Question
2:
“Would
the Fellowship review and re-affirm what constitutes an AA Group,
within the Fellowship in Great Britain with specific reference to
Traditions 4 - 6?
Background
Consider
the contribution to the carrying of the message, financial and
practical implications when deliberating each question.”
Extract:
“ The
introduction to the Twelve Concepts reminds us that “We are sure
that each group of workers in world service will be tempted to try
all sorts of innovations that may often produce little more than
painful repetition earlier mistakes.” Therefore as entrusted
guardians of the fellowship, all AA members are responsible to
continually educate each new AA generation of the nature of our
traditions, for the unity of the fellowship and for the sake of those
to come. True to Concept IX this does in my experience involve
nurturing strength of spirit to withstand the occasional and
sometimes violently aggressive emotional outbursts from those who
find AA Traditions disagreeable or who find them difficult to
understand.
Concept
IX can be found on pp 34- 40:
http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/en_bm-31.pdf
In
what constitutes an AA group, its world service workers would
discourage its members from describing themselves as “Clean and
sober” This is a dual purpose. This may sound a trivial point to
some, but it is of paramount importance to secure the future unity of
the fellowship. The majority of the group members would actively
participate and support their world service workers in such actions.
If AA members want to be clean then there are other fellowships that
they can join for this purpose. An AA group would not include in its
membership non-alcoholic drug addicts from other 12 step fellowships,
or a member’s non alcoholic family or friends. It would refer
alcoholics with other primary addictions to organizations which can
help them with those addictions; and refer their family and friends
to Al-Anon.
An
AA group would not include in its membership friendly teetotal non
alcoholic evangelists from the local church who may have a desire to
stop drinking and who might also fancy giving a helping hand to save
the souls of alcoholics; this under the misapprehension that AA was
originally an attempt to re-create first century Christianity. The
attempt to recreate first century Christianity was by the Oxford
Group, not AA.
At
open AA meetings the group’s trusted world service workers would
ensure Tradition Seven is upheld when passing the pot, requesting and
ensuring that non alcoholic visitors do not contribute to the group
financially. Non alcoholics can attend open meetings as visitors,
they cannot become AA members.
“…We
took this violent new tack because here and there members had tried
to make money out of their A.A. connections, and we feared we’d be
exploited. Now and then, grateful benefactors had endowed clubhouses,
and as a result there was sometimes outside interference in our
affairs…” (Extract from Tradition Seven)
I
think there is evidence of various organizations which are exploiting
AA and encouraging an amalgamation of AA with other fellowships and
treatment programmes in order to provide a “cure all” under the
collective title of “12 Step recovery” or “Christian 12 step
recovery.” I think there is evidence within the fellowship and AA
Grapevine, that the influence of these organizations is detrimentally
changing the nature of our society. If these organizations continue
to be successful in amalgamating their causes within AA, then it will
cause AA to collapse [a reference to Dick B and the International
Christian Recovery Coalition among others].
Suggest
groups hold workshops/Group consciences focusing on pages 222-225,
The Language of the Heart, “Problems other than Alcohol.”
relating this to AA Traditions.
Extracts
from The Language of the Heart pp 222-225 “Problems other than
alcohol, by Bill W:
“Now
there are certain things that AA cannot do for anybody, regardless of
what our several desires or sympathies may be.
Our
first duty, as a society, is to insure our own survival. Therefore we
have to avoid distractions and multi-purpose activity. An AA group,
as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of its members, let
alone the problems of the whole world.
Sobriety--freedom
from alcohol--through the teaching and practice of the Twelve Steps,
is the sole purpose of an AA group. Groups have repeatedly tried
other activities and they have always failed. It has also been
learned that there is no possible way to make non-alcoholics into AA
members. We have to confine our membership to alcoholics and we have
to confine our AA groups to a single purpose. If we don't stick to
these principles, we shall almost surely collapse. And if we
collapse, we cannot help anyone.
To
illustrate, let's review some typical experiences. Years ago, we
hoped to give AA membership to our families and to certain
non-alcoholic friends who had been greatly helpful. They had their
problems, too, and we wanted them in our fold. Regretfully, we found
that this was impossible. They couldn't make straight AA talks; nor,
save a few exceptions, could they identify with new AA members.
Hence, they couldn't do continuous Twelfth Step work. Close to us as
these good folks were, we had to deny them membership. We could only
welcome them at our open meetings.
Therefore
I see no way of making non-alcoholic addicts into AA members.
Experience says loudly that we can admit no exceptions, even though
drug users and alcoholics happen to be first cousins of a sort. If we
persist in trying this, I'm afraid it will be hard on the drug user
himself, as well as on AA. We must accept the fact that no
non-alcoholic, whatever his affliction, can be converted into an
alcoholic AA member.”……….
........“I'm
very sure that these experiences of yesterday can be the basis of
resolving today's confusions about the narcotic problem. This problem
is new, but the AA experience and Tradition which can solve it is
already old and time-tested. I think we might sum it up like this:
We
cannot give AA membership to non-alcoholic narcotics-addicts. But
like anyone else, they should be able to attend certain open AA
meetings, provided, of course, that the groups themselves are
willing. AA members who are so inclined should be encouraged to band
together in groups to deal with sedative and drug problems. But they
ought to refrain from calling themselves AA groups.
There
seems to be no reason why several AAs cannot join, if they wish, with
a group of straight addicts to solve the alcohol and the drug problem
together. But, obviously, such a "dual purpose" group
should not insist that it be called an AA group nor should it use the
AA name in its title. Neither should its "straight addict"
contingent be led to believe that they have become AA members by
reason of such an association.” (Bill W. AA Grapevine, February 1958, The Language of the Heart pp 222-225)“
(our emphasis)
Cheerio
The
Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)
