Sobriety News
September 2001

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

The Sobriety News is a publication of the Harrisburg Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous. It is written, edited, and read by AA members, and those interested in the AA program of recovery from the disease of alcoholism, linking one alcoholic to another.

Our desperation to find relief from the bondage of alcoholism has led us to this program as a new "design for living". Many members utilize meetings, sponsorship, self examination, amends, prayer, meditation, AA literature, service to fellow alcoholics, and many other tools to maintain their recovery. This publication is intended as one more tool to live a life of recovery. Because each AA member has an individual way of working this program, divergent views to recovery, within the concept of the Program of Alcoholics Anonymous, are welcome. An effort is made to print all viewpoints in this forum. Articles are not intended to be statements of AA policy, nor does publication of any article imply endorsement by AA or the Harrisburg Area Intergroup.

September Calendar of Events*

Sept 7    Friday 8:30PM      19th Street Speaker Donna Jean

Sept 9    Sunday 8:00PM        Bridge Street Speaker Sue B from Trinity Lutheran

Sept 14   Friday 8:30PM       19th Street Speaker Howard H

Sept 15    Saturday 11:30AM  Hershey-Hummelstown Annual Picnic at Campbelltown Firehouse

Sept 15    Saturday 8:30PM    Dance at Fellowship House on 19th Street

Sept 16    Sunday 1:00PM      1st Day of Sharing at Trinity U. C. C. in East Petersburg

Sept 16    Sunday 1:30PM      Intergroup Sunday Speaker Stir at Trinity Lutheran, Camp Hill

Sept 16    Sunday 8:00PM      Bridge Street Speaker Chris S from the 16th and Bridge Street Group

Sept 20    Thursday 7:00PM   Middletown Survivors Speaker meeting

Sept 21    Friday 8:30PM        19th Street Speaker Sam L

Sept 23    Sunday 8:00PM      Bridge Street Speaker Charna D from Middletown Groups

Sept 27    Thursday 7:00PM   Middletown Survivors Anniversary Speaker Meeting

Sept 28    Friday 8:00PM        19th Street Anniversary Night

Sept 28    Weekend                 Women's Serenity Retreat in Columbia, PA

Sept 30    Sunday 8:00PM       Bridge Street Speaker Faith E from Pine Street

Looking Ahead

Oct 6       Saturday 7:00PM      19th Street Group's Fall Dinner Dance at the Creekside Fire Hall

Oct 6       Saturday 8:00PM      Hershey Speaker Mary Beth from 16th & Bridge

Oct 7       Sunday 8:00PM        Bridge Street Speaker Alan M from Middletown Groups

Oct 20     Saturday 6:00Pm      Annual Spaghetti Dinner featuring speaker Michael E and famous Middletown Desserts

* Look for more information about these events in Sobriety News.

Future Plans for Sobriety News
In future issues, we plan to provide a calendar of events upcoming. This will depend on our active members contributing information about their coming events, participation of Intergroups in surrounding Districts, and our ability to gather information. We feel it is worth trying. Let us know what you think. Often, we miss opportunities within the fellowship because the message didn't get out. We all want to carry the message to other alcoholics. This will be one more way we can accomplish that.

Central Office AA Hotline                      
To better serve the community, Harrisburg Area Intergroup has added a cell phone to supplement the current central office phone. This system is already in operation by officers of Intergroup to identify and resolve any problems that come up. This system will allow the Hotline to be operated by alcoholics, who volunteer, to respond to calls on a 24 hour basis. Calls may come from people desiring information, literature, AA members needing help in finding a meeting, or newcomers who want information, or 12th step calls

AA members, who are looking for service work during the day, can volunteer to operate the Central Office Hotline by contacting Tina H. Tina can be reached by leaving a message with the Hotline (234-5390), at home (238-3545), by Email (spicee308@aol.com <mailto:(spicee308@aol.com>), or you can volunteer through your Intergroup Representative. Those who are unavailable during the day can be AA Hotline operators too through the use of a cellular phone. When the Central Office Hotline is closed, all calls will be forwarded to the cell phone. If the operator needs to turn the cell phone off for some reason, there will be voice mail, which the operator can retrieve at the earliest opportunity.

