NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It’s the first Sunday of Lent, a time when many Christian believers choose to temporarily give something up for the period between Ash Wednesday and Easter.
However, a Nashville church is using the occasion to add a new focus to its services.
You might say leaders at Edgehill United Methodist Church are taking things step by step for the next few weeks.
"We're really wanting to engage with the wisdom of the 12 steps and our faith, and having a conversation between those two things and seeing what we have to learn from that intersection," said Rev. Eric Mayle, pastor at Edgehill United Methodist Church.
Pastor Eric Mayle is incorporating the teachings from 12-step programs that are traditionally used to help people battling addiction into his sermons during Lent.
It's part of the church's Road to Recovery series.
"You don't have to be an addict or an alcoholic to benefit from the wisdom of the 12 steps," Mayle said.
According to Mayle, almost anyone can find meaning in the teachings of these programs.
“We're all wounded people. And the 12 steps do a really beautiful job of highlighting woundedness and the ways in which we can find healing and recovery in really practical ways,” Mayle said.
In addition to the sermons, churchgoers can attend Sunday School classes breaking down how to apply those principles to many aspects of their lives.
“If you look at the 12 steps, the first step talks about the addiction. We're powerless over alcohol or whatever. But, the other 11 steps don't mention the addiction. They don't mention what we're addicted to. It's all about recovery,” said Brad Maclean, a Sunday school teacher at Edgehill United Methodist Church.
According to MacLean, there is an aspect of faith to many of the steps.
“One of the things that this church is about is expanding and deepening our spiritual lives. And the 12 steps are all about creating the conditions for a spiritual experience,” Maclean said.
While Lent may be a time for many people to give something up, Mayle said it's also a time for reflection.
"Lent is really a time when we center ourselves and turn inward, and we begin to look at those wounds in our lives. And I think that's something that the 12 steps do a really beautiful job of doing," said Mayle.
For more information about the programs at Edgehill United Methodist Church click here.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
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