I have spent the last week at a retreat for the clergy of the Diocese of Quincy in which I am canonically resident.  That may seem confusing, but what it means is that I am a priest in the Diocese of Quincy, and by any measure, that is my home.

And it pleases me very much to confess that, as the people I have met in the Diocese over the 5 or so years I have been there have been some of the finest I have ever known.  In fact, when I come to an event I am eager with anticipation, and when I leave an event, I am steeped in a bit of disappointment, if not depression.

I did not make this retreat last year, and it was hard on me.  I was working as an addictions and mental health therapist at Fairbanks Hospital. and it just did not seem okay to ask for the time away less than 90 days after your start date to head to a retreat.  But I am convicted that I was wrong about that now.  The very fact that I am a priest AND an addict in recovery make the importance of staying connected to my priesthood vital.  And as I am still a priest, and in my 30th year of ordained and successful ministry, compared to almost 40 years of active use/addiction, make the priorities far clearer.

I really do not think God wants to judge me or discard me into the trash heap.  But I do think he has raised up a shepherd to show others how to recover from a call to a place from where many do not  return.  You can judge me if you would like, but I am among those who have stared the Devil in the face, rejected him, and have lived.  And I can teach you to do the same, and have many others I walk with who possess the same skill.

Do not walk this road alone, and do not think that all God’s saints wear wings, or halos, or robes of gold.

God will provide us with what we need.  We only need to be willing to see and accept what He offers.

If you need help, please contact me.  I have been called to offer myself, and I hang with many others who have been called to do the same.

Faithfully,

Tommy+