Sobriety News
December 2002

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.

DECEMBER Calendar of Events*

LOOKING AHEAD*

* Look for more information about these events in Sobriety News.
** See links page for flyer

To links and current events

Your Help for the Calendar of Events

A complete Calendar of Events depends 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.

OUR FACE IS CHANGING

    Sobriety News is updated during the course of the month, so events can be added to the Calendar. You may, therefore, find it helpful or informative to check back to the website periodically to see what has been added.
    The HAI index page has links to flyers of coming events. Also there is a link to the Meeting Schedule so you can print out the schedule (if you can access Microsoft Word) on a single sheet of 8 1/2X11 paper. This schedule is current with the latest information available. If you see an error, or information for your meeting has been changed, the schedule will be updated if you notify Sobriety News at info@aaharrisburg.org or if you notify an Intergroup Officer or mail the info to HAI, Fellowship House, 1251 S. 19th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17105. This current schedule can be duplicated for group purposes from this link or by clicking on the chip at the right.
    Flyers will be added as they become available and removed when an event passes. If you are looking at this on the Internet, you will see that many of the insert pictures are links you can click on to get added information or flyers. Keep checking.
    The above suggested service opportunity to bring internet information back to the group could also be broadened to include flyers, and current meeting schedules. The printed schedules and flyers will still be available but may continue to have their current disadvantages too.
 

I came to Alcoholics Anonymous
because I knew that if I drank
it was going to kill me,
and if I didn't I would die.

Out of the Dark

The fourth anniversary meeting for Out of the Dark is on Sun, Jan 5 at 9am.... open speaker meeting with Alice D telling her story... and a fabulous brunch to follow. This event is at the Wormleysburg Borough Hall, corner of Market and Second Sts accross from City Island. This is always a stimulating and joyous time.

New Meetings and CHANGES

There is a new meeting at McCullough Church at 18th & State Street Wednesdays at 7:30PM. The Spirituality Group will feature Twelve and Twelve discussion, and readings from the Serenity Bible.

The Colonial Park Any Lengths Group has added a Wednesday 7:00PM Men's, Open Discussion, Smoking meeting to the schedule. A correction to the schedule for the Sunday 7:00PM meeting is that it is a Closed, Big Book, Smoking meeting.

The Pine Street Group has added to their Wednesday and Friday noon schedule a Big Book meeting. This meeting is in the Boyd Center at 234 South Street (rear of the Pine Street Presbyterian Church). This meeting has been an important help to alcoholics who work in downtown Harrisburg, and who need to center their program to recover from alcoholism. Their closed discussion meeting will continue to meet at the same time.

The Joy of Living Group, which meets at Fellowship House at 6:00PM Wednesdays, needs your support. This is an open discussion meeting, non-smoking. This has been a dynamic meeting since its start in 1998 and is an ideal time for those who work in Harrisburg until 5:00PM, and can wait dinner till later, perhaps with new friends from the meeting.

Leanne C reports that there is a new meeting, Wednesday at 7:00AM, at the Rockville United Methodist Church at 6th St and Linglestown Road, in Susquehanna Twp. It is just two blocks off Front Street and is convenient for many who drive Interstate 81 to get to work. It is a Closed Discussion, with reading from "As Bill Sees It"; it is non-smoking. It is handicap accessible and there is coffee. By Group conscience, the name will be A New Day Dawning Group.

The new Harrisburg Monday Night Men's Meeting by group conscience voted to change their starting time to 7:30PM. This meeting is located at the Susquehanna Free Church, 6433 Union Deposit Road, and is a non-smoking, closed discussion meeting. Come support it and make it a really good one. If you have a question, or need directions, call Simon at 421-5645, or Joe at 579-4405.

The West Shore Area Group which meets at the Trinity Lutheran Church at 20th & Market Sts is changing the format of their Monday evening meeting, which starts at 7:30PM. Beginning in October, Mondays will be a Closed Step Meeting. The final Monday of each month will be a Closed Traditions Meeting. Also a reminder that all West Shore Area Group meetings have been changed to the 7:30 starting time.

The Dillsburg Area Group has started a closed Big Book meeting on Wednesday nights, starting at 7:01PM at Saint Paul's Lutheran Church at the top of the hill on South Baltimore Street (Rt74). This is a laid back group, they serve decaf, of course you could always bring your own.

