While it may vary from community to community, there is certainly an increase in opioid addiction and overdoses throughout the country. Here in Ohio, the situation has been deemed an epidemic. If you talk to the first responders in Findlay, you’ll hear stories of increasing numbers of overdoses and calls to assist those who have overdosed. You’ll also hear about the indiscriminate nature of this type of addiction: it’s not just certain types of people in certain types of neighborhoods; it can be your next door neighbor, your coworker or the person who sits next to you in church. Opioid addiction is wreaking havoc on people’s lives.
If we are to love our neighbors as we love our selves, we’ve got to know our neighbors and neighborhoods and know what’s going on in our communities. Here’s the challenge. For some of us, we are unaware of such issues or challenges in our communities, neighborhoods or social circles. We just don’t know that it’s even an issue. For others, we may be painfully aware of the addiction challenges plaguing our communities, but we have no idea how to help those battling addiction to opioids. As a result, we’re often frozen and either unable or unwilling to provide the help that is so desperately needed. There’s a great opportunity for God’s people to rise up and answer one of the most pressing challenges of our day.
I’m so grateful that our friends at Winebrenner Theological Seminary (WTS) are trying to help answer the call by equipping men and women to respond to the opioid addiction that is affecting so many lives in our culture.
On Friday afternoon June 23, 2017, WTS will host “Tackling the Opioid Epidemic in Ohio – Prevention, Intervention, Treatment and Recovery.” The seminar will run from 1 p.m. until 4 p.m. and includes lunch at 12 noon. The cost is only $30 or $10 for those with a WTS student ID.
To register, please email Dr. Karen McGibbon at [email protected] by June 16, 2017 or register online at https://www.winebrenner.edu/Give/OnlinePaymentDonation.aspx. The workshop will be held at Winebrenner’s Findlay campus located at 950 North Main St., Findlay, OH. You can visit http://winebrenner.edu/ for more information.
Whether you realize it or not, this issue is probably present in your church or community. If you want to learn more how to recognize opioid addiction, prevent opioid addiction or help those in opioid addiction find help through treatment and recovery, you’ll want to be in Findlay on Friday, June 23. For those of you within a couple hours of Findlay, this would certainly be a good and inexpensive investment in your ministry to your community (it would still be a good investment for those who need to travel a bit more to get here). This isn’t just for pastors or professional ministry types; it’s open to anyone who wants to learn more about helping those trapped in opioid addiction.
Let’s not be unaware or ill-equipped to help brothers and sisters. There are people in our communities who need us to step up and hear their cries for help. Know what’s really going on and get the skills to really help.
Christ’s Peace,
Lance