Ministers, Congregations asked to join Alcohol: Use & Abuse Discussions

Since September, two groups of community folk have been meeting in Hamilton and Morrisville to consider the question of Alcohol: Use & Abuse.

In an effort to expand the participation in these groups – which are open to all the community members in either community – a breakfast meeting has been scheduled on November 13^th at 9:30 a.m. at the Morrisville Community Church on Swamp Road in Morrisville.

All of the area pastors have been invited to attend and have been encouraged to bring an active member of their faith community with them to the meeting.

Both the on going meetings and the breakfast informational meetings are sponsored by the Madison County STOP DWI Office.

“Laws and active Law Enforcement can only do so much,” explained Steve Goodfriend, STOP DWI Coordinator; “the community, in its most local form, has to take responsibility for the actions of its members.”

In order to do this, the community needs to come together and discuss its views on the subject before they can decide what and how they may wish to make a change.

Distracted/impaired individuals operating high speed vehicles on our highways are disasters waiting to happen. It only takes a fraction of a second for something to go wrong – people are injured, or worse! Families are disrupted and torn apart when individuals do not think through the consequences of their actions. The community must set the tone by which individuals think through their actions before they disrupt their own and the lives of others.

It is imperative that the communities feel good about themselves and the quality of life that signifies their life. Both Hamilton and Morrisville have many good points – reasons that people like to and are proud of living in those communities. Feeling positive about where we live and about our neighbors translates into caring about our neighbors and families and not putting them in jeopardy by poorly thought through decisions.

The use of alcohol is, within the law, an individual choice; but, the abuse of alcohol becomes a community concern! No one wants to be afraid to go out into their community, no one wants to find out the next morning that there was an accident, that a neighbor has been lost or injured because an impaired driver was not able to react with the control needed in a difficult situation.

“These community meetings are open to all and there is not pre-planned outcome,” stressed Goodfriend. “This must be a community process with plenty of participation for all facets of the community. On November 13^th we will be asking the Churches in the community to join in this effort; and we will look forward to the November 18th Hamilton and the December 2nd Morrisville Community Meetings.”

Ministers, Congregations asked to join Alcohol: Use & Abuse Discussions

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