Sobriety News
JUNE 2003

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.

June 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, or you can click on the AA blue button above. Did you know that the links page also has links to other AA websites and to back issues of Sobriety News? Also there is a link to the Meeting Schedule (or click the coin at right) 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.
 

The problem is not that there are problems.
The problem is expecting otherwise,
And thinking that the problem is a problem.

.....Theodore Rubin

Memorial Day Chicken Barbeque

The 19th Street Family held the annual chicken barbeque at Fellowship House again in remembrance of those who have passed in sobriety. There was the featured barbeque chicken, thanks to Bill P. Although turnout was lighter than hoped for the sponsorship workshop, memorial at the tree and speakers, those in attendance did find it rewarding and those who put forth the effort to make it a good sobriety weekend, themselves stayed sober, and isn't that really what it's all about.

The Unity In Action Conference at Parkton, MD

On Saturday, May 31, the Parkton Group hosted a free mini-conference for an enthusiastic crowd of recovering alcoholics. Tom F and Steve F, both from the Harbor City Speakers Group, each shared their research, reading and experience on how simple is the concept of one alcoholic sharing with another, two centuries of examples of other efforts to do just that, and the Twelve Traditions designed to keep Alcoholics Anonymous from disappearing into history as happened to those other past efforts. They separately voiced their convictions that the crux of this program is not pig roasts, dances, raffles, fund raisers, conferences, or even meetings, not they're necessarily bad things. What this Program is, is one alcoholic showing another alcoholic how we work the twelve steps to arrive at a point where we trust in God to the end that, not only don't we drink, but find the promises of a more fulfilling and joyful life.

After a free light lunch we were fortified to absorb compelling dialogue on the Twelve Traditions, which detailed what they mean in real terms. They delineated many examples of how failure to adhere to them has been the demise of many groups. Perhaps the most compelling arguments were presented on how great a danger we face because of the combined implications of government money and the separation of church and state. With enormous amounts of government funding supporting a for profit rehab industry and the regulated prohibition of spiritual content, the clients of such programs who later come into AA, bring with them concepts and beliefs which can be destructive to that previously stated primary purpose. Diluting traditions such as singleness of purpose, being fully self supporting, avoiding public controversy, anonymity, attraction rather than promotion, etcetera, may result in AA failing to provide hope for the still suffering alcoholic. Our trusted servants must know and apply the Traditions in all levels of the fellowship, lest we fade into obscurity.

SHOT OF ENTHUSIASM

The Harrisburg Area Intergroup is sponsoring another speaker event, this time hosted by the Middletown Groups. The event will be held in the Middletown Presbyterian Church Fellowship Hall on June 7, 2003. The first speaker will be Stephanie O from Williamsport, PA at 6:00PM. There will be a brief break for those delicious Middletown desserts; make up a batch of your favorite, and bring it along to share. At about 7:30PM, the second speaker will be Tom F from Glen Burnie, MD. This promises to be a fun and informative recovery evening. Grab a newcomer and treat him to one of AAs enthusiasm builders.

Elizabethtown AA Groups 28th Anniversary

The Elizabethtown AA Group will be celebrating its 28th year of carrying the message on June 12, 2003. The food and fellowship begins at 7:00PM; Bring your favorite dish along to share. At 8:00PM we will be treated to the experience, strength and hope of Mike S. The entrance to the fellowship room is in the rear of the Christ Lutheran Church, 75 High Street (a half block north of the E-town Square), Elizabethtown. There is plenty of parking available in the lots at the rear of the church.

ACTS OF RECOVERY

York will host the Acts of Recovery on June 21 from noon till 5:00PM at the Eastminster Presbyterian, 311 Haines Road. There will be four speakers and a light lunch included in this free conference that delivers its message of hope to all comers. In order, the speakers will be: Jill T from Baltimore, "Full Flight from Reality"; Doug L from Annandale, VA, "The Hole in the Soul"; Sammy from Richmond, VA, "Rocketed into a Fourth Dimension"; and Bill M from York, "Principles in All Our Affairs". Directions: From Interstate 83 take Exit 18 (Mt Rose Ave) , proceed East on Route 124, Mt Rose Ave staying to left and turn left on Haines Road ( first light if coming from South, second light if coming from the North). Click on the tree for the Flyer.

FIRECRACKER ROUND UP

The Firecracker Round Up in Philadelphia July 3 to 6 is just around the corner. Speakers include Sandy B from Tampa, Polly P from Cypress, CA, Patricia C from Alexandria, Tom I from Southern Pines, Wayne B from Santa Monica, Harold G frm Annapolis, and Al-Anon speaker Bob S Nocina, TX. The cost is $20 per person for registration, first come, first served, and the hotel cutoff date is June 21. See the Flyer by clicking the fireworks. This is such an opportunity to meet some people who are walking the walk.

SUNLIGHT OF THE SPIRIT cONFERENCE

The SOS Conference in York will be held this year August 15th to 17th at the York Holiday Inn. Registration is $20 and well worth the price. Speakers will be Polly P, Sean A, Sandy B, Wayne B and Tom I. This event is always superb, don't miss it. The Flyer is available by clicking on the SOS logo at left.

