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Sobriety News
November 2005

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

Nov 4-6    Weekend               AA State Convention
Nov 4        Fri.      8:30PM     19th St. Speaker Lynn W
Nov 5        Sat      12-5PM     York Acts of Recovery
Nov 5        Sat      6:30 PM    Halloween Dinner/Dance @ Oberlin Fire Hall
Nov 5        Sat,     8:00PM     Hershey Speaker Mtg. Albie O from Hershey Group
Nov 6        Sun      8:00PM     Bridge St. Speaker Ed L from Dillsburg Group
Nov 11       Fri       8:30PM    19th St. Speaker Herbie G
Nov 11-13  Fri-Sun                Pockets of Enthusiasm - Virginia Beach, VA  http:/www.pocketsofenthusiasm.org   
Nov 12      Sat.      Noon-5:00 Harrisburg Area Acts of Recovery at Middletown
Nov 12      Sat.      5-8:30       Al-Anon District Spaghetti Dinner 1st United 
                                              Methodist Church of Hershey
Nov 13      Sun.      8:00PM      Bridge St. Speaker Brian S
Nov 17      Thurs    7:00PM      Middletown Speaker Barry S
Nov 18      Fri.       8:30PM      19th St. Speaker Jerry 
Nov 20      Sun.     8:00PM      Bridge St. Speaker Mike S from the Progress Group
Nov 22      Tues    12:00PM     Hershey Nooner 1st Anniversary
Nov 24      Thurs    7:00PM     Middletown Speaker 
Nov 25      Fri        8:30PM      19th St. Anniversary  
Nov 27      Sun       8:00PM      Bridge St. Speaker Ed O from Fellowship House

The Links Page
The AA blue button above will take you to the links and current events page. Did you know that the links page also has links to Flyers of events, other AA websites and to back issues of Sobriety News? 
You can make flyers of your group's activities available to others for printing off the internet by e-mailing a copy to jfee@comcast.net  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.
    
Greater Harrisburg Meeting Schedules
There is a link to the Meeting Schedule here, (or if you have Microsoft Word,  you can print out the schedules that use the doc. extension). These schedules are 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 us at schedule update , or if you notify an Intergroup Officer,  or mail the info to HAI, Fellowship House, 1251 S. 19th Street, Harrisburg, PA 17105. 

There are schedules available for Lebanon, York and Lancaster Counties also, as well as for District 42 (Sunbury-Lewistown), District 35 (Gettysburg-Chambersburg, and Hanover) Northeastern Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre-Scranton), Reading Area, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, and Southeastern PA.

Carrying The Message
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.

York Acts of Recovery

The Acts of Recovery are spreading rapidly across the country, making it possible for those new in parenting, or in the job market, to obtain the flavor of conferences that can otherwise cost hundreds of dollars.  These events, condensed into five hours, provide four quality messages of experience, strength and hope, and a lunch, free of cost. Of course , you don't have to be new in recovery to take advantage of these opportunities.  You can participate in this experience by attending the York Acts on November 5, with four great speakers who will be: Rich H. from Philadelphia, whose topic is "Spiritual Principles"; Karen L. from York, who will talk of "Love and Tolerance"; Angela B. from Boston with "Came to Believe"; and Albert D. from Middletown will wrap up with "A Vision for You". See the flyer .

Harrisburg Area Acts of Recovery

There will be another Acts of Recovery at the Middletown Presbyterian Church on the 12^th of November, starting at noon, as usual. There will be four enthusiastic speakers carrying this message, of how they received a spiritual awakening as a result of working these Steps. The speakers are: Michele W from Hershey, topic Being Convinced; Neil D from Harrisburg, topic This Vital Step; Jan D from Harrisburg, topic Daily Reprieve; and Joe L from Baltimore, topic Cheerfulness and Laughter. The afternoon of recovery messages will be interrupted at about 2:15 for a FREE light lunch. The Middletown Presbyterian Church is located on the corner of North Union and East Water Streets, which is one block South of the Middletown Square. Click on the tree for the flyer and a map.

