Just beyond Edwin is the dinner buddy, an aspect Arron Lake CR employs to make newcomers feel more comfortable. A dinner-buddy is someone who has been in the program for a while, who shares the comfort they find in CR with someone who has not been there before and explains what is going to happen next. One of the other things which makes CR stand out is the dinner itself. Members eat together just before the meeting, dinner for a first-timer is free – $4.00 a meal there-after.
“We start out with fellowship,” said Amy, “a chance to meet other participants, to talk to other people about their week, or just bonding time. The food’s pretty good. We have an outstanding salad bar every week, and hamburgers and hotdogs, or other main courses.”
From 6:30 to 7:30 they have large group. Praise and worship is done with prayer and music.
“Worship time allows participants to put away all their burdens and to just draw a circle around them with Christ.”
They either have a lesson on one of the twelve steps or hear a taped testimony from Saddleback church.
“Sometimes we are blessed with live testimony,” Amy said. Chips are then given out to mark the surrendering of an issue and success. “The blue chip is the surrender chip. It’s a tangible way of saying that you’re gonna start working on a specific issue, surrendering that issue to God,” she told me.
Success chips mark how long someone has been working on a particular issue, as well as helping them keep all they have gained in mind. After the reading of either the principles of steps or the serenity prayer, and a small break, participants then go to the small – gender specific – group they feel best suits their individual needs. The night wraps up with Cross-talk café, a time to eat dessert, choose one’s support team, and wind down before going home.
“Celebrate Recovery is a safe place where we can all come in and not be judged because we all have our own admitted issues. Hopefully by listening to our story, people can find hope,” said Amy.
The End.