Intergroup Representatives can sign your group up to manage the remote Hotline for a month at a time, enabling your group members to take turns operating the hotline. You will have the training on how to operate the system and handle calls by your Rep. The materials accompanying the cell phone will provide everything you'll need to handle any calls you receive. Any gaps in information will be supplied by your higher power.

Please remember, our phone service helps hundreds, who need help, each month. Many of us are here because someone took the time to pick up the phone when we needed help. Surely, you will get much gratitude from volunteering to be a Hotline Operator.

"Everyday I beat my own previous record

for number of consecutive days

I've stayed sober"

WOMEN'S  SERENITY RETREAT
The WSR 2001 will be held at the Precious Blood Spiritual Center, Columbia, PA, September 28-30, 2001. This will be a closed AA- 11th Step Retreat. Total cost for the weekend will be $130 for a double, or $145 for a single room. More information or registration forms are available by contacting Ellen D at 975-2657. Women have given glowing reports of this retreat in previous years. I'm sure this year will be just as beneficial.

A Special Thank You
Thanks to the efforts of Craig P, the Intergroup office copier has been repaired. Having the machine working again certainly will save many people the frustration, and yes, possibly even resentments, that they endured for lo, these many months.

Groups Continue Supporting Intergroup
For the month of August, contributions from eight groups totaled $1347.32. We would like to thank the following groups for their contributions to the Harrisburg Area Intergroup Fund. They were 19th Street, Concordia, Dillsburg, 40th Street, Lykens, Middletown, Millersburg, and There is More to Life groups. We would also like to thank all the groups and members who continue to donate time toward Intergroup's activities. These activities include men and women's prison meetings, literature, the AA Hotline, and the many other vital AA functions that help alcoholics recover in our community. Intergroup performs those services to our community which no single group is prepared to handle, and it coordinates activities between the 56 groups it serves. Remember that we can do together what none of us could do alone.

Many groups choose to donate funds to support the service functions of Alcoholics Anonymous according to a 50% of total contribution of surplus funds to Harrisburg Area Intergroup, 1251 S. 19th St., Harrisburg, PA 17104; 30% to The General Service Board, Grand Central Station, PO 459, New York, NY 10164-0423; and 10% each to Area Treasurer, Sheila Dunne, 21 Cliveden Court, Lawrenceville, NJ 08648; and David Brinkman, District 36 Treasurer, 367 Cedar Manor, Elizabethtown, PA 17022. Remember, we are self supporting through our own contributions.

  Hershey-Hummelstown Picnic
The Hershey and Hummelstown Groups' annual PICNIC will be held again at the Campbelltown Fire Hall on September 15, 11:30AM till??? It will feature Bocchi Ball, Horseshoes, Softball, etc. The noon speaker will be Diane R, from the 40th Street Group. They ask that you bring a covered dish or dessert. The Fire Hall is located on Route 322, on the right heading east just passed the Rising Sun Inn. Heading west it is on the left past the first traffic light in Campbelltown. This is always a fun time for all.

Fall Dinner Dance
The 19th Street Group is sponsoring a Fall Dinner Dance October 6, from 7-12PM (Social Hour at 6:00PM). It will be held at the Creekside Fire Hall, Erford Road, Camp Hill. The cost will be $15.00 for all you can eat Stuffed Chicken Breast and the live band "Free Shots". You can get tickets by contacting Bill P at 215-8377, or another 19th street member.

Sunday Speaker Stir
To stir is defined as: to mix or move; to excite, arouse or stimulate. That is exactly what Intergroup is hoping for on Sunday September 16, at the Trinity Lutheran Church Fellowship Hall, at 22nd and Market, Camp Hill, from 1:30 till 4:30. We hope you mix with other central PA AAs in good fellowship, eats, and desserts. We certainly would like you to be moved, excited, stimulated and aroused by the guest speaker, Bill W, who hails from Morris Plains, New Jersey.