Honesty is the absence
of the intent to deceive.

Middletown's "Shot of Enthusiasm"

The Middletown Groups sent a real shot of enthusiasm through a group of about 250 recovering alcoholics with their speaker event at the Middletown Presbyterian Church on November 16. There were two warm up speakers who got the ball rolling. Hilary M from the Sober, Sane and Serene Group of Elizabethtown said she was born into a family of recovering alcoholics, and she knew she never wanted to come here. She was determined she would manage to drink successfully, and tried everything, including the Marine Corps, to avoid AA. All along she knew where there was help, and though growth was slow, she compared it to child bearing - the pain builds and builds until finally it subsides and you end up with this beautiful little gift. Her sponsor, Joyce F from Elizabethtown, also said she was a CIA (a Catholic Irish Alcoholic) who wanted to become a nun. She became an alcoholic instead. She has always felt hyper on the inside, but was raised to present a proper outside. At age 17 she felt shame and guilt about her drinking, trying to hide it to present a facade. It was a downward spiral for the next seven years until she ended in a rehab and found that she wasn't bad, just an alcoholic; she wasn't crazy, she just had a disease. In the rooms she has learned to love herself, and as a result has learned to love others.
    Clancy I revealed to us a fascinating rendition of the history of what led to the beginnings of the Fellowship, some of his story of what happened to him, pitfalls in his recovery, and how surrender to the program outlined in the Big Book has kept him sober. With wit and humor he expressed his fervent belief that being part of, rather than apart from Alcoholics Anonymous is the only road that seems to have worked in all history for alcoholics of our type. There is no adequate way to express the powerful impact of his talk to anyone who wasn't there to listen to his message.
    Events of this type provide us with the opportunity to hear expression of what our Program has meant in the lives of others, who are recovering from a seemingly hopeless condition, by following the principles of the Steps and Traditions. Sometimes we get so caught up in working OUR program, that we need to be reminded to keep it simple. Although tapes of the event fall short of capturing the messages, you can expect them to be available later in the month at http://theprimarypurpose.no-ip.org

Talk to God frequently
use knee-mail!

ACTS OF RECOVERY IN YORK

The December 7 AOR will be another free Saturday afternoon event from noon till 5:00PM. Like all the other Acts, there are four excellent speakers lined up. At noon, Dave N from Baltimore will talk about The Promises, at 1:15 Valerie S from Ellicott City, MD will talk on The 12 Steps, followed by a light lunch. At 2:45PM The Primary Purpose will be explored by Doreen S from Baltimore, and then wrapping the afternoon up at 4:00PM will be Billy N from Landing, NJ with his talk on Sponsorship. Directions are from Interstate 83 exit 18, travel East to the first signaled intersection beyond the Interstate and turn left onto Haines Road and go @ a half mile to the Eastminster Presbyterian Church on your right. These are always worthwhile events.
See the flyer on the links page, make a copy and take it to your group. click here You can also look forward to other Acts in Falls Church, VA on January 18, Richmond, VA on February 8, and in Hershey in July.

HERSHEY GROUP'S ANNUAL HOLIDAY DINNER

The annual dinner and speaker meeting of the Hershey Group will begin at 6:00PM on December 7th. (Yes, you can make it from York to Hershey in less than an hour.) The Group will provide the main course of Turkey, Ham, and beverages, but you are encouraged to bring a side dish or dessert to share. The event will be at the Derry Presbyterian Church on the corner of Mansion Rd and Derry Street. The speaker Jerry D from Mechanicsburg will begin at about 8:00PM. For the flyer, click here

E-TOWN AA XMAS PARTY

The Elizabethtown Group will have their annual Christmas Party and Open Speaker Meeting on Thursday, December 12. There will be food and fellowship, beginning at 7:00PM. Two speakers in recovery are the couple, Jack and Priscilla M. See you all at the Christ Lutheran Church at 75 High Street; that's in the first block of High Street north of the E-town Square on Rt 230 (Market St). There is ample parking behind the church, and entrance is from the rear.

