Post
116
IGCCB
CLERGY CERTIFICATION IN THE NEWS
as awareness continues!
as awareness continues!
Several years ago, I received an invitation to
author three book reviews for Baylor University’s periodical Christian Reflection: A Series of Faith and
Ethics. It was an honor to be asked
and I poured much attention into the project.
This particular edition carried, throughout, the theme Gambling Culture, with various articles
covering historical, ethical, research, and ministry application aspects of
gambling. https://www.baylor.edu/ifl/christianreflection/index.php?id=83426
When the finished copy arrived, I opened
the magazine with excitement … and much to my surprise, colleague and friend, Deborah Haskins, Ph.D., had authored a
chapter, as well: Congregational Ministry to Problem Gamblers. With even more surprise, I
read her reference to Gambling Recovery Ministries as a model program of
gambling recovery for faith communities (Ibid., p.71).
Since that time, Dr. Haskins has become President of
the Maryland Council on Problem Gambling and, also, a leading collaborator in
the International Gambling Counselor Certification Board Clergy/Lay Minister
Certification program. Very recently, she
has brought awareness attention to
the impacts of gambling addiction within our society. Hear now her words as she speaks to reporter
Erik Alsgaard of the Baltimore-Washington Conference (The United Methodist
Church) NEWS AND VIEWS : March 18, 2019 (permission granted to include
this article). https://www.bwcumc.org/news-and-views/march-is-problem-gambling-month-how-you-can-help/
March is Problem
Gambling Month: How You Can Help
By Erik Alsgaard
Within the bounds of the Baltimore-Washington Conference, there
are five casinos: four in Maryland and one in West Virginia (Charles Town).
Casinos are not legal in Bermuda, but there’s an effort to change that soon.
Those casinos are in addition to the well-known horse tracks,
numerous bingo halls, and thousands of locations where lottery tickets are
bought and sold. And now that the NCAA basketball tournament is at hand, who
knows how much money is illegally wagered on the games and filling out the
“perfect bracket.”
As if that weren’t enough, a recent Supreme Court decision
legalizing sports betting beyond Las Vegas means that Washington, D.C., will soon
be home to massive opportunities to place legal sports bets, some from the
comfort of your own seat at a Wizards or Capitals game. The casino in Charles
Town opened its sports betting parlor last September, and Maryland is exploring
this expansion, too.
“We’re
venturing into new territory with sports gaming,” said D.C. Council member Jack
Evans last December. He wrote the bill, according to WAMU, and said, “I’m very
excited that the District will be out of the box with this. Let’s just hope a
lot of people gamble and we get a lot of money.”
Dr.
Deborah G. Haskins, president of the Maryland Council on Problem Gambling
(MCPG),
doesn’t like what she sees. A licensed addictions counselor, tenured professor,
and a certified international gambling counselor, she sees the downside of
legalized gambling every day. Haskins is also certified in Problem Gambling and
Spiritual Outreach, and is the widow of the Rev. Bruce Haskins, a United
Methodist Elder who died Jan. 21, 2016.
Current estimates are that between 1 and 3 percent of the
general population engage in what Haskins called “high risk gambling
behavior” and meet the criteria for having a gambling disorder. Overall, about
80 percent of the population answer “yes” when asked if they have ever gambled.
March is
designated as Problem Gambling Awareness Month, Haskins said, in an effort to
raise awareness about this issue. One part of raising awareness is a problem gambling toolkit, an online resource individuals can take anonymously
at home.
In a 2011 article, Haskins was quoted about how problem gambling
affects Christians.
“Less attention is given to personal relationships and regular
activities, including church activities,” she said. “Chasing gambling losses and seeking a ‘big win’ becomes one’s new
‘spiritual’ pursuit.”
In addition, a relationship with God is transferred to a
relationship with the game. “Many gamblers report that the slot machine becomes
their partner or ‘lover,’” Haskins said. “Suffering a loss — a loved one’s
death, separation or divorce, job loss, ill-health — they turn
to gambling as a welcome distraction from grief.”
Haskins said that a 2011 baseline study, conducted by the state
of Maryland (before the casinos arrived) found that 22.9 percent of adults
gambled at least monthly. Fifteen percent gambled weekly, with lottery and
casino gambling being the top choices.
What Haskins and the MCPG know, however, is that fewer than 10 percent of individuals with
gambling disorders ever seek help. To address this, a program was developed
to educate people often unaware that they are on the frontline of the effects
of problem gambling: clergy and lay ministers.
“Leaders in the spiritual community need to know how to respond
effectively and with compassion” when people come in with gambling problems,
Haskins said, so that they can offer support, links to treatment, and recovery
options.
“Clergy
and others are often brought in whenever problems exist,” Haskins said, be it
from gambling or other issues. “When there’s trouble in the house or trouble in
the community, we know that faith leaders and lay leaders are typically the
ones who are contacted for help. That’s why we wanted to increase awareness
among clergy and faith leaders.”
Part of the education program, Haskins said, is to help faith
leaders respond with compassion. That’s because, more often than not, faith
leaders call gambling a sin even though they, too, are part of that 80 percent
who have ever gambled. The United Methodist Church’s calls gambling “a menace
to society, deadly to the best interests of moral, social, economic, and
spiritual life, destructive of good government and good stewardship. As an act
of faith and concern, Christians should abstain from gambling and should strive
to minister to those victimized by the practice.” (2016 Book of Discipline,
¶163.G)
The IGCCB Clergy/Lay Ministers
Certification is designed to
provide basic knowledge about gambling addiction, treatment and recovery
resources, according to their website, “to enhance the clergy person’s skills
at recognizing compulsive gambling, and to provide information for the
gambler’s family on dealing with their loved one’s addiction.”
The MCPG, an affiliate of the National Council on Problem
Gambling, takes a neutral stance on the issue of gambling, Haskins said. Their
advocacy and action is educating the public and lawmakers, providing
support and ensuring that treatment dollars are available for those who need
it. West Virginia has an affiliate group, but Washington, D.C., does not,
Haskins said.
RESOURCES:
https://www.marylandproblemgambling.org/— For resources and support materials from the
Maryland Council on Problem Gambling
www.Baltimoregambler.org — Baltimore City public awareness
http://box5578.temp.domains/~princeg5/ — Prince Georges county public
awareness
The www.ncpgambling.org is the National Council on Problem
Gambling; DC residents can get assistance there as DC does not have a Problem
Gambling Council yet.
https://www.ncpgambling.org/state/west-virginia/ — West Virginia Council on Problem
Gambling
1-800-GAMBLER:
Confidential Helpline
Gamblers Anonymous: gamblersanonymous.org
GAM-ANON: www.Gam-Anon.org
www.Helpmygamblingproblem.org — treatment and counseling help
Thank you
Baltimore-Washington Conference, Erik
Alsgaard, and Deborah Haskins for sharing such pertinent and essential
information about the impacts of problem gambling. There is much to know and more to do … and
there is real hope and help!
Blessings,
Rev. Janet Jacobs, CCGSO
Founding
Director
Gambling
Recovery Ministries
htpps://
www.grmumc.org
For
more information on problem gambling, recovery issues, and the IGCCB Clergy/Lay
Minister Certification visit:
