Digesting

I got an email from my close friend/sponsor yesterday. My church is stopping their CR programming on Sunday nights, and start a new program on Wednesday nights, under their Grow U program, which is few different classes people attend. The decision was made by the lead pastor, the elders, the CR ministry leader and the leadership team together. The reasoning, well that is where I'm having mixed feelings. On one hand, I agree, it is important to provide a place to people, where they feel they can walk into without any fear, but changing programming because it's called "Recovery" just bothers me. The way she put it was: "To make a long story short, it has been decided to move CR into our grow U umbrella on Wednesday nights… it will look and feel much different than what we are used to but the decision was made by the CR ministry leader, the TEAM, the Lead Pastor and the elders… December 18^th will be our last regular CR meeting…

We will have Journey CR (and others) to send people too if they are in need of the full programming. The CR ministry leader will have more information coming soon as to what the “healing tract” will look like on Wednesday nights.  Our hearts are that people will walk into a class not branded by the word “Recovery”… this ministry has always been about helping the hurt and lost… and our prayer is that the people dealing with those types of issues will feel better about coming into a Wednesday class where so many are coming, as opposed to feeling the pressure to show up on a Sunday night and walking into a “recovery” meeting."

After I've read that, I was just confused, angry in a way. That place is really important to me, it brought me changes, gave me support in some of the most difficult time of my life. But then again, I know people are afraid of the word recovery, as at once I was one of them myself. Being so afraid of what others would say, or I would be judged. So I told her exactly that. I had the understanding for the need of healing, but I didn't like to see CR go, and the reasoning to me sounded almost hypocritical.  And while I'd love to go to Journey CR, since there are people from this who go there too, I can't commit to there because it's in OP. 

And then she wrote back today, and it said: " I do have to say that this decision was not made solely on the whole “recovery” label, but I do feel that not having that will be a huge blessing to those on Wednesday nights just because the people that will come to the healing classes have not stepped foot into our Sunday nights and part of that just could be because of the fear of what recovery means.  There are so many other things that this change encompasses and I am just so blessed to be a part of what God is doing.  I am thankful there are still so many other CRs out there and I have no doubt those of us who need a CR home will find the one God wants us in.  I am looking forward to taking some time off and getting involved in some of our other church ministry opportunities, or however God sees fit to use me. I think so many of us feel that way." So that just put me in the limbo again. I suddenly recalled that when I started to attend CR 3.5 years ago how there used to be lot more people coming there, and as time went by, leadership has changed, and the number of people started to drop. Last Sunday I did make a mental note, that there was not many in the room. I believe there has to be financial reasons behind it as well, although the only person gets paid by the church is the Ministry Leader, who is employed by the church, still the electricity, the printing of bulletins, some free coffee, that all costs money, and the less amount of people goes, the less chance is for people to donate. Attaching a similar program to a night when the property or the rooms are already in use would save some money, and if it would attract more people on a Wednesday night, without the "Recover" label, then it is more chance to let God's work take effect in people's life. 
That helped me to make a better decision. Till December I will attend on Sundays, I also want to seek Regina out, what are her plans, then I may just check out the new classes, and/or find another CR somewhere close.