“I am responsible when anyone anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA to always be there and for that I am responsible”.

Help for the Hearing Impaired
If anyone in our AA community knows sign language and is willing to be of service, there is a need in the Harrisburg Area for your help.  If you are willing to help a hearing impaired person please notify intergroup through your intergroup rep.

Internet Source for Recorded AA Talks
There is a new source for some good AA recording of talks from the Harbor City Speakers, Acts of Recovery.  South College Speaker Group, Steps in Action, Unity in Action, White Rose and various others.  These are free for you to download in MP3 format on your computer.  The Web address is http://greatfact.org  You can hear speakers from the Greater Harrisburg Acts of Recovery that you may have missed.

SERENITY HIKE

The Fifth Annual Serenity Hike sponsored by the Winding It Up Group of Lykens was held on the rain date of October 23 at the Lykens Community Park. The hikers couldn't have asked for a more perfect day. About 35 eager hikers climbed to the Love Rock where Bud W chaired the meeting; only after telling outlandish tales about how "Love Rock" got it's name, once again proving we "are not a glum lot". Many shared about how it was, what happened, and what it's like now; no one was watching the clock, so everyone got to share who wanted to. Even the recovering dogs in the assemblage enjoyed the hike back down the mountain, the camaraderie, the chili and the desserts. Those who attended were happy they did, and threatened to return again next year.

Middletown 16th Anniversary

The Middletown Groups celebrated their 16^th Anniversary of carrying the message with their annual Spaghetti Dinner and Anniversary Celebration on October 29^th at the Middletown Presbyterian Church.   Of course there was the usual spaghetti, desserts, fellowship and recovery messages.  Dinner was ready at about 5:20, so things got started a little early, but nearly 200 like minded celebrants got fed before the formal ceremonies began.  Promptly at 7:00PM the readings of Preamble, Steps, Traditions, and Promises, got the assembly in the right frame of mind for a recovery message.  Sylvia V of the East Petersburg Group was the 1st speaker and shared about how alcohol had initially given her wings and made her feel like an Eagle soaring through the sky  But as her alcohol consumption increased her sky disappeared followed by the disappearance of her husband, children and friends.  Even the dog knew when she was drinking and wouldn’t stay around.  Faced with the despair and desperation that all alcoholics feel at one time and ready to pour a drink, a timely knock on the door by a neighbor showed her a way to acquire a new set of wings.  Eventually she stopped substituting bingo for drinking and started substituting the fellowship of AA.  Things haven’t always been smooth in sobriety; some family members still refuse to speak to her, but through the love and compassion of AA members she has grown to celebrate 30 years of sobriety; still carry the message, “One day at a time”.

After a short break to sample those scrumptious Middletown desserts the meeting resumed with Ottis M from the Middletown Group (via New Orleans) sharing his experience, strength and hope.   Growing up he remembered always being nervous and feeling left out.  At age 15 that changed when alcohol entered his life and he had a "Sense of belonging"  Over the next 30 years, he keep searching for that "Sense of Belonging".  Things finally reached the end when drugs and alcohol had reduced him to a 3 room existence of his bedroom, bathroom and doctor's office.  His body had shriveled to 111 pounds, he was coughing up blood, his liver was bloated and he was so physically ill he would just lie in a fetal position all day.  At the trauma center the attending physician didn't know if he would live.  After a stay in rehab, spent in a wheelchair because he was too weak to walk, he returned home to begin the journey back to sanity.  Through the fellowships of AA and Al-Anon he is now sober over 7 years and continues to carry the message everyday.  