BRIDGING THE GAP

The Bridging the Gap program is a worldwide service provided by Alcoholics Anonymous to help anyone who wishes to stay sober upon their release from incarceration. It does this by carefully (protecting anonymity) providing the person being released into society with a contact person who has volunteered to help that person make the transition from institutional life to the AA fellowship, by helping him/her get to their first meeting. For a person re-entering the real and changing world this may not seem as simple as it is. If you would like to help in this endeavor you may wish to talk with Moses B, whom you can reach at (717) 238-3924, or talk to your Intergroup Representative, who can give you more particulars.

Joy of Living Christmas Party

The annual Joy of Living Christmas Party for children of recovering families will be held at Fellowship House on December 22nd. Bring your children to meet both Mr. and Mrs. Claus from 4 to 7:00PM. There will be games and entertainment, and refreshments will be served.

THE BIG BOOK WORKSHOP

The There's More To Life Group will be offering a walk through the Steps as presented in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous on January 17 and 18, 2003. Friday evening at 6:00PM will be a speaker meeting with Bob O from Littleton, CO. To cover expenses they will be charging $5.00, including coffee, snacks, drinks, and lunch for Saturday's workshop, which Bob O will lead from 9:00AM till 5:00PM. Both days will be at the Community United Methodist Church at 16th and Bridge Sts in New Cumberland. Bring your own Big Book, please.

Pearl of the Month contributed by Jim M, c. Alcoholics Anonymous page, 85
  
It is easy to let up on the spiritual program of action and rest on our laurels. We are headed for trouble if we do, for alcohol is a subtle foe. We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities. "How best can I serve Thee--Thy will ( not mine ) be done." These are thoughts which must go with us constantly. We can exercise our will power along this line all we wish. It is the proper use of the will.

Faith is putting all your eggs in God's basket
then counting your blessings before they hatch.


Free Speaker Tapes and other stuff from The Primary Purpose

There is a nifty new website that has free downloads of AA speaker tapes. It also has a free 'streambox ripper' program that you can download so that you can convert the speaker audio file you download to mp3 or wave format. Mp3 is a smaller file for storage on your computer, but if you have a CD burner, you can use wave format to make CDs that are playable on any CD player. The site has flyers for events of interest in PA and NJ, and other recovery related stuff. Check it out!  http://theprimarypurpose.no-ip.org

DECEMBER SPEAKERS

The 19th Street speakers were not yet posted at press time. The Hershey speaker for December 7 will be Jerry D from Mechanicsburg at 8:00PM; she will follow the annual Holiday Dinner. The Hershey speaker for Saturday Jan 4, 2003, will be Cheryl H from the Middletown Groups. The 8:00PM Bridge Street Speakers will be: Dec 1, Reuel from 19th Street; Dec 8, Barbara M from Fellowship House; Dec 15, Craig B from Fellowship House; Dec 22, Lindsay from Dover; and Dec 29, Donna Jean from Fellowship House. The Middletown speakers for Dec 19 have not been selected and 26th will be Ron G from 40th St.

Pockets of Enthusiasm

Pockets of Enthusiasm presented "The Problem Has Been Removed. It Does Not Exist For Us." The Conference was held in Virginia Beach, VA on November 8-10, 2002, at the Holiday Inn Sunspree Resort. Guest speakers were Don P, Karl M, Michael C, Michael E, Bobby C, Clancy I, and Tom F. For those who attended this conference, it was an absolutely thrilling and spiritual adventure worthy of repeating.

Service to another Alcoholic

 We can only stay sober ourselves by reaching out to another alcoholic. We can do that by getting our home group to volunteer for a particular 2 hour period each week, allowing group members a brief opportunity to answer the central office hotline. This will also provide the cell phone operator a two hour break which allows planning those things like going out in public where it is quite inconvenient to answer the phone (to say nothing of damaging to anonymity).
     You can help assure that help is available for the suffering alcoholic, alcoholics needing meeting schedule information, literature, or other assistance by volunteering to operate the central office hotline, or by getting your group to take the cell phone for a month. Why not give Tina H a call at home (238-3545), or Email (spicee308@aol.com), or you can volunteer through your Intergroup Rep. Central Office needs phone volunteers to handle the phone during the day to help reduce the burden on the cell phone volunteer. This is rewarding service work, and Central Office hours are pretty flexible.

PUSH = Pray Until Something Happens.

Traditions Checklist

TRADITION TWELVE: Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

  1. Why is it a good idea for me to place the common welfare of all AA members before individual welfare? What would happen to me if AA as a whole disappeared?

