31. Alcohol problems felt in churches; more action needed

By Tom O'Connell

Sixty percent of pastoral counseling problems are related to alcohol abuse and alcoholism, according to a crusader who has made it his life's work to stimulate more action by churches and synagogues on issues surrounding alcohol misuse and abuse.

Rev. David Works, who founded Boston's North Conway Institute in 1951 with the help of the Yale School of Alcohol Studies, is still known for his outspoken approach to the subject. "Even though we've come a distance in heightening church awareness," he said in an interview, "I believe three-fourths of the nation's churches are still failing to minister to problem drinkers and little is being done by churches to head off problem drinking before it starts...despite the impact of chemical dependency on pastoral problems."

Rev. Works, who is an Episcopalian priest and a recovering alcoholic himself, is not discounting the work of religious institutions which provide facilities for meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and other Twelve Step addiction recovery groups. He is well aware the history of AA and the importance of a cooperative relationship between Twelve Step programs and organized religion.

"The founders of AA encouraged members of the fellowship not only to get sober," he said, "but also to return to full participation in the life of the Church. Some years ago, when a clergyman wanted to help alcoholics, there were very few places to refer them for treatment. Now we have a nationwide network of facilities, plus AA and Al-Anon meetings virtually everywhere. However, even though many referrals are made by clergy, we still need an expansion of self-help program spirituality plus more church involvement in prevention and education."

As for his own church, he pointed out that the Oxford Movement gave birth to AA, and that movement had Episcopalian Affiliations. He said the Episcopal Church is at the forefront of groups working with alcoholism, "and is the most comfortable working with AA." Noting the growth of family involvement in self-help groups during the past half-century, Works said that organized churches, and some synagogues as well, have continually supported the growth of the AA movement. "The number one activity which takes place during the week in most churches is meetings of AA, Al-Anon and Adult Children of Alcoholics."

In a survey that Works himself organized, three major sources confirmed that 60-70% of pastoral care problems reported to them were alcohol or drug-related. The three groups were the Catholic Archdiocese of Boston, the Episcopal Church, and the Christian Broadcasting Network's 700 Club. "Over 70% of the calls to the 700 Club were related to chemical dependency, " he said.

Citing a survey of 4,000 laity and clergy from within the ranks of the Presbyterian Church, Works noted that 54% of the laity and 72% of the clergy said alcoholic beverage consumption was a problem in their communities. And even though 46% of the laity and  83% of the clergy felt the church should be involved in alcohol abuse issues, some 76% of the clergy and 81% of the laity said their churches were not involved. In the crunch of day to day crises, it's easy to overlook one of the most pressing public health problems of our times, and assume that somebody else will handle it.

On an international level, he reported, "The abuse of alcohol and other drugs is the number one destructive force impacting on families today in this country, and overseas." In the past he has organized conferences in other parts of the world to address the situation. He explained, "At Munich we had representation from the United States, Germany, Scotland and Sweden. And all agreed that the churches and synagogues must intensify their work on this problem."

Why does the faith community have to do the job? Despite record-breaking surpluses at the governmental level, and record-breaking profits in the corporate community, scant resources and skimpy attention goes to prevention, treatment and education related to the nation's number one public health problem...addiction.

Time passes, life goes on, and the destructive impact of alcohol and other drug problems continues to challenge all levels of society from the family unit itself to the halls of government and corporate power.

I leave you with some questions. When will we learn? When will we face reality? When will we provide the necessary funding and resources?

If the faith community won't increase its efforts to work on the problem, who will?

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