Freedom Circles

Modeled after 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous, Freedom Circles create space for everyone and anyone, regardless of race, class, or creed, to share openly and honestly about their life. Each person shares their joys, their troubles, and their individual faith journeys. 

We start every meeting by reading our litany.  It is a great guide to what we hold as true.

FREEDOM CIRCLE LITANY

The Challenge

Our lives are filled with so many challenges, struggles and hurts.  They make it hard to be the free people God longs for us to be.  

What makes it even harder is that we are isolated. We feel disconnected from others and find it hard to trust each other.

 The Hope

We believe that new ways are possible.  We know that when people come together, new things can happen.  One amazing example is Alcoholics Anonymous, which decades ago no one knew about.  Now the 12-step program is practiced around the world and has saved millions of lives.  This gives us hope.  Maybe there can be a group that meets for support and prayer that can help all of us deal with what life brings our way, a group that helps us all grow more free to become the people God wants us to be.  Maybe this can save our lives.

Our desire is to be a group that claims our birthright as children of God.  We will take into our hearts a deeper understanding that each of our lives is a blessing needed by the community and the world.

 Our Higher Power is Jesus Christ

Jesus loves all people.  He challenged the oppressive systems of his time.  Our desire is to follow his way of love in our time, in our lives.   Our world says that we are not supposed to care about and love people who are different from us.  Our world tells us not to be friends with or to love people of different races and backgrounds.  Our world says our worth is measured by what we own, how much money we have, who our friends are and what we look like.  We believe these worldly assumptions are lies, and we desire to break down these walls of hatred, mistrust and isolation and to become the free people God created us to be.

Affirmation of Belonging

Having been called out of the world’s system into God’s system:

·     we recognize the injustice of the world’s systems;

·     we recognize our addiction to these systems;

·       we recognize our helplessness to break our addiction and to heal ourselves;

·     we cry out for a Saviour and a community of support;

·     we commit ourselves to becoming recovering cultural addicts;

·     we will give pioneering servant leadership in every dimension of Christ’s call on our lives.

 We Commit to 5 Steps of Recovery

Together:  None of us can become free alone.  We will spend one hour together every week, sharing our struggles and joys.

Time:  In the beginning, we will set aside at least 15 minutes a day for personal prayer and scripture reading, with the intent of getting to know Jesus and sensing how much God loves us.  We also commit to pray for each other.

Task:  Jesus loves us deeply and passionately and calls us to give back to others.  We will seek to find the task that God has for us to do.  We want to be with those who are suffering and to help change the unjust structures that cause the suffering.

Take:  We will take hold of Jesus the Liberator who tears us away from the worldly systems and values that bind and kill us.  We will name those things in ourselves that keep us from living in a new way of nonviolent love and freedom, and offer them up for healing.

Tell:  As we are being liberated and freed, we will tell others about the Source of our new freedom.