A new online community for those in recovery, meeting online once a month.

Hinde Street has a long history of providing a physical space for 12 step recovery groups in the heart of London.

Before the pandemic they had 60 such groups meeting on their premises throughout the week. Even now, post-Covid, 28 groups continue to meet in person at Hinde Street Methodist Church. So, Faith in Recovery is being launched in the spring of 2026 in response to this obvious need, with the willingness of a couple of people in recovery to lead the group and drawing on the experience of Recovery Church in the Northeast of England.

It is recognised that most people in recovery will be reflecting deeply on their own spiritual life and journey as part of the 12-step program and the healing it offers. For some, this will accompany a deeper journey into their own religious traditions (if they are part of a tradition already); for others, this may lead to exploring a traditional religion for the first time; for others, the rooms of AA (NA, etc) will be their primary or only spiritual community and they are not interested in traditional religious community.

Meetings differ widely and AA is not a religious programme and expresses no formal opinion on or expectation of religious commitment. Although, the AA Big Book speaks positively about consulting one's own religious leader if one has one — as part of the process.

The hope is this new Faith in Recovery NPNP will reach new people who already have a connection to the church through the existing recovery communities, and the group will be established with leaders who are themselves on a recovery journey. They will begin by testing and shaping what they do in the time they have together online and find ways to support members and build community between their meetings.

It is anticipated there will be other locations in the District where Recovery Church can be offered given so many churches already host 12 step recovery meetings regularly.

Contact Deacon Ruth Yorke at Hinde Street Methodist Church for further information. Her email address is ruth.yorke@live.co.uk