Twelve Step Recovery Service

Thursday January 28, 2021, 5:30 pm

A Service in Honor of the Life and Ministry of the Reverend Sam Shoemaker

Testimony and Thanks

In August 1996, I was sleeping on a friend’s floor after another attempt to run from problems I’d created for myself — symptoms of an alcohol problem that had burned hot and fast throughout my teens and continued no matter my efforts at control. I made a half-hearted call to a hotline number, I was 21, and I was exhausted. A man returned my call and started what has, so far, been a 24-year journey to recovery, with a host of friends, finding a purpose for life, and — most importantly — a God of my own understanding. This person’s active testimony to the power of God made available through a spiritual program of surrender, confession, restitution and witness was God working through the most unlikely and, in some cases, most anti-social of His kids. The man’s name is Joe, and he ‘stood by the door,’ waiting for someone just like me to show up so that he could show me the way out — the way to a faith that works. This particular way is a gift, in part, of the Rev. Sam Shoemaker, and I am grateful (among many things) to count Rev. Sam and Joe among the saints in my life: unlikely saints who took — and continue to take — their place by the door. I want to stand there, too. — E ric Bumgardner

On January 22, 2007, I cannot say specifically what happened other than a moment of willingness and grace collided, and that began what is now a fourteen year journey for me being free from drugs and alcohol, one day at a time. I reached out to a friend who I knew was in recovery, and she shared with me that there was another way to live. It meant surrendering, putting God at the center of my life, and living a life of service. I was desperate and told her, “sign me up.” I met other people like my friend and found a place where I felt understood. I saw joy, heard laughter, and experienced a camaraderie that I had been looking for all my life. What I saw was a group of people willing to turn their wills and lives over to the care of God, and a desire to live on spiritual principles. I learned that a leader from the Episcopal Church, the faith tradition I grew up in, and the tradition I returned to, was one of the key influencers on the development of this way of life, the Reverend Samuel Shoemaker. My hope is that in some small way, I too can create a way for people to find a way out, to find a new way to live, and to walk in the sunlight of God’s spirit — one day at a time. — S tacey M. Carpenter

Thank you to Danielle Hansen, Derek Larson, Sarah Diener-Schlitt, Santi Rodriguez, Brandon Haynes, and John Fountain who helped make this service possible.

2 Thursday, January 28, 2021: Twelve Step Recovery Service

Officiant: Light and peace, in Jesus Christ our Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Officiant: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 1: 28 – 30, NRSV)

Officiant: Almighty and merciful God, in your goodness keep us, we pray, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready both in mind and body , may accomplish with free hearts those things which belong to your purpose; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever Amen.

Phos Hilaron O Gracious Light

Psalm Psalm 54 — From Conscious Contact with God The Psalms for Addiction and Recovery (Steps 1–3 Surrender)

Rescue me, Higher Power use your strength to save me. Listen to my plea for help, and hear my desperation. My addiction seems stronger than ever; relentlessly it assaults me.

3 I cannot find you, God, to save me. I trust that you are here, even if I cannot feel you. I believe you can relieve my distress and heal my compulsions. I will turn over my will to you, and submit my life to your care. For you’ll deliver me from my problems; I’ll rejoice in my deep healing.

The Lesson Luke 4:40–44

As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah. At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea.

Reader: Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Churches. People: Thanks be to God.

Collect I Stand by the Door, Rev. Samuel Shoemaker, pg. 9

4 The Apostles' Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Prayers

Officiant: Hear our cry, O God. People: And listen to our prayer. Officiant: Let us pray.

The Lord’s Prayer

5 The Suffrages

Intercessor: For relief from the bondage of self. ( silence) Lord in your mercy, People: Hear our prayer. For the willingness to wholly offer ourselves to you. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For the willingness to bear witness to your power and love. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For the willingness to seek and do your will. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For families suffering separation and conflict. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For children and other blameless victims. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For reconciliation in our relationships. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For those suffering from COVID-19. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For the lonely and forgotten. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For those who work to help and heal. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For serenity, acceptance, courage, and wisdom. Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer. For those that we name at this time, either aloud or in the silence of our hearts... Lord in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Officiant: O Blessed Lord, you ministered to all who came to you: look with compassion on all who through alcoholism and addiction have lost health and freedom. Restore to them the assurance of your unfailing mercy; remove from them the fears that beset them; strengthen them in the work of recovery; and to those who care for them, give patient understanding and persevering love. Amen.

Confession (Steps 4–7: confession)

We believe all lives have been impacted to a greater or lesser degree by addiction or compulsion, if not personally, then through a close relationship. We invite you to prayerfully consider what in your life is blocking you from fully experiencing the sunlight of God’s spirit. In Twelve Step Recovery, we take a personal inventory of our resentments, fears and the harms that we inflict on ourselves and others, confess them, and give them to God. At this time, please spend a few minutes in prayer and meditation, then write a burden that you would like to give up, bring it to the fire pit and burn it as a symbol of turning it over to God.

