September is the month in which Recovery Communities make a concerted effort to celebrate and value the lives of those caught up with alcohol and other drug use. Much of recovery months activities are centred around conferences, media releases and walks. There is an emphasis on celebrating the power of recovery (survival) for the thousands of individuals with living and lived experience. Through these events we continue to challenge stigma.
It is also the most poignant of months to remember those good friends and family members who we have lost to their use of drugs and alcohol. Often, recovery month events include minutes of silence and pauses to reflect on this heaviest of tolls. Sometimes, they will include longer and more formal events of remembrance.
On Friday 29th September, North Wales Recovery Communities (NWRC) held their first full service of remembrance and hope. We gathered in Saint Deiniol’s Cathedral, Bangor, and expressed gratitude for being alive and kicking; and regret and sorrow for those dear to us, who are no longer with us.
The service began with welcomes from Sion-Rhys Evans (sub-Dean of the Cathedral) and Sarah Flynn (Chair of NWRC trustees). It then encompassed a reading of the song ‘Lean on me’ written by Bill Withers. At is heart, this song expresses the following sentiments:
Sometimes in our lives, we all have pain, we all have sorrow, but if we are wise, we know that there’s always tomorrow… If I have things you need to borrow, for no one can fill those of your needs that you won’t let show, you just call on me brother when you need a hand…. If there is a load you have to bear, that you can’t carry, I’m right up the road, I’ll share your load…Lean on me, when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend, I’ll help you carry on…
There were hymns and prayers. At the heart of the service was a share, by Catrin. She told us of her life of addiction to heroin and her gratitude for now being the happy mother of a newly born girl. The remembrance concluded through the process of lighting candles in memory of those no longer with us.
The service also including a reading in Welsh (Cymraeg) the poem ‘Heno’, penned by Iestyn Gwyn Jones. This was shared in Welsh (Yn Cymraeg). We offer the English translation here.
Tonight I cried, Sitting in a cold room and feeling, tears flowing down my cheeks.
It hurts, seeing life without the acting. Seeing the smoke clear.
Seeing that I am one in a world of walking by. A mute child with no moving to him.
Yes. Tonight I cried.
And arriving at tomorrow makes the tears flow. Everyday a challenge
Existence and ability to repair, to break apart in a tireless void.
I’m hurting. But dawn will come again.
I must stay strong in pain and remember.
Life will not be perfected, but at least we can hug, we can embrace.
It was a magical and powerful morning. Those in recovery and the community in which they are a part of coming together and holding up the beacon of hope. And the sharing of some suitably purple cup-cakes. We now expect it to be a permanent fixture on our local recovery month calendar.
