Sobriety News
March 2006

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.

March Calendar of Events
* Indicates Flyer on the Links page

Mar 2 Thursday 6:45PM Harrisburg Area Intergroup meeting @ Fellowship House
Mar 3 Friday 8:00PM 40th St. Speaker meeting Dan E from Rule 62 group
Mar 3 Friday 8:30PM 19th Street Speaker Tracy C
Mar 4 Saturday 8:00PM Hershey Speaker Kelly K from Hershey Group 
Mar 5Sunday 9:00AM Out of the Dark Open Speaker Meeting Fran B
Mar 5Sunday 8:00PM Bridge St. Speaker Mark T from West Shore Group
Mar 10 Friday 8:00PM 19th Street Speaker Dan
Mar 11 Saturday 10AM-1PM TMTL 3rd annual sponsorship workshop*
Mar 12 Sunday 8:00PM Bridge Street Speaker Ray R from TMTL Group
Mar 13 Monday 6:45PM District 36 meeting @ Fellowship House
Mar 14 Tuesday 6:30PM Elizabethtown S&T 5th annual Spring Dinner.  Dinner @ 6:30
Speaker Fred F @ 7:30. Christ Lutheran Church 75 E. High St. E-town 
Mar 17 Friday 8:30PM 19th St Speaker Bob Mc
Mar 17-18 Fri/Sat 7:00PM Back to Basics Seminar in Pittsburgh www.ppgaapittsburgh.org
Mar 18 Saturday 6:30PM HAI Swing into Spring @ Oberlin Firehall *
Mar 19 Sunday 8:00PM Bridge St. Speaker Paul S from Elizabethtown Group
Mar 23 Thursday 7:00PM Middletown Speaker TBD
Mar 24 Friday 8:30PM 19th St. Speaker Randy M
Mar 25 Sunday 8:00PM Bridge St. Speaker TBD
Mar 30 Thursday 7:00PM Middletown Speaker TBD
Mar 31 Friday 7:00AM 21st Attitude Adjustment Anniversary Celebration at 19th St
Mar 31 Friday 8:00PM Elizabethtown Speaker Meeting Kevin B from 40th St.
Mar 31 Friday 8:30PM 19th St. Anniversaries

Looking Ahead
April 1 Saturday 8:00PM Hershey Speaker Meeting Moses B from the Hershey Group
April 2 Sunday 9:00AM Out of the Dark Speaker meeting Joe H
April 6 Thursday 6:45PM HAI Meeting @ Fellowship House
April 7 Friday 8:00PM 40th St. Speaker  Alice M
April 10 Monday 6:45PM District 36 meeting @ Fellowship House
Apr 14-16 Weekend   35th North Shore Roundup, Vancouver, BC http://www.northshoreroundup.com 
April 22 Saturday Noon HAI Easter Egg Hunt @ Fort Hunter 
June 9-11 Weekend   61st Annual Texas State Convention http://www.txaa2006.org
Jun 30 - July 2 Weekend   4th annual Firecracker Roundup http://serenitypa.tripod.com
Aug 18-20 Weekend   9th annual Sunlight of the Spirit Conference, York, PA*
Aug 25-27 Weekend   18th annual PENNSCYPAA, Erie, PA.*
July 2008 TBD   Al-Anon International Convention - Pittsburgh, PA
July 2010 TBD   AA International Convention - San Antonio, TX

 

To links and current events

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 has links to Flyers of events, other AA websites and to back issues of Sobriety News? Currently, there is an ongoing project to add recreations of old paper copies of Sobriety News, so they too can be available freely to those who wish to browse.  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.

Swing Into Spring
The Harrisburg Area Intergroup will hold its spring event this year at the Oberlin Firehall on Saturday March 18, beginning at 6:30PM with hors d'oeuvres, and desserts, the Master of Ceremonies will start the program off at 7:15PM and LeeAnn C from the Out of the Dark will speak on the topic, "A chance to grow and learn through Service" at about 7:30. LeeAnn will be followed by the entertaining recovering comedienne Jessica K from New York at 8:00 and the evening's fellowshipping will move on to other venues at about 9PM. Tickets will be available from your Intergroup Rep for $5.00 per person, and children under age 12 will be free when accompanied by an adult.

