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Eagle Mill reunion
The annual Eagle Mill reunion will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13 at Hillbillys in Lowell at 5:30 p.m. For further information, call the Rev. Roger Wentz at (704)864-0964.
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Program helps hurting recover
By THOMAS LARK
- Thu, Feb 21, 2008
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| Group leaders Debra Jarman and Vicky Lyman share a moment of fellowship before heading off to help their clients at Catawba Heights Baptist Church.- Photo by Thomas Lark |
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MOUNT HOLLY—A local church is making a difference in the lives of those suffering from the many faces of pain.
It’s “Celebrate Recovery,” held Fridays at 6 p.m. at Catawba Heights Baptist Church in Mount Holly. And according to the Rev. Ernie Holland of Shelby, an associate pastor at the church, and group leader Debra Jarman, the program is helping the recovery of those suffering from a wide range of problems.
Jarman said Friday night that church staffers are ready to help those suffering from chemical dependency, co-dependency, anger, grief, depression, physical, sexual and emotional abuse and more.
Holland elaborated more in a Monday interview.
“A lot of people think recovery just means getting over drugs and alcohol,” he said. “But really, that’s just a third of our ministry. We’ve all hurt other people or been hurt in our lives. And a lot of times, we’ve hurt ourselves. Our program is about getting through that.”
On a purely average Friday night, “Celebrate Recovery” might serve 150 people.
“And we have had up to 175,” said Holland. “Every Friday at 6 p.m., we’ll start off with a fellowship dinner. Then we have teaching and testimony at 7 p.m., followed by specialized small groups at 8 p.m., then fellowship events at 9 p.m. in the Solid Rock Café.”
The pastor cited Christ’s Sermon on the Mount and the Beatitudes.
“Our program is all about God’s healing grace,” he said, “and how he’s changing people’s lives.”
Holland also cited the first of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me,” and Christ’s command to his followers to love their neighbors and “love one another, as I have loved you.”
“You’ve got to have compassion for people,” he said. “Church is not a country club for the saved and the saints, nor a theater for the performing arts. It’s a hospital for hurting sinners. We minister to the outcasts, the down and broken, just like Jesus did.”
When Catawba Heights began the local version of the nationwide “Celebrate Recovery” program five years ago, it was the first Gaston County church to do so, Holland said. Since then, it has gone countywide and even spilled over into Mecklenburg County.
“And for all of that, we just want to give God all the glory,” he said.
Want to know more? Call Catawba Heights Baptist at (704)827-8474 or contact Holland via e-mail at eholland06@bellsouth.net.
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