Jesus; recorded in Matthew 5:
 
"You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment.
 
You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
 
Jesus doesn't attempt to abolish the Old Testament law but rather he gives it its deeper and fuller meaning. He essentially exposes to us what's at the heart of the law—the Spirit. He takes us into a more mature understanding of God and his ways.

It was in this spirit that on March 1st, 2008, the New York Chemical Recovery Ministry conducted "The Eternal Fellowship:" a workshop in which many principles of recovery were taught and expounded on. For many years CR has been an awesome tool for recovery in God's church. As the church has changed, so too, CR needed to "get deeper" in order to be as effective a tool for these times as it ever was.

To this end we presented some new ideas grounded on the foundation of God's word and 20 years of past experience in the CR ministry. God has revealed to us principles in his scriptures that are most relevant to recovery from drugs as well as from all other sins that bind us.
 
The day began with heartfelt, spirit filled singing. Following the singing we took a trip down memory lane as Dave Martin spoke on the history of CR. The nostalgia was evident on all our smiling faces as we remembered all of the great things God had done through the CR ministry. The history of CR brought us right up to the present and the Spirit's call for us to reflect on CR and how we could make it the most effective tool for present day disciples to recover from sin as well as all those whom the Lord our God will call.
 
Following Dave, Harry Mullan spoke on how for the past three years CR has been conducted in the Lower Westchester ministry. Believing that God is indeed a God of order we have  before us during every group large poster boards with the rules of group as well as the traditions that God has shown us are at the heart of our recovery. Harry took us through some changes that have been made including us meeting in public venues in order to live fully up to one of the CR traditions—outreach. He also spoke about our new emphasis on the eternal fellowship (another of the traditions) and the deemphasis on people graduating out of CR which has often misled many into believing they were cured from sin and not in need of a fellowship of like-minded believers.

Kevin Davis and Joseph Fusilier spoke in great detail about all of the CR traditions: The Eternal Fellowship, Total Recovery, Accountability, Truth in Love, Willingness to Change, Outreach, Biblical Authority and Empathy.
 
The food was great: physical and spiritual, the fellowship was inspiring and God's presence was felt. The spirit of the disciples at this event was a testimony to the spiritual hunger and thirst in God's church for truth and a deeper, richer and fuller understanding of God, and the desire to commune with Him more closely.

CR has always been a treasure in a field: full of priceless value. Now we believe that it has become a city on a hill. With outreach as one of our newly identified traditions we are praying God will use us more than ever to give guidance to all in this life as we strive to reach Him and remain in Him forever.
 
There are plans in the works for a follow-up workshop, a ramp-up of the CR website, and a continuation of great fellowship between people in recovery from various parts of the church.
 
To God be the Glory

Photos from the workshop are now available to view in the Photo Gallery here.

Having just returned from the Emerald Isle myself it is wonderful to know that the cigarette ban has had very positive effects in such a short time. I must admit that when I first heard of the ban I laughed to myself thinking that this would start another civil war of which Ireland has seen quite a few. But the stick was put firmly in the sand and if you wanted to smoke you had to go outside, no ifs, ands and definitely no butts.

In the past two weeks it was a joy to be able to sit in a restaurant and not smell a trace of tobacco smoke. It was wonderful not to have my clothes reeking of stale smoke. Looking around me I noticed that the Irish had taken it pretty much in stride. Many I met had used it as the reason to quit entirely while others simply took to the outdoors to smoke.

In the same way as the US, the price of cigarettes was astronomical in Ireland, but that rarely succeeds in getting folks to quit. The only bad part of the evening out was having to make your way through the smokers congregating outside each establishment. In the future I hope they will adopt the same smoking method shown in the movie "Total Recall" People simply had a glass bowl over their heads and could smoke all they wanted within the bowl. Ah well perhaps next year.

Check out this link for the full story.

Our dear Sister and fellow soldier in the faith, Carmen Correa from the Bronx ministry, departed us for heaven on Sunday, May 20th. While her destination does give us comfort it has not left all those who knew her and loved her so much without a deep pain at this parting.

She was a teacher, a friend, a voice of reason, and (no doubt) at times the un-ignorable mouth piece of God. She was always real, bold, faithful, and while she was a formidable soldier against Satan, a true force to be reckoned with – she was also soft-hearted and vulnerable.

Carmen truly knew how to be a great friend and she was a ‘best’ friend to many of us.

Although she eventually lost her battle with cancer – anyone who was around (including her medical staff) had never seen anyone so strong, and able to fight for so long against this terrible disease. Though she battled cancer for years she never stopped serving, teaching and loving.

In the interest of providing comfort to those who knew her I will tell you that she was surrounded by her family and the closest of her friends on her final evening. We sang to her, read her scriptures, spoke to her and, she responded – able to recognize us all. She was herself until the very end, making us laugh with her usual spunky remarks. She was grateful for our song and our fellowship in those final hours. God was there and we all felt it.

Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.
Psalm 116:15

In the days to come we hope to put together a more appropriate biography on our beloved sister who defended and faithfully served the CR ministry for over a decade.

Troy Figueroa
Michelle Torres
Lydia Callas


Bronx Ministry

GOD IS GOOD!!!

The women of the LA Church - Inland Empire Region have our first graduate of our new group. It is such a blessing to be able to watch someones heart change right before your eyes! Much like studying the Bible with others - seeing the individual receive further cleansing is faith-building and inspiring!

We are proud of the women - and can see God doing great things for God in the very near future!! There have also been two women who have stepped up to lead and are learning much on how to help others!

Glory be to God! Tammy Nelson (lead) Nitza Walker and Esther Loternero (co-leads).

Today in Santiago of Chile we have a new graduated man and a new graduated woman for God's glory.

Your Brother in Christ

Mertin Merediz-Funes

Chemical Recovery Ministery

Santiago of Chile

December 5, 2006

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I am writing this as a reflection and a report on an awesome event that took place this last weekend in Southern California. Eleven disciples from the BACC body took part in a Chemical Recovery retreat that included Christians from Portland, Antelope Valley, and the LA Church, as well as S.F. This was a mountain top experience that was focused only on Chemical Recovery with no other agenda expressed or present. The theme was "Wounded Healers" and the focus was on strengthening, unifying, and growing the CR ministries of the West Coast Churches and beyond.

Hosea 6:1 says, "Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds."

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