, exactly,
this information will lead us in the future, but it is valuable data and we are
grateful to those who responded. [Read more]
Lifting the veil of secrecy
by Carol Pine
In my own recovery from alcoholism, a
wise woman told me, “You are only as sick as your secrets.”
This is true for human beings as well as organizations, including churches.
When our committed team of volunteers at House of Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Paul, Minnesota started a ministry in 2004 to address addiction in our midst, we took this advice to heart. And we took action. [Read more] |
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2006 Margaret A. Fuad Award recipient
The Margaret A. Fuad Award, presented by PAA, honors a lay person who, as a volunteer or activist, is instrumental in getting his or her church and community involved in issues related to drug and alcohol abuse through education, awareness or treatment. [Read more] |
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Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience
An interview with Jim Nelson |
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 A renowned Christian ethicist who spent most of his career at United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, James B. Nelson might be best known for his works Embodiment: An Approach to Sexuality and Christian Theology (1979) and Between Two Gardens: Reflections on Sexuality and Religious Experience (1983). These books and others by him eloquently outline the need for reclaiming the importance of the body in Christian theology. And yet, lurking in the shadows of his late midlife, Nelson guarded his own terrible body-soul dichotomy: he was descending into chronic alcoholism.
Last year, Westminster John Knox Press published Nelson’s latest book, Thirst: God and the Alcoholic Experience. In it, he theologically chronicles and processes his recovery experiences and understandings with great insight, compassion and wit. [Read more] |
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Survey of presbyteries explores addiction problems
The Rev. Robin Crawford
Early in 2005 Presbyterians for Addiction Action (PAA) conducted a survey to identify the number and kinds of addiction concerns that presbyteries face. The specific behaviors that were included in the survey were alcoholism, drug abuse, eating disorders, compulsive gambling, sexual compulsions and family addiction crises.
The survey was mailed to the executives of every presbytery in the denomination. Staff members from 58 of 173 (33.5%) of the presbyteries responded. The responses were evenly spread across the denomination — 15 from the Northeast, 15 from the South, 11 from the West and 17 from the Midwest. [Read more] |
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The church must address the underlying issues that make us a society of addicts
College chaplains report on addictions
The Rev. Lucy Forster-Smith
PAA Leadership Team Member and Chaplain, Macalester College, St. Paul, Minn.
It’s time that there’s someone on the Presbyterians for Addiction Action Network who works on a college campus,” said the voice at the other end of the line. “Yes,” I replied, thinking that Manley Olson, an elder in my presbytery, was calling to get a suggestion of someone to serve. But when the invitation came to none other than me I was a bit taken back. I’ve worked in campus ministry for some 25 years. Indeed, there are many students who realize, during their college years, their own addictions to alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, work, stress ... you name it. [Read more] |
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