Our church has a substance abuse problem

Our church community welcomes and cares for the most vulnerable, least loved people in our country: those who have substance disorders. This is something that makes me happy and literally challenges the hell out of me.

Addiction causes people to burn every bridge and then simply burn. The chaos of their disease gets strewn across our church lawn and in our alley. Sadly, many who have come through our doors are now dead from overdose. Last year, in our city, 483 people died this way. Active users of opioids live in a terrible kind of hell: desperate for more, dope sick or high. That relentless cycle is the lens through which their reality is filtered. It's a horrible grind for them, and affects those around them. Including our parish.

Our community offers a few tools that help reduce harm and points toward help but that is the best we can do. Our call is to embody the love of Jesus for these, our neighbors, and everyone else. 

I write this having come back from our church building where I added chains and locks to two gates and to the stairwell to the basement where folks have been defecating. This is part of the grind. It's tough and sometimes gross. You may have noticed that most park bathrooms are not public anymore. No one wants to deal with the chaos and mess caused by this disease. They just want it to disappear. And last year, 483 of the sufferers did.

 It’s not always clear how to care for our neighbors and protect our property and welcome visitors who need time to understand what we do here.

Here is a truth that guides me: Jesus did not make it easy for folks to stay sick. He healed them, he invited them to change, he set the boundary. He asked the disabled man by the pool of Bethsaida, “Do you want to be made well?” (John 5:6)  He told the wealthy man who wanted a spiritual inheritance to give the material goods away (Matthew 19:16f). He broke bread with sinners, but he also broke their easy excuses and told them to change their behaviors(John 8:11).

The foundational question is: “Do you want to be well?”

We all need healing in one way or another. The good news is that Jesus shows us how to heal. And sometimes, we heal by learning how to be well while tending for the sick.
That's what Jesus did. His wholeness taught the rest of us that there is life after death. That there is no chain that God’s love can’t break. That in him, healing is just as infectious as the disease. When we are well in our approach to loving others, we are better healers.

The clearer we are in our role, the better able we are to stand in the gap for one another. We trust that God’s healing is coming and God’s help is already here. Someday, every person struggling with opioids or other addictions will be free, every wound will be healed, every broken relationship restored. I’m challenged by and grateful for the work we do together. Thank you for widening the circle so that everyone finds welcome. It's not easy work, it's work that matters for eternity.

                                                                  -- Pastor Rebecca