This program is part of the Classics in Religion series. This group is open to all and meets Mondays (11 a.m. to Noon) at the Penn Yan Public Library, 214 Main St. Penn Yan.

Join us January 27th with Rev. Gary Brown as he provides an overview of “A Theology of Addiction.” Since 1969, when he began ministering to youth in his Connecticut community, Rev. Brown has been receiving an intensive course in the aspects of addiction, from its relation to heredity and alienation, to its connection with spirituality and devotion. He will remind us that drugs are not the only kind of addiction people can experience, and that even positive behaviors can become addictive and cause problems in our lives.

The “sincere delusion” that leads to addiction produces a “double-think” that encourages addicts to remain trapped by the disease and unable to love themselves. Because the addiction becomes all consuming, it leaves no room for God and creates dependence only on the addictive substance or behavior. It becomes a “twisted kind of worship.”

Facilitator: Rev. Gary Brown

A native of Corning and graduate of Union Theological Seminary, Rev. Brown was ordained by the Presbytery of Greater NY and has engaged with addiction and related issues since the beginning of his ministry. He has been involved with youth groups, refugees, and the homeless. Now retired, he lives in Hammondsport where he writes poetry and is part of a local poets’ group, as well as doing fundraisers for local animal welfare and hospice programs.