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NEWCOMER PACKET

WHAT WE ARE AND WHAT WE ARE NOT

THINGS WE ARE:

• A SAFE PLACE TO SHARE

• A REFUGE

• A PLACE OF BELONGING

• A PLACE TO CARE FOR OTHERS AND BE CARED FOR

• A PLACE WHERE RESPECT IS GIVEN TO EACH MEMBER

• A PLACE WHERE CONFIDENTIALITY IS HIGHLY REGARDED

• A PLACE TO LEARN

• A PLACE TO GROW AND BECOME STRONG AGAIN

• A PLACE WHERE YOU CAN TAKE OFF YOUR MASK

• A PLACE FOR HEALTHY CHALLENGES AND HEALTHY RISKS

• A POSSIBLE TURNING POINT IN YOUR LIFE

THINGS WE ARE NOT:

A PLACE FOR SELFISH CONTROL

THERAPY

A PLACE FOR SECRETS

A PLACE TO LOOK FOR DATING RELATIONSHIPS

A PLACE TO RESCUE OR BE RESCUED BY OTHERS

A PLACE FOR PERFECTION

A PLACE TO JUDGE OTHERS

A QUICK FIX

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CELEBRATE RECOVERY

CELEBRATE RECOVERY AT LIVING HOPE CHURCH

Celebrate Recovery is a safe and confidential place for anyone who is hurting, confused, struggling and looking for some peace and sanity in their life. Participants share their experience, strength and hope with others in a Christ-centered recovery process. Through God’s healing power you can become free of addictive, compulsive and/or dysfunctional behaviors and begin to heal. The fellowship of others in the program works to support you as you begin your journey to freedom. The freedom that comes from God results in peace, joy and continued growth in your relationship with God and others.

Celebrate Recovery Wednesday Night Schedule:

6:00 PM Large Group Meeting

This is a time of worship and praise along with a lesson or testimony about recovery

7:00 PM Open-Share Groups

This is the time to get together, share and listen with others in gender specific “open” groups. Teachings from the Large Group Meeting or devotional readings from the Celebrate Recovery Bible will be used to initiate sharing. Participants are encouraged to share their experience, strength and hope but you are 100% in control of your level of participation.

8:00 PM Coffee and Fellowship

This is a great time to get “1 to 1” with others from your group or just unwind and relax in good fellowship.

At Celebrate Recovery, we say that we work with folks who have “hurts, habits and hang-ups” that are preventing them from living happy, joyous and free. By that definition, virtually everybody qualifies. Your willingness to be authentic and do the work determines your recovery and ability to live a happier, healthier life.

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CELEBRATE RECOVERY

WHY CELEBRATE RECOVERY?

Is Celebrate Recovery for Me?

Celebrate Recovery offers a person the opportunity to participate in a group fellowship where love and hope combine with God’s purpose to mend our lives. Ask yourself:

- 1. Are there things in my life that I do that hurt others?

- 2. Is there something I wish I could live without?

- 3. Is it time to crack my denial and admit that I am not in control of my life?

- 4. Do I have a painful habit or hang-up from which I need to be freed?

If you answered “yes” to any of these statements then we urge you to attend a Celebrate Recovery meeting to see if it is for you.

How do I Get Started?

Just show up! We meet at Living Hope Church every Wednesday night at 6:00pm.

How did Celebrate Recovery Get Started?

John Baker, a believer who struggles with alcoholism, found help through Alcoholics Anonymous and began healing. He found emptiness at AA because he could not refer to his personal Higher Power, Jesus Christ. He presented a plan to start a Christian 12 Step Recovery program to his pastor, Rick Warren who said “Do it!” John did and Celebrate

Recovery was born.

Celebrate Recovery (Saddleback) – www.celebraterecovery.com

Celebrate Recovery (Living Hope Church) - www.lhwired.com/celebrate-recovery

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CELEBRATE RECOVERY

SIX FEATURES THAT MAKE CELEBRATE RECOVERY UNIQUE

1. Celebrate Recovery is based on the Bible

Jesus states the eight ways to be happy; today we call them the BEATITUDES. From a conventional viewpoint, these statements don’t make sense as they can sound like contradictions. When fully understood, you’ll see these eight principles are God’s road to recovery, wholeness, and growth.

2. Celebrate Recovery Focuses on the Future

No matter what has happened in the past, the solution is to start making wise choices NOW and depend on Christ’s power to help make changes.

3. Celebrate Recovery Emphasizes Personal Responsibility

This program helps people face up to their own poor choices and deal with what they can change. We cannot control all that happens to us but we can control how we respond. We can stop blaming, hiding our own faults and accusing others. Then, we have more energy to fix the problem in ourselves.

4. Celebrate Recovery Emphasizes Spiritual Commitment to Jesus

The third principle calls for us to surrender our lives to Christ. Lasting recovery cannot happen

without this step. Everyone needs Jesus. Changed lives always attract others who want to be

changed. However, you do not currently have to be a believe of Jesus to attend this program.

