I’m Meg McBride and this is why I feel called to do this…!
In 2001, I got sober in Pennsylvania when Joanne P. approached me, told me she was going to be my sponsor and took me through the 12 steps. From working the 12 steps I was reborn. My spiritual journey has been one of variety including: “Higher Power of my own understanding,” Native American Spirituality, and Buddhism that eventually lead me to return to my Christian roots when I had a spiritual experience listening to the Gospel in 2010 during the emotional crisis brought on by a divorce.
Deeply excited about the stories in the Bible, I studied religion (completing an undergrad in 2015) and went on to study divinity for a brief time. I dropped out of my pursuit of advanced education after my Mom died in 2016 – a time when what I needed most was to be working “in the field.” I pressed into finding God in real life and spent five years working with the homeless population of Wilmington as a healthcare advocate. My role as a caseworker taught me great lessons about pain, suffering and holding hope for people who feel utterly hopeless.
For the first 10 years of my sobriety, I was an active member of the fellowship in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania where I hosted a meeting called “Women’s 164.” When I moved to North Carolina in 2011, I was a home group member of a local meeting until I felt called to share my experience, strength and hope in Celebrate Recovery (CR). For six years, I participated and lead the CR at Myrtle Grove Presbyterian Church. In the spring of 2019, we discerned the group was ready for a new direction and I stepped down as the leader and concentrated on the possibility of starting a “recovery church.”
In July 2020, I was asked to begin working on establishing a spiritual recovery community in Wilmington, NC for persons with the lived experience of 12th step recovery. This work is being supported New Faith Communities of The United Methodist Church of the North Carolina Annual Conference to whom we are grateful and give many thanks for their support.
I am excited by spiritual formation practices and try to participate in growing and deepening my relationship with God in group settings as often as I can. I have a therapist and a life coach who also helps me to see my part and keep my side of the street clean. Self reflection and continuous growth is a necessary part of my recovery and I believe it is invaluable for those of us who wish to stay clean/sober and live healthy and productive lives that contribute to the world around us.
We meet on Thursday evenings at 6:30pm for an “11th Step” gathering of sorts where we study the steps and Scripture side-by-side in a sharing/discussion format where everyone has a chance to contribute to the conversation and ask questions. We’re kind of like a meeting and sort of like church. Come check us out and give us a try! We aren’t for everyone and that’s ok. But, if you say “I belong” with us, then you belong!!!
I would love to take you out for coffee.
Please feel free to contact me at 910-523-9739 or at hoperecoveryILM@gmail.com.
In Love and Service, Meg McB.