TMTL Group 3rd annual Sponsorship Seminar 

There's More To Life Group is having its 3rd annual Closed AA Sponsorship Seminar on Saturday, March 11th from 10:00am - 1:00pm at the Community United Methodist Church at 16th & Bridge Street in New Cumberland.  Allyn S from Langhorne, PA. and Hugh H. from Hatboro, PA. will share their experience on sponsorship.  Please come with your questions and topics on sponsorship.  Questions to be addressed include: How does sponsorship help the newcomer? How should a sponsor be chosen?  May a newcomer change sponsors?  How does a sponsor explain the AA program?  How can a sponsor work with a newcomer who rejects help?  How does sponsorship help a group?  FREE refreshments and light fare provided.

Area # 59 Meeting Schedules
There is a link to the Meeting Schedules here, ( 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 many Districts within Area # 59, including Lebanon, York and Lancaster Counties, as well as for District 42 (Sunbury-Lewistown), District 35 (Gettysburg-Chambersburg, and Hanover), District 38 Pottsville, Northeastern Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre-Scranton), Reading Area, Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, Southeastern PA, and Williamsport District 48.

We need your help locating old copies of Sobriety News
We are looking for older copies of sobriety news that were created before the website was developed.  We have in archive everything from May 2001 to present plus the following older editions. 

1996 - August, October, November, December
1997 - January, March through the rest of the year,
 1998 - January, February, March, June  

If you have one of the missing copies and would like to help, please contact asdungan@comcast.net or jfee@comcast.net We will make a copy of your edition and return it to you.  Thanks in advance for your help.

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.

Traditions Checklist
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.

TRADITION THREE: The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking.

  1. In my mind, do I prejudge some new AA members as losers?
  2. Is there some kind of alcoholic who I privately do not want in my AA group?
  3. Do I set myself up as a judge of whether a newcomer is sincere or phony?
  4. Do I let language, religion (or lack of it), race, education, age, or other such things interfere with my carrying the message?
  5. Am I over-impressed by a celebrity? By a doctor, a clergyman, an ex-convict? Or can I just treat this new member simply and naturally as one more sick human, like the rest of us?
  6. When someone turns up at AA needing information or help (even if he can't ask for it aloud), does it really matter what he does for a living? Where he lives? What his domestic arrangements are? Whether he had been to AA before? What his other problems are?

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

 12 Concepts Illustrated
From the publication Concepts Illustrated, The Sobriety News will publish the Concept each month, which corresponds to the number of the month, because we so seldom are exposed to these very important concepts of relationships, whether it be between levels of the organization, or members of a family.

Concept III

As a traditional means of creating and maintaining a clearly defined working relation between the groups, the Conference, the AA General Service Board and its several service corporations, staffs, committees and executives, and of thus ensuring their effective leadership, it is here suggested that we endow each of these elements of world service with a traditional “Right of Decision.”

As background for this Concept, you should be familiar with the Conference Charter and the Bylaws of the General Service Board, both of which are found in The A.A. Service Manual. For, except for the specific directions in these documents, every trusted servant and every A.A. entity—at all levels of service—has the right “to decide.., how they will interpret and apply their own authority and respon­sibility to each particular problem or situation as it arises.” That is, they can “decide which problems they will dispose of themselves and upon which matters they will report, consult, or ask specific directions.” This is “the essence of ‘The Right of Decision.”

But this right also means the Fellowship must have trust in its “trusted servants.” If the groups instruct their G.S.R.s rather than giving them a “Right of Decision,” then the area conference is hamstrung. If the G.S.R.s instruct the area delegates rather than giving them a “Right of Decision,” then the General Service Conference is hamstrung. As Bill points out, “our Conference delegates are primarily the servants of A.A. as they should…cast their votes.. .according to the best dictates of their own judgment and conscience at that time.”

Similarly, if the General Service Board, acting through its subsidiary boards, “were to attempt to manage” the General Service Office and the A.A. Grapevine “in detail, then.. the staff members... would quickly become demoralized; they would be turned into buck-passers and rubber stamps; their choice would be to rebel and resign, or to submit and rot.”

Bill warns against using “The Right of Decision” as an excuse for failure to make the proper reports of actions taken; or for exceeding a clearly defined authority; or for failing to consult the proper people before making an important decision. But he concludes:  “Our entire A.A. program rests squarely upon the principle of mutual trust. We trust God, we trust AA, and we trust each other.”

