Staff writer
For Celebrate Recovery participant Sara — who asked that her last name not be used — the best part of the weekly classes is the knowledge that she isn’t alone.
“It’s very easy to feel like you’re the only one who is dealing with what you’re dealing with,” she said.
Sara said she is taking the classes, not for a specific problem, but to try to move forward with her life with greater mental, emotional and spiritual health.
Celebrate Recovery is a non-denominational Christian 12-step program, local organizer Josh Gill said. Sara said she appreciated that the curriculum is based on the Bible.
The program can cover many different topics, from alcoholism to other drug addictions to sexual abuse, Gill said.
Sara joined the classes when they were first offered in October. She said participants and leaders are serious about confidentiality of the classes.
Pastor John Baker started Celebrate Recovery in 1991 at the Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif. The program has eight principles based on Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Gill said.
Leader Lillian Bookless said she sees a level of honesty in the group she doesn’t see elsewhere. Participants know that they can be themselves and be accepted.
Even as a leader, some of the lessons have rubbed off on her. She said she finds herself examining her motives for what she does now, something she didn’t do in the past.
Participants are responding well to the classes, Gill said. He began a Celebrate Recovery program in Ulysses, but it had a much harder time in the beginning, he said.
The classes have four volunteer leaders and 12 to 14 regular participants, he said. The group meets at 6:30 p.m. Sundays at 105 N. Main St., Hillsboro, for large group worship. Small group meetings are held, but the days aren’t set, Gill said.
To learn more about Celebrate Recover contact Gill at (620) 353-9270.