January 18, 2017 Maryville, Tennessee
Pastor Parker Benson
Celebrate Recovery (CR) Maryville’s Pastor Parker Benson and Lay Leader Owen Ragland enrolls as the newest Veteran Friendly Ministry (VFM) in the Veteran/Military Friendly Congregation program.
Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-centered, 12-step program modeled after the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. It is also based on the ‘8 principles of Recovery’ from the Sermon on the Mount. CR Maryville branch is Nationally Certified by Celebrate Recovery.
First United Methodist Church is the host church for Celebrate Recovery as an outreach and service to the community. Many of the attendees and volunteers attend other churches as well. CR is for all people who have the desire to find freedom from hurts, habits, and hang-ups, whether they are affecting their own life or the lives of people around them.
Owen Ragland
CR Maryville meets every Wednesday night at First United Methodist Church in Maryville. Free meals are prepared and served each week at 5:30 p.m. Group worship begins at 6:30 p.m. It incorporates teaching, testimony and Christian contemporary music offered by a 5-member band. Average attendance for group worship is around 200 people.
Celebrate Recovery launched over 23 years ago at Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., with only 43 people. Through the loving power of Jesus, Celebrate Recovery is now in more than 27,000 churches worldwide, serving over 2,500,000 people with programs translated into 19 different languages.
The Knoxville Regional Mental Health Council and Vet to Vet Tennessee has agreed to incorporate CR into V2VT’s initial recovery plan as another resource for veterans and their families and friends.
We are blessed, honored and grateful to have Pastor Benson and Owen Ragland as part of our network. Please send them an email or call them to welcome them into the network; contact info on the registry herewith attached.
To learn more about the VMFC initiative please visit the Military Chaplains Association or our VFMC page