If you want to change who you are
change what you do

Anecdotage

Twelve ways to tell the difference between your Sponsor and your Therapist

1. Your sponsor isn't all that interested in the "reasons" you drank

2. Your therapist thinks your root problem is your lack of self esteem and your negative self image.  Your sponsor thinks your problem is yourself 

3. Your therapist wants to pamper your inner child, your sponsor thinks it should be spanked. 

4. Your sponsor thinks your inventory should be about you, not your parents. 

5. Speaking of parents, your sponsor tells you not to confront them, but to make amends to them.

6. The only time your sponsor uses the word "closure" is before the word "mouth"  

7. Your sponsor thinks "boundaries" are things you need to take down, not build up. 

8. Your therapist wants you to love yourself first, your sponsor wants you to love others first.  

9. Your therapist prescribes care-taking medication.  Your sponsor prescribes prayer and meditation.

10 You sponsor thinks "anger management skills" are numbered 1 through 12.

11 Now that you haven't had a drink in 6 months, your therapist thinks you should make a list of all your goals and objectives for the next 5 years, starting with finishing up that college degree.  Your sponsor thinks you should start today by cleaning coffee pots and help him/her carry a heavy box of literature to the jail. 

12 Your sponsor won't lose their license if they talk about God. (Anonymous )

The Big Book is like a cookbook 
you can read it all day long and starve
You have to take the action

New Meetings and Changes
There is a new Spanish Speaking meeting which start on October 17th.  The meeting is held at St. Francis Church,  1439 Market St. Harrisburg.  The meeting will be on Mondays from 6:00PM - 7:00PM and the Group's name will be Un dia a la vez.

There is another new Spanish Speaking meeting at Fellowship House on Wednesday Evenings from 6:00PM -7:00PM called Los Amigos

A new meeting  called the Grantville AA Group has started on Tuesday Evenings .  The meeting is an Open Discussion, Non-Smoking meeting.  The meeting is held at 146 Firehouse Rd (use rear entrance).  The building is located across the road from St. John's United Methodist Church.  Parking is available in the church parking lot.  More information is available @ 469-2577.

UPDATE: Mid-City Group reports they will not be moving.  They will continue to meet at the St. Paul's Methodist Church on the corner of River and Vine Streets. Meeting times are 7:30-8:30 on the following evenings, all are non-smoking.
Tuesday - Big Book Study,
Thursday & Saturday - Closed Discussion

Dear God: I have a problem. It's me
Dear Child: I have a solution. It's me  

This-n-That
Don't forget the Harrisburg Area Intergroup (HAI) meeting Thursday November 3rd, at 6:45pm, and the District 36 General Service Rep meeting on Monday November 14th, at 6:30; both meetings need your support. Both meetings are held at Fellowship House 1251 S. 19th St. Harrisburg.  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.  

October Intergroup Meeting
At the October 6th meeting of Intergroup, Chairperson RC opened the meeting with the serenity prayer. The secretary's report was read by Ami Jo and accepted.  Kevin read the treasurer's report which was also accepted.

The State Hospital - Because of impending changes in the Harrisburg State Hospital Operations, there will only be a Friday 6:30PM meeting for the foreseeable future.   Middletown will cover the cell phone and state hospital in October.  More to Life will cover the cell phone in November and Monday Men's group will cover in December    Gaudenzia Juvenile Facility has requested that the meeting be moved to Thursday as they wish to take their clients to an AA meeting outside on Wednesday,  Intergroup voted to donate 2 cases of Big Books and 12 & 12's to Hurricane Katrina groups.  Volunteers for the various county and state prison and Gaudenzia Juvenile facilities continue to carry the message to those who hope to change their lives through a more spiritual way of living; if you'd like to benefit from this 12^th Step opportunity, see your Intergroup Rep, or leave a message with the hot line at 234-5390.

Cumberland County Women's Prison needs volunteers to take a meeting into the prison.

Groups represented at the Oct. meeting were: HAI Officers, Pine St., 40th St., Hershey, BBSG, Way out, , Mid City, Hbg. Men's Group, Middletown, 19th St. Fellowship House, Women's Serenity, Rule 62, West Shore, Winding it Up, Out of the Dark, TMTL, Was your group represented?

Donations

September's donation to Intergroup from the local groups totaled $315.50.  If you are mailing donations to either Intergroup or District please use the following addresses.

