Question
2:
“Would
the Fellowship ask itself the question: “Are there too many
meetings and not enough groups?”
Background
Pamphlet
‘The AA Group’
The
Home Group: Heartbeat of AA
Consider
the contribution to the carrying of the message, financial and
practical implications when deliberating each question.”
Extracts
“The
Home Group: Heartbeat of AA” was published in 1993 with the intent
to “promote harmony between groups” (Forward to the second
edition). Almost 20 years on there appears to be little evidence to
show that it is achieving its intended purpose. The promotion appears
to be back firing. If anything there is more disharmony between
groups now than there was 20 years ago.
The
new “Home Group” concept and some of the book’s suspect content
may be contributing to egocentric and insular group behaviour,
leading to their disconnection with the rest of the service structure
and disharmony with other groups. Suggest that the book’s contents
are reviewed and that it is re-titled, because it appears to be a
mistake that contradicts the functioning of the AA service structure
as a whole.
The
heart of A.A. according to Bill W. is clearly the General Service
Conference, AA Grapevine Inc, GSO, The General Service Board, AA
World Services Inc. These are the vital organs which give life to the
whole body. They pump the “Heartbeat of AA” via the arteries of
communication throughout the world service structure, to the AA
groups. “The Heartbeat of AA” is therefore, communication between
AA groups and their central services; and to the world outside:
Extract
from “What is the Third Legacy?” by Bill W:
“The
most vital, yet the least understood group of services that AA has,
are those which enable us to function as a whole; namely, the AA
General Service Office, the AA Publishing, Inc., the AA Grapevine,
Inc., and AA's Board of Trustees, recently renamed as the General
Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous. Our worldwide unity and much
of our growth since early times is directly traceable to this cluster
of life-giving activities located, since 1938, at New York……
….Nearly
all of the last dozen years of my life have been invested in the
construction of our General Headquarters. My heart is there, and
always will be. AA's Headquarters seems that important to me. When,
therefore, the hour comes at St. Louis for me to turn over to you
this last great asset of the AA inheritance, I shall feel not a
little sad that I must no longer be your Headquarters handyman. But I
shall rejoice that Alcoholics Anonymous has now grown up and, through
its great Conference, can confidently take its destiny by the hand.
So, my dear friends, you now have read my final accounting to you for
the World Services of Alcoholics Anonymous.” (AA Grapevine July
1955, The Language of the Heart page 165)
“I'm
sure you have already seen that AA world service is utterly necessary
to our future unity and growth--even to our survival as a fellowship.
To maintain these life-giving arteries of world communication in full
flow, and in good repair, will always be a top-priority task for each
new generation of our Society. This will require of us a greatly
increased understanding of the immense need to be met, and a
sustained devotion of the highest order.” Bill W. “A Message from Bill, AA Grapevine May1964, The Language of the
Heart page 349)
Suggest
the “Home Group: Heartbeat of AA” is re-titled “The AA Group
-Where it all begins” with another chapter added entitled:
“Heartbeat of AA – Our Third Legacy” This to contain Bill W’s
AA Grapevine writings explaining the group’s relation and
responsibility to support AA’s world services, lest as Bill W. put
it: AA “suffer heart failure at its vital center.” (“Let's Keep It Simple, But How?” AA Grapevine July 1960, The Language
of the Heart page 306)
Cheerio
The
Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