5. Celebrate Recovery is Built Around Small Group Interaction

We need each other to grow spiritually and emotionally. Numerous therapies, growth programs, and counselors operate around one-to-one interaction. The two important components in Celebrate Recovery are fellowship and accountability.

6. Celebrate Recovery Provides Healing from All Types of Hurts, Habits, and Hang-ups

Some recovery programs only deal with alcohol, drugs, or another single problem. In Celebrate Recovery we can deal with a limitless number of issues.

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CELEBRATE RECOVERY

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How often does Celebrate Recovery meet?

Celebrate Recovery meets every Wednesday night at 6 PM at Living Hope Church. The meetings are designed so that a person may begin the road to recovery at anytime; you need not wait for a start date to begin your recovery.

Is there a cost for Celebrate Recovery?

Living Hope Church does not charge for this ministry. Donations are accepted Wednesday evenings to help pay for child-care, materials and books. You can also purchase study guides and books at the Resource table to help you on your path to recovery.

Is Celebrate Recovery Confidential?

Yes, Celebrate Recovery at Living Hope Church maintains strict confidentiality. This promotes an atmosphere of trust, facilitates growth and enables recovery. Who is in the meeting and what is said in the meeting stays in the meeting.

Who are the leaders of Celebrate Recovery at Living Hope?

The leaders are men and women who have gone through similar hurts, habits and hang-ups and have been through training specifically for Celebrate Recovery. The leaders are not counselors and do not offer any professional clinical advice.

What types of issues are dealt with at Celebrate Recovery?

A wide variety of hurts, habits and hang-ups. Examples include dependency on alcohol and drugs, pornography, low self-esteem, controlling behaviors, depression, anger, co-dependency, fear of rejection, broken relationships, and abuse.

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CELEBRATE RECOVERY

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (CONTINUED)

Do I have to be a member of Living Hope Church to Attend?

No. Celebrate Recovery is a ministry outreach for anyone who is interested in a Christ-centered recovery program that will enable them to recover from life‘s hurts, habits and hang-ups.

Is there childcare available?

Childcare is available. The donations collected during large group are used to take care of this expense.

What are the guidelines followed during Celebrate Recovery meetings?

To insure confidentiality and anonymity while allowing everyone the opportunity to share uninterrupted the following six guidelines are followed at all times.

• 1. Your sharing is focused on your own thoughts and feelings and limited to 3 - 5 minutes.

1. 2. There is no cross talk. Cross talk is when two individuals engage in dialogue to the exclusion of others. Each person is free to express feelings without interruption.

2. 3. We are here to support one another. We will not attempt to fix one another.

3. 4. Anonymity and confidentiality are essential requirements. What is shared in the group stays in the group. (We do ask that all those present during Large Group and Open Share Groups are only those seeking recovery. Anyone not seeking recovery will be asked to return after the meetings and fellowship are completed.)

4. 5. Offensive language has no place in a Christ-centered group.

5. 6. Please turn off your cell phones while in Open-Share Groups so that people are able to speak without interruption.

What is Recovery?

In physical health recovery refers to the process of moving from illness to wellness. Our hurts, habits and hang-ups are like an illness and in using the tools of Celebrate Recovery we begin to move toward wholeness. Some might say from bondage to freedom in Christ. Others might say from self-reliance to faith in Christ.

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CELEBRATE RECOVERY

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS (CONTINUED)

Do men and women meet together?

We all meet together for the Large Group meeting and then dismiss into the gender specific Open-Share Groups. All Step Study meetings are gender specific.

What is a Step Study?

Celebrate Recovery uses the Twelve Steps and related scripture as the biblical model for living your life. A Step Study is a personal journey through each of these steps in community with a group led by a facilitator who has completed a study. We use Celebrate Recovery’s four participant guidebooks. When you finish the study, you will have worked your hurts, habits and hang-ups through each step.

How is Celebrate Recovery different from other 12 Step programs?

At Celebrate Recovery, our Higher Power is Jesus Christ and the Word of God is our authority. Our Step Study guidebooks refer to scripture references for instruction. Every Wednesday we begin by worshiping our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ through music and prayer. As a ministry of Living Hope Church we are under the authority of our Pastor and Leadership Team.

What do you mean Celebrate Recovery is a “safe place”?

We are diligent about confidentiality and anonymity – what you hear and who you see at Celebrate Recovery stays here. The guidelines protect all of us from judgment and being “fixed”. In a “safe place” you take off your “mask” to be real and honest without fear. You are 100% in control of when and how much you participate.

Do I have to share?

Absolutely not….until you are ready. You can choose to be silent anytime you wish and for a s long as it takes for you to become comfortable in sharing. You are in control of your own recovery.

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