AA / NA at Hoge

It has been said that a church that has a strong acceptance by the community does not come across as a glimmering shrine to show off its greatness, but as a clinic whose focus is on helping others, both physically and spiritually. Hoge shares its building with several groups whose goal is the support of others. Two such groups are Alcoholics Anonymous ( AA ) and Narcotics Anonymous ( NA ). Their meeting times can be found on the Hoge online calendar. Click on the blue underlined word or lick on the "Calendar" choice at the top of this page.

Let’s take a minute to find out who these groups are by taking some information from their introductory pamphlets:

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; they are self-supporting through their own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Their primary purpose is to stay sober and helps achieve sobriety. To find out more you can go to their website at www.aa.org.

Narcotics Anonymous offers addicts a way to live drug-free. If you are not sure you are an addict, don’t worry about it; just keep coming to the meetings. You will have all the time you need to make up your mind. If you are like many of us when we attend our first meeting, you may be feeling pretty nervous and think that everyone at the meeting is focused on you. If so, you are not the only one. Many of us have felt the same way. It has been said, “If your stomach is all tied up in knots, you’re probably in the right place”. We often say that no one comes through the doors of NA by mistake. Nonaddicted people don’t spend their time wondering if they’re addicts. They don’t even think about it. It doesn’t matter whether or not you have used the same drugs others mention. It is not important which drugs you used; you’re welcome here if you want to stop using. Most addicts experience very similar feelings, and it is in focusing on our similarities, rather than on our differences, that we are helpful to one another.

You may be feeling hopeless and afraid. You may think that this program, like other things you have tried, will not work. Or you may think that it will work for someone else but not for you because you feel you are different than us. Most of us felt like that when we first came to NA. Somehow we knew that we couldn’t go on using drugs, but we didn’t know how to stop or stay clean. We were all afraid to let go of something that had become so important to us. It is a relief to discover that the only requirement for membership in NA is a desire to stop using… To find out more you can go to their website at www.na.org.

If you know of someone who would benefit from one of these groups, invite them to the scheduled meeting times. If they are not in the Hoge neighborhood, go to their websites to find a more convenient time and place to help them find the support they need.