Struggling with alcoholism, Regina knew she had to get "re-centered" with God to help with her addiction. A Catholic from Atlanta, Regina had been convicted of her second driving under the influence offense and the court ordered her to enter rehabilitation as part of her sentence. So she turned to GraceWay, a faith-based addiction recovery program started 29 years ago by Debbie and Tim Mazur, parishioners of St. Teresa Church in Albany. It was the faith component of GraceWay that attracted Regina, a mother of two sons. She was admitted to the program in October 2013 and stayed 31 days. For Regina, who asked only that her first name be used, the program was a "steppingstone" in recovery. She was craving a lot of quiet time for prayer but also found a lot of work at GraceWay, where part of recovery for some residents is bread-making in its bakery. "You do a lot of cleaning and cooking and a lot of meetings," she said. During less-structured time, she would pray the rosary. Instead of the Serenity Prayer, the women would pray the Hail Mary each evening. At the time, Regina was the only Catholic at the residence. Regina's stay at GraceWay was not a cure-all. "It was the first step," she said. "I'm in recovery," said Regina, now back in Atlanta. GraceWay's clients are women 18 and older. Some stay for a month of initial treatment, but they can stay up to 18 months. Sober living apartments, The Way, are next door to the residence for long-term recovery.
Kurt Hilgefort, is a Catholic father of six who publishes his thoughts on his blog Shadows of Augustine . He responded to my seven question survey with the following answers. Kurt is the first layperson to respond to the seven question survey and I think that his experience is extremely relevant to me personally and I hope that you are inspired by his thoughts as well. If you would like to respond, please send an email to fellmananthony@gmail.com with your thoughts and I will be happy to publish them as well. 1. What is the biggest challenge to your faith that you have faced so far? The biggest challenge for me has been the whole dying to self thing. On an intellectual level, there are no barriers. It comes down to a matter of accepting the authority of the Church that Christ founded upon Peter. My challenge is not in the intellect, but rather in the will. The challenge for me has always been to continually seek conversion. I want to be transformed, but I want it to be over all ...