“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.

You can make excuses or you can make changes
but you can't make both

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.

You can always tell an alcoholic
but you can't tell him much

Anecdotage

A Drunk Fell in a Hole

A drunk fell in a hole and couldn’t get out.

A businessman went by. The drunk called out for help. The businessman threw him some money and told him to get himself a ladder. But the drunk could not find a ladder in this hole he was in. 

A doctor walked by. The drunk said, “Help, I can’t get out.” The doctor gave him drugs and said, “Take this, it will relieve the pain.” The drunk said thanks, but when the pills ran out, he was still in a hole. 

A renowned psychiatrist rode by and heard the drunk crying for help. He stopped and said, “How did you get there? Were you born there? Were you put there by your parents? Tell me about yourself; it will alleviate your sense of loneliness.” So the drunk talked with him for an hour, then the psychiatrist had to leave, but he said he’d be back next week. The drunk thanked him, but he was still in his hole. 

A priest came by and the drunk called for help. The priest gave him a Bible and said, “I’ll say a prayer for you.” He got down on his knees and prayed for the drunk, then left. The drunk was very grateful, he read the Bible, but he was still stuck in that hole. 

A recovered alcoholic happened to be passing by and the drunk cried out, “Hey, help me, I’m stuck in this hole.” Right away, the recovered alcoholic jumped in the hole with him. The drunk said, “What are you doing? Now we’re both stuck here.” But the recovered alcoholic said, “It’s okay, I’ve been here before; I know a way out.”
Read by Chris R at the Primary Purpose Weekend, New Cumberland August 2004

None of us came in here
on a winning streak

New Meetings and Changes
 The Out of the Dark Group has changed it's format for the 1st Sunday of each month.  The group meets at 9:00AM at the Wormleysburg Borough Hall and starting in March, 2006 the meeting will be an open speakers meeting.

The Millersburg Group which formerly met on Monday Nights has changed the name of the group to The Open Door Group and will now meet on Tuesdays at 8;00PM.  The meeting is held at the Feed My Sheep Ministries located at 242 Market St, Millersburg.  The format is Open discussion and it is a non-smoking meeting.

The new Loysville "Empty Jug" meeting has moved to the Assembly of God Church on 6th Street in Newport. The meetings are still Saturday nights at 7:00PM, and the formats are unchanged, see the flyer . 

There is a change of place for the Sunday night Al-Anon meeting. Formerly Holy Spirit Hospital, now at the: Chapel Hill UCC (corner of Poplar Church & Erford Rds.), entrance in rear of church, 2nd floor-Rm. 4. Also, Al-Anon's next District meeting is on Tues. Jan. 31st @ 6:00 at Trinity Lutheran Church in Camp Hill Rm. 232.

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.

If you don't think the 1st drink
will get you drunk
try getting drunk without it 

February Intergroup Meeting
Chairperson Robert H opened the meeting with the serenity prayer.  The February Intergroup meeting saw the election of new officers for the coming year.  Kris S of There's More to Life Group was elected Chairperson.  Kevin B of the 40th St. Group was elected co-chairperson.  Mare H of Never Too Young Group was elected treasurer, and AmiJo of BBSG remained as secretary.   Also, Intergroup voted to make the Treasurer position a 2 year commitment.  An amendment to the by-laws will be done.

Secretary AmiJo read the minutes from the January meeting which were accepted by the group.  Treasurer's report was given by Kevin C which was also accepted.  Dennis H gave a report for Central Office.  Last year there were 1,518 calls to the cell phone which averaged out to about 125 calls per month.  The following groups volunteered for the cell phone for the coming year: Feb-BBSG; March-Out of the Dark, April-West Shore Women's, May-40th St. Women's; June-19th St.; July-Middletown; August-TMTL; September-Hershey; October-Trinity; November-Men's Group; Dec-open.

Activities report given by Kris S who said tickets are now available for the Intergroup affair on 3/18 at the Oberlin Firehall.  Lori gave a report on Cumberland County Women's prison and stated attendance is good and thank you for the donation of books last month.  Dennis H reported that the unity committee attended the TMTL Group's meeting earlier this week and explained what the unity committee does.  He also volunteered his services to other groups to come and speak at their meetings.