Harrisburg Area Intergroup      District 36
1251 S. 19th St.                         PO Box 5325
Harrisburg, PA. 17104                Harrisburg, PA. 17110

Our Neighbor's window looks much cleaner
if we first wash our own

Traditions Checklist
Tradition Eleven: Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

1. Do I sometimes promote AA so fanatically that I make it seem unattractive?

2. Am I always careful to keep the confidences reposed in me as an AA member?

3. Am I careful about throwing AA names around --- even within the Fellowship?

4. Am I ashamed of being a recovered, or recovering, alcoholic?

5. What would AA be like if we were not guided by the ideas of Tradition Eleven? Where would I be?

6. Is my AA sobriety attractive enough that a sick drunk would want such a quality for himself?

* 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

Blessed are the flexible
for they shall not be bent out of shape

Pearl of the Month  ©  AA Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p 96
We A.A.'s are active folk, enjoying the satisfactions of dealing with the realities of life, usually for the first time in our lives, and strenuously trying to help the next alcoholic who comes along.  So it isn't surprising that we often tend to slight serious meditation and prayer as something not really necessary.  To be sure, we feel it is something that might help us meet an occasional emergency, but at first many of us are apt to regard it as a somewhat mysterious skill of clergymen, from which we may hope to get a secondhand benefit.  Or perhaps we don't believe in these things at all.
With permissions, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. 

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. Why not share something of yourself with our readers?

Ephesians 5:18. Do not drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path. I was given a choice to know Jesus back in the 60's when listening to a speaker at High School, I rejected Him.  I met Jesus again in the 70's in the bar rooms that I used to hang out in, I rejected Him again.  He was with me when I totaled out 3 automobiles drunk and  He was with me when I wiped out my motorcycle.  He was with me when my 2 marriages went down the drain because I wanted to drink and do other things that I should not of been doing.  He was with me when I was looking down the barrel of a 357 magnum pistol over an argument about a pool game.  He was with me when I did not know Him, my Son take my hand get to know me you need not suffer any more.  He was with me on April 20, 1982 when I committed myself for help with my alcoholism.  I met him personally in the basements of Churches where Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are always held.  He was talking to me through the other recovered drunks who were not drinking any more and there lives were getting better.  The spirit of the living Christ is hanging out with low lifes like myself all the time giving us hope that there is a way out if you trust him.  An A.A. member took me to Church for the first time, another gave me a Bible, my sponsor taught me how to pray.  I have been sober and clean now 23 and 1/2 years by the Grace of God and the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.  I still carry the message of hope to the still suffering man or woman, that there is a way out.  Just grab Jesus by the hand and let him show you the way.  Jesus hangs out with the drunks, drug addicts, prostitutes and other low characters just waiting for us to take his hand.  Have you grabbed His hand and asked Him to help you and show you the way?  If not, ask Him today to come into your life, He is waiting for you like He waited for me. 
Thanks to Ken M of the Elizabethtown Group

This Month in AA History
1895 Bill W  is born in east Dorset, VT. in a room behind a bar in the Wilson House, a village hotel run by his grandmother.

1934     Ebby visited Bill at Clinton St and shared his recovery experience "One alcoholic talking to another"  Ebby visited later with Shep C and they spoke to Bill about the Oxford Group.

1935    Hank P (The Unbeliever) and John Fitzhugh (Our Southern Friend) sober up at Towns Hospital.  Hank started AA in NJ in his house and Fitz started AA in Washington, DC

1949     The short form of the Twelve Traditions was first printed in the AA Grapevine.  The entire issue was dedicated to the Traditions in preparation for the forthcoming Cleveland Convention.  Two wording changes were subsequently made to the initial version.  "Primary spiritual aim" was changed to "Primary Purpose"  in Tradition Six and "Principles above personalities" was changed to "Principles before Personalities" in Tradition Twelve.

1950     Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith died of cancer at age 70.  In his eulogy, Bill W described Dr. Bob as "the prince of the Twelfth Steppers"

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 mailing list 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.