Lancaster Intergroup Event
1st Day of Sharing will be put on by the Lancaster, York, and Reading Intergroups where they will: discuss "the three legacies", History of Lancaster Intergroup, Doug R from GSO in New York and Nancy K from Area 59 will serve on an Ask-It Basket, Giveaways of Books and tickets for the Pig Roast (the following weekend), a skit written by local members about singleness of purpose and home groups, and then they will satisfy the hunger you've worked up with eats. The event will be September 16 from 1:00-5:00PM at the Trinity U. C. C., East Petersburg (Same location as the Saturday nite East Pete meeting). This promises to be an afternoon of really informative presentations.

c. 1976, Alcoholics Anonymous, page 69
"We reviewed our own conduct over the years past...In this way we tried to shape a sane and sound ideal for our future sex life. We subjected each relation to this test -- was it selfish or not? We asked God to mold our ideals and help us live up to them. We remembered always that our sex powers were God-given and therefore good, neither to be used lightly or selfishly nor to be despised and loathed.

NEW MEETINGS
A new closed discussion meeting has formed at Colonial Park, named the ANY LENGTHS GROUP, which will meet at 7:00PM Thursdays. It will be located in the Central Penn Installations Building (strip Mall), between Fantasy's and Excitement Videos and across from Goodall Pools, at 3914b (downstairs) Jonestown Road. I'm sure your support will give them a good start.

Palmyra is starting a new group on Thursday nights at 7:00PM. The Palmyra Church of the Brethren (45 North Chestnut St) can be accessed from the rear parking lot entrance, up one flight of stairs to the room marked "Parlor". Please no smoking on the premises.

UNITY COMMITTEE
The Unity Committee, patterned after a Scranton Group, has been formed to carry the message of what Intergroup does for the groups and members it serves. The concept is to have the Committee make a brief presentation at the invitation of groups to give their members a better understanding of how Intergroup works and how all members benefit from its activities. There is still a need for some more volunteers to help the Committee perform its mission. If you would like to do this kind of rewarding service work to utilize your unique skills, and surely learn from it, you can volunteer through your Intergroup Rep. If your group doesn't have one, perhaps you may want to find out what you are missing by volunteering or inviting Charna D and her committee to your meeting. An effective way to communicate with Charna is through Email at (charnad@att.net <mailto:(charnad@att.net>) Give Charna a call at 533-9478 and find out about the committee and its objectives, it might keep you and/or others sober.

Traditions Checklist
TRADITION NINE: AA , as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

    1. Do I still try to boss things in AA?

    2. Do I resist formal aspects of AA because I fear them as authoritative?

    3. Am I mature enough to understand and use all elements of the AA program --- even if no one makes me do so --- with a sense of personal responsibility?

    4. Do I exercise patience and humility in any AA job I take?

    5. Am I aware of all those to whom I am responsible in any AA job?

    6. Why doesn't every AA group need a constitution and bylaws?

    7. Have I learned to step out of an AA job gracefully --- and profit thereby --- when the time comes?

    8. What has rotation to do with anonymity? With humility?

SOS Conference was dazzling
The Sunlight of the Spirit Conference was absolutely inspiring. Bobby C told a story Friday night that would make you cry while you were laughing, infused with a very strong recovery message. Saturday morning started with the humorous story of Jeanne M from Baltimore, followed by a panel of Johnnie H and his sponsor Clancy I on, guess what, sponsorship. In the Afternoon, both Pat Y and Johnnie H each told their stories of how it was, what happened and what it's like now. The evening speaker was Sandy B, who gave a message of the spiritual thirst alcoholics deny, and try to fill with the wrong spirit. Clancy I wrapped up the conference Sunday morning with his usual wit and honesty in a talk about the Traditions.

You can register before the 2002 conference is filled, by registering now at http://www.sosyorkpa.org or contact them at Sunlight of the Spirit, PO BOX 3538, York, PA. 17402. The registration fee is $20. Don't procrastinate.

Pearls of the month

Contributed by Jim M
Language of the Heart, page 240

The chances are better than even that we shall locate our trouble in our misunderstanding or neglect of AA's step eleven prayer, meditation and the guidance of God. The other steps can keep most of us sober and somehow functioning. But step eleven can keep us growing, if we try hard and work at it continually. If we even expend five percent of the time on step eleven that we habitually (and rightly) lavish on step twelve, the result can be wonderfully far-reaching. That is an almost uniform experience of those who constantly practice Step Eleven.