  2. When I do not trust AA's current servants, who do I wish had the authority to straighten them out?

  3. In my opinions of and remarks about other AAs, am I implying membership requirements other than a desire to stay sober?

  4. Do I ever try to get a certain AA group to conform to my standards, not its own?

  5. Have I a personal responsibility in helping an AA group fulfill its primary purpose? What is my part?

  6. Does my personal behavior reflect the Sixth Tradition -- or belie it? (An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.)

  7. Do I do all I can do to support AA financially? When is the last time I anonymously gave away a Grapevine subscription?

  8. Do I complain about certain AAs' behavior -- especially if they are paid to work for AA? Who made me so smart?

  9. Do I fulfill all AA responsibilities in such a way as to please privately even my own conscience? Really?

  10. Do my utterances always reflect the Tenth Tradition, or do I give AA critics real ammunition? (Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the AA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.)

  11. Should I keep my AA membership a secret, or reveal it in private conversation when that may help another alcoholic (and therefore me)? Is my brand of AA so attractive that other drunks want it?

  12. What is the real importance of me among more than a million AAs?     

THE AA GRAPEVINE INC., PO BOX 1980, GRAND CENTRAL STATION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10163-1980

This-n-That

Don't forget the Harrisburg Area Intergroup meeting Thursday the 5th of December at 6:45pm, and the District 36 General Service Rep meeting on Monday December 9th at 6:30; both meetings need your support. 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.
    There will be a Trim-A-Tree Party at Fellowship House on December 14th beginning at 8:00PM. Come help and have some fun.

Self-esteem is obtained
by doing estimable acts.

November Intergroup Meeting

At the November meeting of HAI, the Chair, Craig P announced that the Capitol Area Intermediate Unit had a vendor fair where he represented Harrisburg Area Intergroup, and Sandy represented Alanon. It stirred a lot of interest on the part of attending guests. The Intergroup Office has been painted and carpeted and looks beautiful, thank you Alanon Inc. Representatives from all the prison meetings said that more volunteers would be welcome, but meetings are being attended as scheduled. The State Hospital meetings were covered by the Middletown Groups in November, the West Shore Group volunteered for December, January will be handled by the new Harrisburg Men's Group, and Hershey will do the honors for February. The Hot Line was answered by Middletown in November and the new Harrisburg Men's Group stepped up to the opportunity for December. Women's Serenity, West Shore Area, and 40th Street will take Jan - March. Warren M announced that a new person will be serving as Treasurer of Area 59, he will get us the new address for sending group contributions. Also, he said that Jared L from Hershey will be the new DCM and Beth H of 40th Street will serve as ACDM for District 36. Brian D of There's More To Life was re-elected Secretary and Fred S also of TMTL is the new Treasurer. Rich E asked for volunteers to serve on a committee to get nominees for Intergroup Officers for next election in February. Dennis H and Bob I accepted the challenge. The November meeting was attended by Reps from 40th Street, Ain't You Had Enough, Al-Anon, Archives, Bridge Street, Cumberland Valley IG, Dillsburg, District 36, Harrisburg Area Men's, Hershey, Millersburg, Never Too Young, Out of the Dark, Pine Street, Prisons (State, Dauphin, Cumberland, and Perry County), Progress, Rule 62, Survivors, There's More to Life, Trudgers, Up the Creek, West Shore, Winding It Up, and Women's Serenity. Did you and your group have a voice?

Groups Continue Supporting Intergroup
Group contributions during the month of November to the Intergroup Fund were $806.44. We thank the following 6 groups for their contribution: 19th Street; 40th Street; Chapter 5 How It Works; Hershey; Middletown; and Women's Serenity Groups. Of course, we also would like to thank all the groups and members who continue to donate time toward Intergroup's activities. These activities include speaker meetings, picnics, men and women's prison meetings, State Hospital visits, Internet Website, meeting schedules, literature, the AA Hotline, and the many other vital AA functions that help alcoholics recover in our community. Intergroup performs those services for 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.

SOBRIETY NEWS is published monthly, and is usually available on the website the Tuesday night before the first Thursday of each month, so paper copies can be distributed to Reps at the Intergroup meeting. You can locate this newsletter, as well as lots of other stuff that would interest members of groups belonging to the Harrisburg Area Intergroup, at http://www.aaharrisburg.org