Grace Brethren pastor, Rick Horner, is leading a faith-based committee that is providing training for pastors and church leaders in counseling addicts and their families. Recently, Rick, who is pastor of the Conemaugh Grace Brethren Church near Johnstown, Pa., was interviewed about the program on WTAJ. A portion of the story appears below. Click here to read the complete article and view the news story. (You may also view the story by clicking here.)
Faith-based drug addiction counseling
The Cambria County Drug Coalition’s new Faith Based Committee wants to share a message of faith, hope and recovery.
The committee is hosting a seminar for pastors, ministers and other church leaders from Johnstown to teach them how to counsel addicts and their families. They will also learn where to direct addicts looking for treatment and other recovery options.
“There’s a sense of hope, there’s a sense of security. When there’s no other answer sometimes, individuals who are linked to faith can open up doors we wouldn’t think about,” said Ronna Yablonski, the executive director of the Cambria County Drug Coalition.
Pastor J. Richard Horner is the chair of the Faith Based Committee. He said the church community is also impacted by the opioid epidemic and they want to help.
“We see it happening to our parishioners as well as to our neighbors,” said Pastor Horner of Conemaugh Grace Brethren Church.
The committee’s goal is for the trained church leaders to become on-call counselors for anyone struggling with addiction.
“Showing that people care. Addiction doesn’t have to be a stigma where we look down on people or families that go through it,” said Pastor Horner.
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