Cost: Sliding Scale $500, $375, $250
Countless individuals have been rescued from potentially deadly and life-destroying addictions and compulsions by the 12 steps developed by Bill W and Dr. Bob and popularized through Alcoholics Anonymous. Meanwhile, addictions to profit, power, and prestige have been systematized in the dominant US culture in ways that threaten the future of human beings and many other life forms on the planet. What is the usefulness, if any, of the 12 steps for our collective recovery from addiction to a way of being that destroys life? How might 12-step recovery principles point us toward a more life-sustaining, joyful, communal way of relating to ourselves, a Higher Power, and all our relations?
These are some of the questions we will explore in this retreat for anyone with one or more years sober or abstinent in any 12-step program. Join us for fireside recovery meetings, fellowship among like-minded folks, hiking, singing, and reflection on the beautiful Kittatinny Ridge.
Facilitators Bios:
Rev. Lynice Pinkard is a Black writer, teacher, healer, pastor, recovering addict, and public intellectual operating at the intersection of Christianity, economics, and social change. Her current work is dedicated to decolonizing the human spirit and freeing people from what she calls “empire affective disorder.” Her commitment is to inspire and nurture a new generation of Spirit-filled servant leaders dedicated to the remediation of day-to-day suffering, the building of collective resilience for transformative change, and the pursuit of structural and systemic justice in the world.
Nichola Torbett is a white spiritual seeker, recovering addict, gospel preacher, racial justice podcaster, nonviolent direct action trainer, and petsitter. She is committed to helping other white people recognize their own trauma and discontent as catalysts for the dismantling of systems of oppression that are killing us all, and killing Black and Brown people first. She is grateful to First Congregational Church of Oakland and Second Acts as her primary communities of accountability.
Lynice and Nichola have been teaching, writing, and fomenting communities of recovery and resistance together for twelve years. Forged by mutual longing, love, and shared risk, their longstanding cross-racial friendship forms the basis for the transformative work they do with others.