 

ACCEPTANCE IS NOT SUBMISSION;
IT IS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE FACTS OF A SITUATION,
THEN DECIDING WHAT YOU'RE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT.
....Kathleen Casey Theisen

New Meetings and CHANGES

A new speaker meeting will be starting Sunday April 27 at Fellowship House at 2:00PM. On the last Sunday of each month the 2:00PM meeting will be a regular speaker meeting.

PLEASE ANNOUNCE AT EACH MEETING: THE BUILDING WHERE THE PINE STREET NOON MEETING IS HELD WILL BE UNDER RENOVATION FROM JUNE 2, 2003. UNTIL AROUND SEPTEMBER 15, 2003 THERE WILL BE NO MEETING HELD THERE BY THE PINE STREET GROUP UNTIL AFTER THE RENOVATIONS. The meetings will still be held under the same format at 27 North Cameron Street at the Corrections Center (across from Appalachian Brewery). Monday is a closed Step meeting, Friday is closed Big Book, and Tues thru Thurs is closed discussion.

The Middletown AA Group meetings on June 24 and 26 will not be held at the regular location due to another event at the Presbyterian Church. On those two dates, the meetings will be held (East 2 blocks on Water St) at the Evangelical United Methodist Church (Corner Spruce & Water Sts). The meetings will be at the regular 7:00PM starting time. The 24th will be a 90 minute Step and Traditions meeting, and the 26th will be a speaker/anniversary meeting.

There is a new open discussion meeting of The Way Out Group at the Epworth United Methodist Church at 21st and Derry Sts. The first meeting was April 27 and the good attendance showing promises good things for this new group. See the flyer on the links page; take a copy to your group. Come see what's happening - be a part of, not apart from.

The Millersburg meeting has dissolved and has been removed from the schedule.

There has been yet another change to the meeting schedule at the Colonial Park Any Lengths Group. The Wednesday night 7:00 p.m. open men's meeting is changing. Starting on Wednesday, May 7th the meeting will become a closed step and traditions meeting. Both men and women are welcome and as is their policy, smoking is permitted.

The New Day Dawning Group at Sixth St and Linglestown Road, which meets at 7:00AM on Wednesdays needs support. This is a handy spot for people coming down the river to get some morning inspiration before tackling the realities of a workday.

The Joy of Living Group restarted April 23rd and they need support. The meeting is held at Fellowship House at 6:00PM on Wednesdays.

Note that the contact telephone number for Al-anon has been changed to (877) 501-1205, and that the Alateen Wednesday evening meeting has been discontinued.

The Progress Group's Wednesday 8:30PM Mystery Topic Meeting at the Ridgeway Community Church at Elmerton and Progress Avenue is in dire need of support. Several of the regular members are unable to attend currently for various reasons. Also the 7:15PM Step & Tradition Meeting could use your support. Why not join in practicing the First Tradition by helping them weather this storm.

Every recovery from alcoholism
Began with one sober hour.

Pearl of the Month contributed by Jim M, c. Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions, page 65
 
So Step Six---" Were entirely ready to have God remove these defects of character "----is A.A.'s way of stating the best possible attitude one can take in order to make a beginning on this life time job. This does not mean that we expect all our character defects to be lifted out of us as the drive to drink was. A few of them may be, but with most of them we shall have to be content with patient improvement. The key words " entirely ready " underline the fact that we want to aim at the very best we know or can learn.

JUNE SPEAKERS

The 19th Street speakers for: June 6, Ron G; June 13, Mark B; June 20, Terry K; and June 27 is anniversary night. The Hershey speaker for Saturday June 7, 2003 is Kris K from 19th Street at 8:00PM; the speaker for July 5 will be Bob S from Hershey. The 8:00PM Bridge Street Speakers will be: Jun 8, Mark C from West Shore Group; May 15, Faith H from 40th Street; June 22, Gail S from 40th Street; and June 29 will be Bob S from Hershey. The speakers at the Middletown Survivors 7:00PM meeting on June 19th will be Richard B and Richard R, and the 26th location will be at the Methodist Church on Spruce and Water Sts, 2 blocks East of regular meeting location and the speaker will be Jim W.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Contributions are made to Food For Thought by recovering alcoholics who have this outlet to share feelings and opinions about living in recovery. The material included does not necessarily express the views of Harrisburg Area Intergroup, or Alcoholics Anonymous. It is simply an opportunity for recovering alcoholics to express thoughts they would like to share.

STORMY SEAS
 Contributed by Ron G from 19th Street

I've traveled many paths on this road of life,
The destinations all unseen.
I always arrived where I was supposed to be,
Sometimes despite me.

I've been guided and led through stormy seas,
The land I couldn't see.
The rudder and compass worked alone,
They never needed me.

I awoke one day within my mind,
It all came crystal clear.
The love of God and trust in Him,
I've nothing left to fear.


 

LIST OF SECRETS (THAT ARE NOT SECRETS)
 Contributed by DonnaJean from Fellowship House

The kingdom of Heaven is found within you.
Hell is the absence of God.

