Who We Are, Why We Are Here

The 11^th steps states: “We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood God, praying only for the knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry it out.”

The purpose of this group is to share a spiritually meaningful experience for those in 12-step recovery as part of the 11^th step to “Improve our conscious contact with God as we understand God.”

The steps are written in a theologically generic way, allowing for the individual to discover God “as they understand God,” in their own time and in their own way. While this process of recovery is very individual it does not typically happen apart from a community of like-minded people. There is a profound imperative implicit in the program that we protect the freedom of the individual to grow spiritually at his or her own rate and yet there is also the profound truth that individual growth happens best in relationship to the collective body. The “I” needs the “We.”  Left alone the individual is lost, but through the power of the group we are individually guided and directed by those who have gone before us and by the one who is above us. It is the individual who works the 12 steps, but they do not do so alone.

Conscious Contact is an effort to create a sacred space where the recovering individual can be met where they are in their spiritual understanding without being expected to believe anything other than that there is a power greater then themselves who means them well. Conscious Contact is simply a place to help those in recovery discover and improve and deepen their conscious contact with God as they understand God.

To this end we seek to create a place that is theologically neutral so that wherever a person may be in their faith journey toward their understanding of God, they may not be hindered by the dogma of those who have made up their minds about who they think God is. Instead, we open ourselves; we humbly set our theology and dogma aside and we honor our neighbor who may differ from us or who may still be fragile or developing in their understanding of God. We humble ourselves so that we too might hear something new God may be saying to us that we had not heard before.

Our highest goal is to create a safe and sacred place where any and all of God’s children might feel welcome regardless of race, creed, or color and that together we can put ourselves aside and can open ourselves to the sacred experience of God without having to label anything, but simply experience the pure love of God together in an open and safe collective setting.

This is a 12-step recovery inspired experiment informed by members of the Lutheran church and so a disclaimer must be made. Many of us are admittedly Christian in our faith. While we are encouraged to speak of our faith and to draw from it as it has profoundly informed our experience, strength and hope, and yet we sincerely want to be sensitive to those who may not have come to the same conclusion we have on the matters of God. We also acknowledge that being Christian does not mean the same thing to everyone. We acknowledge being Christian does not mean we have the corner on truth and that through every faith tradition on earth there is valuable truth and knowledge to be appreciated. We want anyone who comes here regardless of denomination, religion, faith or lack of faith to know they are welcome. While many of us have come to believe that Jesus Christ is the ultimate revelation of God’s pure love and grace, we acknowledge that Jesus Christ has not always been presented as such.  Please know that wherever you are in your journey with God, no matter what your faith, you are welcome in this place and what you believe is acceptable here. The one over-riding and guiding theological principle for the group is the simple belief that it is God’s desire that all God’s children can join together in all their diversity and that we can learn from and support one another. All are welcome here.