Plans Being Laid for "Sacred Resurgence" Magazine

Text and image by Rick McVicar

  My own spiritual experiences are inspiring me to plan for publishing a magazine, Sacred Resurgence: Spirituality for Recovery. It will be Where Recovery Meets the Sacred. 

  I will be recruiting writers among the mental health and substance abuse disorder communities in Columbus, Ohio to describe how spiritual practices and beliefs help them to recover and thrive. Sacred Resurgence: Spirituality for Recovery will include a variety of religious perspectives, such as Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, New Age and nonreligious, among others. I want my writers to have jobs, so they will be paid. While Sacred Resurgence: Spirituality for Recovery will begin as a private business, plans are for the publication to become a non-profit organization

.   Publicly, I identify as a mainstream Protestant Christian. I regularly worship in a church and believe in the resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth. I have friendships with other members of a church and maintain a relationship with a denominational office. 

  However, privately I am not just a Christian. In fact, sometimes I feel uncomfortable being a Christian. For one, I do not believe Jesus died for my sins. In fact, I do not think of sin as being the key problem for me or for anyone else.

  Throughout my adult life, I have suffered from anxiety. I believe that anxiety is the root problem, which in turn causes sin. I ask Jesus to save me from anxiety rather than from sin. I am glad that Jesus can work through modern medicine and therapists to alleviate my anxiety.             

  Thankfully, in my own life I have found Where Recovery Meets the Sacred.             

  I began my journey into mental illness by hearing a voice I thought was God’s. The voice told me I was a new messiah who must go out to save the world. After being hospitalized and given proper medicine, I recognized that I was not the messiah, and my job was not to save the world. However, I was left with the belief that God still speaks to people and Jesus is not the only messiah. Messiahs may be all around us.         

  I have other beliefs that do not fit easily into Christianity as well. Being attuned to nature, I am uncomfortable with the focus that Christianity puts on the human. The Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, leaves out any mention of animals, rocks, trees, oceans or mountains. I often hear in churches that people are made in the image of God. But what about deer, tigers, elephants or eagles. Are they not also made in God’s image?             

  My own spirituality is influenced by paganism, especially the type handed down by the Celts. I have a Scottish surname, so Celtic religion, music and culture feel right for me. The Celtic goddess Brigid, the creator of poetry, gives me inspiration. I have worshiped rocks, creeks and trees along with Jesus of Nazareth.             

  I am looking forward to working with others in recovery who will want to share their spiritual experiences and practices. The magazine should be a good learning experience not only for me, but especially for readers of Sacred Resurgence: Spirituality for Recovery, Where Recovery Meets the Sacred.