Have you experienced loss or pain, crisis, abuse, addiction, betrayal or personal failure? Are you searching for hope and the next step towards healing? Do you desire an authentic community so you can process your fears, hurts and struggles?
If you answered yes to any of the above, LV Hanson invites you to check out People of the Second Chance at Mariners Church.
LV is the director of recovery at Mariners and is excited about People of the Second Chance (POTSC) and the Fall Worship Night on Thursday, Sept. 13 from 7 to 9 p.m.
“Were kicking off this fall with a night of worship, prayer and stories of hope of change through God’s restorative power,” LV said. “People of the Second Chance is a global movement of people who want to live out radical grace. It’s for people who want to live a life of forgiveness, grace, understanding and love, of themselves and of others.
“I know Mike Foster who started People of the Second Chance three years ago,” LV continued. “He initially communicated through social media; the website has stories that are a constant cultural drip of radical grace. I asked him if we could create a local expression of it. Other churches are watching us to see what we do, how we learn and grow. It’s been a huge learning curve, and it’s really exciting. We launched on Jan. 26, and have learned and grown so much since then.”
LV said his favorite definition of radical grace is ‘having a relationship with a person’s heart, not their behaviors.’
People of the Second Chance is a 501(c)3 faith-based organization incorporated in California. It began as a response to failure. When partners Mike Foster and Jud Wilhite experienced unexpected failure of their leadership organization, they responded with a blog called People of the Second Chance as a place to process thoughts on grace and second chances. Their writings were therapeutic and not only did they find the blog kept them from becoming bitter, it also resonated with increasing numbers of people who also wanted second chances in life. It continues to grow and expand.
“When I came on staff at Mariners, I was asked to lead a fresh movement of recovery and care, and that’s what People of the Second Chance is,” LV said. “It’s really helping normalize and break the stigma of brokenness, and we’re learning that brokenness truly is beautiful.”
“We’ll have the Worship Night the 13th and then a one-day intensive seminar on Sept. 29 for anyone desiring to experiencing change or anyone interesting in learning how to better give and receive radical grace,” LV said. “We’re going to dig into is the age-old questions of ‘Why do I do the very thing I don’t want to do?’ and ‘Why can’t I change?’ For the first time in history we have biological and neurological insight into what makes the brain degenerate or regenerate and how to change. There are actual biological happenings in the brain that prohibit us from experiencing what we want to desperately want to experience, and God is speaking into that. People are changing and don’t have to live with the shame and guilt anymore.”
“Then we’re going to encourage people to get involved in a 10-week, 10-process intensive curriculum on what it means to experience change,” LV continued. “We did a pilot group it was phenomenal.”
One POTSC member was challenged by the statement, “You must feel to heal,” and realized her painful upbringing caused her to deny emotions and to believe she was unwanted.
“I realized I needed to feel the pain, feel the rejection, sorrow, and grief in order for my emotions to heal,” she said. “It’s been hard and there have been so many tears. Tears are such a sign of hope and freedom and healing. I don’t feel judged or like someone is trying to fix me. There’s no truth in the lie that I am not enough or that I am unwanted. I am a passionately loved, dearly wanted, fully known and accepted woman of God. I am more whole than I have ever been and there’s a greater strength in me.”
“We want others to join us as we challenge misconceptions about failure and success, and explore what it means to give and receive radical grace on this journey towards freedom and restoration,” LV concluded. “We are a safe community that is committed to stretch beyond ourselves in the areas of forgiveness and personal transparency. The worship night is really easy, people can stay anonymous and don’t have to commit, or sign anything. Come, check us out.”
For further information, go to Marinerschurch.org/potsc. Cindy can be reached at [email protected].
