We are a fellowship of recovering alcoholics from New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania who have come to recognize our need for help from a Power greater than ourselves.
Twice each year—every January and July—we gather at the San Alfonso Retreat House in Long Branch, New Jersey, where the quiet of the beach and the warmth of our community help us step away from the attitudes that once controlled our lives: belligerence, resentment, intolerance, anxiety, and self-pity. At our Matt Talbot spiritual retreats, we seek a better way of living.
During these weekends, we focus on learning how to apply the spiritual tools found in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous. While we draw inspiration from these principles, we are not affiliated with AA or with any other 12-step organization.
Over the years, we have found that the Matt Talbot retreat experience helps us practice these principles more fully, guiding us toward greater serenity, purpose, and joy in our daily lives.
We look to Matt Talbot as our example—someone who went to any length to seek freedom from alcoholism and who lived by principles closely aligned with those found in the Twelve Steps. As the Roman Catholic Church considers Matt Talbot for sainthood, we support that effort in spirit, though our group itself is not affiliated with the Catholic Church.
Our retreats are completely non-denominational, and any recovering alcoholic is welcome to join us.
Above all, our primary purpose in Matt Talbot Group 60 is to offer a peaceful weekend of experience, strength, and hope—an opportunity to reset our attitudes, reconnect with our spiritual path, and continue growing in recovery.