 Lust without love is o.k. so long as one is honest.
Love without lust is o.k.  but takes patience.
Love and lust combined is perfection and takes a lifetime of hard work.

It is all right to hurt, so long as I don’t allow the pain to engulf me.

I don’t owe any apologies for experiencing  joy.

 Babies are born and people die.  
This is life.

 It is never good to lie. 
Sometimes it is less harmful than the truth,
but this does not make it good.

 The world is not out to get me.
Nor does it owe me anything.

 A snake that does not hiss is still a snake.

 We all bleed the same color.

 Love is an action, not just an emotion.

 The only reality is right at this moment…. Right NOW!
As you read this line of words, a moment has become memory; and the future has become the present.
Don’t miss NOW!!!…


Service to another Alcoholic
We are fortunate to have Bob B volunteer to take over the responsibilities of Central Office Chair, and wish him every success in this difficult endeavor. Bob has already assumed the duties of managing the office and getting our answering service running smoothly, by appointing a committee to study the phone volunteer system to identify changes that could benefit users at both ends of the line. He will certainly appreciate your help in assuring that the hand of AA is there for the struggling alcoholic, or the traveler who needs meeting information. Why not give Bob a call at 838-9117 to offer a helping hand or 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. Are you looking for service work for sponsees, with a year or more of sobriety , to assure them being part of  instead of apart from recovery? Maybe this would be the perfect match.

Traditions Checklist*

TRADITION SIX: An AA group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the AA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, or prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
  1. Should my fellow group members and I go out and raise money to endow several AA beds in our local hospital?
  2. Is it good for a group to go out and lease a small building?
  3. Are all the officers and members of our local club for AAs familiar with "Guidelines on Clubs" (which is available free from GSO)?
  4. Should the secretary of our group serve on the mayor's advisory committee on alcoholism?
  5. Some alcoholics will stay around AA only if we have a TV and card room. If this is what is required to carry the message to them, should we have these facilities?
     

*The Traditions Checklist Questions were originally published in the AA Grapevine in conjunction with a series on the Twelve Traditions that began in November 1969, and ran through September 1971. Sobriety News prints the Checklist for the number of the month that corresponds to the number of the Tradition that it deals with, because of the prohibitive length of all twelve. It is important that we be aware of the Twelve Traditions in our lives of recovery, because they help assure that AA will continue to be here for us, and for others who want it.
Printed by permission. THE AA GRAPEVINE INC., PO BOX 1980, GRAND CENTRAL STATION, NEW YORK, NEW YORK 10163-1980

When a person tries to control their drinking,
They have already lost control.

This-n-That

Don't forget the Harrisburg Area Intergroup meeting Thursday the 5th of June at 6:45pm, and the District 36 General Service Rep meeting on Monday June 9th at 6:30; both meetings need your support. The Intergroup Bookstore is still open for business following the HAI meeting and on Saturday mornings from 10:00 till 11:15 for Groups to restock their literature cabinets with books and pamphlets.

 

Let us always love the best in others
------and never fear their worst.

May Intergroup Meeting

At the May meeting Bob B announced that were 150 calls handled by the hot line during April and there has been a gradual increase over time. Cathy S announced that tickets and flyers for the July 26 HAI Picnic will be available at the June meeting. She also announced that the Millersburg Group has disbanded and no longer meets. Sandy reported that there is a new Al-Anon schedule, and the changes have been incorporated into the May HAI Meeting Schedules on the internet.

The Middletown Groups brought the meetings to the Harrisburg State Hospital in May, the TMTL Group have volunteered for June. 19th Street  took the cell phone for May, and Hershey volunteered for June. The Middletown Groups will continue bringing a meeting to the Gaudenzia Boys facility through June 4, which will complete their thirteen week commitment. Al D reported that many of the adolescents do not read, so the meeting has changed from Big Book to a discussion meeting and many of the boys do share. Joe C asked that the HAI meeting agenda be changed to add regular reports on the meetings at the Gaudenzia Adolescent Center by groups covering that service work.

 The May meeting was attended by Reps from 19th Street, Al-anon, Bridge Street, Concordia, Fellowship House, Harrisburg Area Men's, Hershey, Lambda, Rule 62, Survivors, There's More to Life, Trudgers, West Shore Area, West Shore Women, and Winding It Up. Did you and your group have a voice?

Groups Continue Supporting Intergroup
Group contributions during the month of May to the Intergroup Fund were $1,587.66. We thank the following 6 groups for their contribution: Women's Serenity Group, 19th Street, 40th Street, There's More To Life, Survivors & Trudgers Groups, and the Progress Group. 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

INTERNET SOBRIETY NEWS SUBSCRIPTIONS

Sobriety News is e-mailed monthly to free subscribers who have indicated a desire to receive it. You may indicate a wish to be added to the mailinglist by clicking on Subscribe and then clicking on send. There is no charge for this service. It is normally mailed the Tuesday before the first Thursday of the month by BCC (blind copy) to protect the anonymity of recipients. You need to notify us if you change e-mail addresses, and you may not receive it, if your computer or internet service provider screens out mail that does not have your name in the To: box.

REMOVAL
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