Al-Anon Meetings at Peapack Reformed Church
Fridays at 6:30pm at Peapack Reformed Church
If you are seeking a support group for your own drinking habits, please see our page regarding Alcoholics Anonymous.
When someone close to you has a problem with alcohol, it can be hard to know where you belong. You may not be the one drinking, but your life may still feel shaped by it: the worry, the waiting, the arguments, the covering, the second-guessing, the promises, the disappointment, the constant question of whether things are really as hard as they feel.
Al-Anon is for people living with the effects of someone else’s drinking. It is for spouses, partners, parents, adult children, siblings, relatives, friends, and others who have found themselves carrying fear, anger, confusion, grief, or responsibility that has become too heavy to hold alone. You do not need to know exactly what to call your situation before you come. You do not need to prove whether it is bad enough. You do not need to have a plan.
Peapack Reformed Church hosts Al-Anon because we believe the church should be a place where people can come honestly, without needing to polish their plan first. This meeting is not a church service, and you do not need to be a member of this church or any church to attend. We are simply glad to provide a stead, welcoming place where people can find support, privacy, prayerful hospitality, and hope.
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Al-Anon has a spiritual foundation, and many people in recovery speak about God, prayer, surrender, and reliance on a Higher Power. At Peapack Reformed Church, we believe deeply in the mercy of God and in the possibility of restoration, but you do not need to have church experience, theological certainty, or even comfort with spiritual language before you walk in. Many people come to Al-Anon with complicated feelings about faith, God, church, or themselves. Recovery does not have to begin before these beliefs feel settled. Our role as the church is not to pressure you but instead to offer space, welcome, and quiet support.
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Yes. Al-Anon is for people affected by someone else’s drinking regardless of whether that person is seeking help or not.
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Al-Anon is not about giving orders or making decisions for you. Members share their own experience, strength, and hope. You are free to listen, reflect, and take what is helpful at your own pace.
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No. You may simply listen. If you do introduce yourself, you will not be asked for more than your first name.
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Many people feel that way at first, especially if they are used to keeping things private or protecting the person who drinks. Coming to Al-Anon is not an act of betrayal. It is a way of getting support for what you’ve been carrying and empowering yourself in your own life.
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Al-Anon is grounded in anonymity, and the church’s role is to provide meeting space. If you call the church office with a practical question, you will be treated respectfully and without judgment.
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You are not required to reach a certain level of crisis before seeking support. Loving someone and being hurt by their drinking can both be true, and they can both be true at any stage of the issue. You do not need to show up with proof, and you do not need to arrive calm, forgiving, patient, or spiritually settled.
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There are no dues or fees to attend Al-Anon. Some groups may pass a basket for voluntary contributions from members, but there is no obligation to give.
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You are welcome to join us on most Tuesdays and Fridays at 6:30pm for our Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. You can read more about those meetings here.
FAQs
Al-Anon meets at Peapack Reformed Church in connection with the recovery meetings hosted here. Meetings are generally held at 6:30pm and are usually about one hour long. Because schedules can change for holidays, weather, or church events, we recommend checking the church calendar or calling the office before your first visit.
If you are nervous about coming, you are not the first person to feel that way. You may call the office simply to ask where to park, which door to use, or whether the meeting is being held that week. You will be treated with respect, and you will not be asked to share any details about your reasons for interest or attendance.
Al-Anon is for your life, not for controlling someone else’s. It is not a strategy session for making another person stop drinking. It is not a place where you will be told to fix them, rescue them, punish them, leave them, stay with them, forgive them, confront them, or explain yourself better.
Instead, Al-Anon offers a place to listen and be listened to by people who understand what it is like to be affected by someone else’s alcoholism. The person whose drinking concerns you may still be drinking, may be sober, may be in AA, may refuse help, may deny the problem, or may no longer be in your life. You are still welcomed and encouraged to come. Al-Anon seeks to give you a space to step into steadiness, choices of your own, better boundaries, and peace.
You will not be forced to speak or tell your whole story. You will not be asked to name the person who drinks or explain the details of your home life. You also do not need to sign up in advance. You do not need a referral, a church connection, or permission from the person whose drinking has affected you. Similar to AA, Al-Anon is founded on the practice of anonymity, and what you share will be treated with care and kept private. This privacy helps create a nonjudgmental space free from fear of being exposed or discussed.
What Al-Anon is For
Come Join Us
Peapack Reformed Church is located at 224 Main Street, Gladstone, NJ 07934. If you are coming for the first time and are unsure where to enter, you may call the church office ahead of time at 908.234.2733. We are glad to help you find the right door, the right room, and the simplest way to arrive.