Hymn Oceans (Where Feet May Fail), H illsong

A Prayer of St. Francis (Steps 8–12: restitution and witness)

Lord, make us instruments of thy peace. That where there is hatred, let us sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. Grant that we may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Officiant: Let us bless the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Officiant: May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen. — Romans 15:13

7 Hymn: Beautiful Things, Gungor

All this earth could all that is lost ever be found Could a garden come out from this ground at all

You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of the dust You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us

All around hope is springing up from this old ground Out of chaos Life is being found, in You

You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of the dust You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us

You make me new, You are making me new

8 I Stand By The Door

I stand by the door. I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out. The door is the most important door in the world — It is the door through which men walk when they find God. There is no use my going way inside and staying there, When so many are still outside and they, as much as I, Crave to know where the door is. And all that so many ever find Is only the wall where the door ought to be. They creep along the wall like blind men, With outstretched, groping hands, Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door, Yet they never find it. So I stand by the door.

The most tremendous thing in the world Is for men to find that door — the door to God. The most important thing that any man can do Is to take hold of one of those blind, groping hands And put it on the latch — the latch that only clicks And opens to the man's own touch.

Men die outside the door, as starving beggars die On cold nights in cruel cities in the dead of winter. Die for want of what is within their grasp. They live on the other side of it — live because they have not found it. Nothing else matters compared to helping them find it, And open it, and walk in, and find Him. So I stand by the door.

9 Go in great saints; go all the way in — Go way down into the cavernous cellars, And way up into the spacious attics. It is a vast, roomy house, this house where God is. Go into the deepest of hidden casements, Of withdrawal, of silence, of sainthood. Some must inhabit those inner rooms And know the depths and heights of God, And call outside to the rest of us how wonderful it is. Sometimes I take a deeper look in. Sometimes venture in a little farther, But my place seems closer to the opening. So I stand by the door.

There is another reason why I stand there. Some people get part way in and become afraid Lest God and the zeal of His house devour them; For God is so very great and asks all of us. And these people feel a cosmic claustrophobia And want to get out. 'Let me out!' they cry. And the people way inside only terrify them more. Somebody must be by the door to tell them that they are spoiled. For the old life, they have seen too much: One taste of God and nothing but God will do any more. Somebody must be watching for the frightened Who seek to sneak out just where they came in, To tell them how much better it is inside. The people too far in do not see how near these are To leaving — preoccupied with the wonder of it all. Somebody must watch for those who have entered the door But would like to run away. So for them too, I stand by the door.

10 I admire the people who go way in. But I wish they would not forget how it was Before they got in. Then they would be able to help The people who have not yet even found the door. Or the people who want to run away again from God. You can go in too deeply and stay in too long And forget the people outside the door. As for me, I shall take my old accustomed place, Near enough to God to hear Him and know He is there, But not so far from men as not to hear them, And remember they are there, too. Where? Outside the door — Thousands of them. Millions of them. But — more important for me — One of them, two of them, ten of them. Whose hands I am intended to put on the latch. So I shall stand by the door and wait For those who seek it.

I had rather be a door-keeper So I stand by the door.

11 Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker

Born in Baltimore in 1893, Sam Shoemaker was a highly influential priest of the Episcopal Church and is remembered for his empowerment of the ministry of the laity.

Training for the priesthood at The General Seminary, Shoemaker became an Episcopal priest in 1921. After a brief curacy and further involvement with student ministry at Princeton, Shoemaker was called in 1925 to become the Rector of Calvary Church, New York City, a post he held for sixteen years. During his tenure, Calvary’s ministry grew exponentially, largely through Shoemaker’s ability to hold in creative tension the power of personal evangelism and giving authentic witness to one’s faith while remaining faithful to the liturgical and sacramental traditions of the church.1

Bill W. (co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous) once wrote in the A.A. Grapevine that “Dr. Sam Shoemaker was one of A.A. 's indispensables. Had it not been for his ministry to us in our early time, our Fellowship would not be in existence today.” His help for A.A. was tangible even before the Fellowship began to exist. As the head of Calvary Church, Sam built Calvary House, which served as a hostel where Ebby T. (an early alcoholic who found sporadic sobriety through the principles of the Oxford Group) stayed for a time. Sam also ran Calvary Mission, a place for “the down-and-out,” which Bill W. visited in 1934 near the end of his drinking.

Bill W. made it clear that Sam Shoemaker “passed on the spiritual keys by which we were liberated.” The first three Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, the starting point for sobriety in the A.A. program, were inspired in part by Shoemaker. Bill further explained that “the early A.A. got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Groups and directly from Sam Shoemaker, their former leader in America, and from nowhere else.”

Dr. Shoemaker helped A.A. in fundamental ways. Physically, he provided refuge for alcoholics in New York though Calvary Church. Of greater importance was his spiritual aid, which directly influenced the Twelve Steps and the nature of A.A.’s program of recovery. His long and close friendship with Bill W. provided support to the co-founder, and helped the Fellowship weather its fledgling years.2