The Spanish speaking meeting @ St. Francis requested a donation of 6 Spanish Twelve and Twelve's which was approved.

The following groups were represented at the meeting, BBSG, Dillsburg, Al-anon, Out of the Dark, Survivors, TMTL, St. Francis, Never Too Young, Hershey, 19th St., Progress, Rule 62, Women's Serenity, 40th Street, Trinity West Shore, Harrisburg Men's, and Trudgers.   WAS YOUR GROUP REPRESENTED.

Donations

January's donation to Intergroup from the local groups totaled $250.  Groups contributing were Harrisburg Area West Shore Group, Rebellion Dogs,  (WS) How it Works, and New Beginnings. 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

Also, the addresses for contributions to Area 59  and GSO are:

Eastern PA General Service Area 59        General Service Office
1112 Silver Maple Dr.                               Box #459
Clarks Summit , PA 18411                          Grand Central Station
                                                                New York, NY 10163

Courage is not the absence of fear
but the ability to overcome it

Pearl of the Month   ©  AA Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p34
Like all the remaining Steps, Step Three calls for affirmative action, for it is only by action that we can cut away the self-will which has always blocked the entry of God--or, if you like, a Higher Power--into our lives.  Faith, to be sure, is necessary, but faith alone can avail nothing.  We can have faith, yet keep God out of our lives 
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?

A STEP 3 PARABLE by Steve B.
A drunk is staggering along the street and he meets God.  "God, I can't do this anymore," he says.  "Please, please, will you give me sobriety?"  God says, "Sobriety isn't free, how much money have you got?"  The drunk reaches into his pocket. "Fifty bucks." "I'll take it," says God, "you're sober."  The man stands up straight, drunk no more.  It feels pretty good.  "Yeah but, God?"  "Yes?" "I know I gave you my money willingly.  But, you see, I need to get gas for my car." "You have a car?" says God.  "Well, yes." "You didn't tell Me that.  I'll take the car."  " But..." "I'll take the car.  It's part of the price for your sobriety."  "But how will I get to work?" "You have a job? I'll take the job, too."  "But God, how will I pay my mortgage?" "Mortgage?  You have a house?  I'll take that too." "But God, my family.  How will I take care of them if you have my house and my job?" God says to him gently and lovingly: "In order to keep your sobriety; you must give Me these things.  But I will let you drive My car as long as you remember it's My car.  You can have the job, but remember you're working it for Me.  It's My house but I will let you live in it.  And as for the family, they are My family but I will trust you to take care of them."  

This Month in AA History
1935  Henrietta Sieberling (nicknamed "Henni") encouraged by her friend Delphine Weber, organized a Wednesday night Oxford group meeting at T Henry and Clarence Williams' house.  The meeting was started specifically to help Dr. Bob who later confessed openly about his drinking problem. 

1939    The much changed book manuscript was turned over to Tom Uzzell.  He was a friend of Hank P, an editor at Collier's and a member of the NYU faculty.  The manuscript was variously estimated as 600 to 1,200 pages.  Uzzell reduced it to approximately 400 pages.  Most cuts came from personal stories, which had also been edited by Jim S (The News Hawk) a journalist from Akron.  Bill W, Hank P, Ruth Hock, and Dorothy S (wife of Cleveland Pioneer Clarence S) drove to Cornwall, NY and presented the much altered manuscript to the printing plant of Cornwall Press.  When the plant manager saw the condition of the manuscript, he almost sent them back to type a clean copy.  Hank P persuaded the manager to accept the manuscript on condition that the group would examine and correct galley proofs as they came off the press.  The group checked into a local hotel and spent the next several days proofreading galleys.

1941    Jack Alexander's Saturday Evening Post article was published.  The publicity caused 1941 membership to jump from around 2,000 to 8,000.  The article led to over 6,000 appeals for help to be mailed to box 658 for the NY office to handle.  The NY office asked for groups to donate $1 per member to support the office.  This began the practice of financing the NY office operations through donations from the groups.

1950    A second Saturday Evening Post article by Jack Alexander titled "The Drunkard's Best Friend" was written.

1966    Ebby T (who Bill W always considered his sponsor) died of emphysema.  He had 2 1/2 years of sobriety at the time of his death.

SOBRIETY NEWS is published monthly, and is usually available on the website the Wednesday 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 .

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