Intergroup Picnic
The Intergroup 16th Annual Picnic at New Cumberland Borough Park was delightful. As usual the volleyball games were entertaining or exhausting, depending on whether watching or playing. What a talented bunch of sober athletes. The eats were also very good for the hungry stomach. The meeting was satisfying to the soul, as several shared what their first Intergroup Picnic means to them. The weather was certainly consistent with the gratitude expressed by many who shared. A special thanks to the hard work of all those who made it possible to spend an enjoyable sober Saturday afternoon.

This-n-That
Don't forget the Harrisburg Area Intergroup meeting Thursday the 6th at 6:45pm, and the District 36 General Service Rep meeting on Monday September 10th at 6:30; both meetings need your support. Did you know that there is a dance at Fellowship House on 19th Street every third Saturday from 8:30 pm till midnight? It costs $3 for adults and please, no children under 11 years old. The Intergroup Bookstore is still open for business on Saturday mornings from 10:00 till 11:15 for Groups to restock their literature cabinets with books and pamphlets.

August Intergroup Meeting
The Vice Chairperson, Bob H, emphasized the need for groups to volunteer for cell phone hotline operation. He said it is not as difficult as our alcoholic minds can imagine it to be. The cell phone went into operation June 18, and virtually no problems have surfaced with the system. The various committees for prison and hospital meetings reported that they have been having enough volunteers for meetings, but that a few more volunteers would be helpful. Several Representatives commented on the rewarding experience they had recently had as volunteers at Camp Hill Prison. Volunteers from those present were gotten to run meetings for the Salvation Army and for the Dauphin County Nursing Home. Groups represented at the August meeting were: Ain't You Had Enough, Bridge Street, Carlisle Area, Dillsburg, Hershey, It Works, Joy of Living, Keep It Simple, Millersburg Meeting, New Beginnings, Serenity Group Mechanicsburg, Survivors and Trudgers of Middletown, There's More to Life, Up the Creek, West Shore Area, Winding It Up, and Women's Serenity. 

Our District Committee Member Reports
Jane L reports that the GSR meeting at the Mechanicsburg Anniversary Meeting was cut short so they could all get back to the great food. They spent some time talking about the workshop District 36 is planning for Saturday, October 20, to be held in the multi-purpose room of the Central Penn College in Summerdale. There will be panels discussing group problems involving open and closed meetings, integrity of the group, chairing meetings, and a few things more. 

20th Anniversary Celebration
The 20th Anniversary of the Mechanicsburg Serenity Group was celebrated at the Mechanicsburg Presbyterian Church, August 13th. The food was absolutely tops, and the fellowship with AAs from many Central Pennsylvania groups was very satisfying. Congratulations Mechanicsburg.

September Speakers
The Friday 8:30pm speakers for the 19th Street Group are: Sept 7, Donna Jean; Sept 14, Howard H; Sept 21, Sam L; Sept 28, Anniversary Night. The Sunday 8pm Bridge Street speakers are: Sept 9, Sue B, Trinity Lutheran; Sept 16, Chris S, 16th Street Group; Sept 23, Charna D, Middletown Groups; Sept 30, Faith E, Pine Street; Oct 7, Alan M, Middletown Groups. The Hershey Speakers for Oct 6, Mary Beth M, from the 16th and Bridge Street Group. The Middletown Survivors speakers for September 20 and 27 are unannounced.

Sunday Afternoon Speaker Meeting
The 19th Street Activities Committee is sponsoring a speaker meeting on September 23 at 2:00PM. The speaker will be Bob R. Refreshments and good fellowship will be served.

ANNOUNCE YOUR EVENT- WRITE YOUR OPINION
Let the AA community know what's going on in your group, express your opinion on any AA topic you want to share about, or contribute material you find helpful or meaningful in your recovery. You can inform the editor and get your information out by sending your material to Sobriety News, Harrisburg Area Intergroup, 1251 S 19th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17111, or Email me at asdungan@mindspring.com.