Daughter of Ray Charles will speak in Richmond, IN.

Celebrate Recovery, a nationwide addiction recovery program, is working with Richmond’s Hillcrest Baptist Church to bring Sheila Raye Charles, daughter of musician and songwriter Ray Charles, to the community Friday.

John Bledsoe, associate pastor of HBC and minister leader for the location’s Celebration Recovery program, cannot wait for Friday’s event in the church sanctuary, saying it will be “an incredible program” and that “when people come, they will see that healing and recovery is possible.”



Gil Alford, co-leader of the program, agrees, especially in regards to her testimony. Both spoke about the mission behind Celebrate Recovery, specifically regarding one part: “Help those struggling with hurts, hang-ups and habits by showing them the loving power of Jesus Christ through the recovery process.”
“She is the perfect person to come speak to that message,” Alford said. Charles has a difficult past. As the daughter of a music legend, she felt she “couldn’t live up to expectations” and expressed a difficulty with loving her father for the right reasons. Due to his prestige and being loved by many, Charles said she “felt obligated to love him.”

During her third stint in federal prison Charles feels she reached “the pit of hell,” losing custody of her children and facing other heartaches. She sought and found God, and came to this conclusion:
“Let God reveal to me that I need to dispose of and what I need to embrace.”



In more recent years Charles has been an advocate for addiction recovery, using her testimony to help rally others to find faith and the power to overcome their life struggles.




Her connection to Celebrate Recovery started four years ago, where she was at a speaking engagement and was approached by a member. When asked to speak for them, Charles showed interest and her and her agent, Patricia Maltz, discussed and decided to participate.


Since then, Charles has spoken at more than 200 locations for Celebrate Recovery on her own time.
“It is the best addiction recovery program,” said Bledsoe, adding that it deals with “the roots” of the problems and struggles rather than “the fruit,” which Bledsoe believes is the normal course of action for other addiction recovery programs.


Celebrate Recovery has a 60 percent success rate for addiction recovery, he said. It meets every Friday at Hillcrest, which is northwest of Richmond off Indiana 38 just west of U.S. 35. Charles will give her testimony and empowerment Friday night through words and song.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

The Difference between A-list, B-list, C-list and D-list Actors & Celebrities

Take a tour of Tyler Perry's massive new studio on a former Army base in Atlanta, Georgia

Etiquette: Unwritten Rules of Movie Theaters You're Probably Breaking