The Canterbury AA convention which is … not an AA convention!

Yep the cult is busily “running the show” again at Canterbury University. In July, or so it appears, we can all look forward to “A weekend of open AA meetings and fellowship” - but then it's not entirely clear which AA we might be talking about here! Would that be the AA that adheres to its principles, observes the Traditions and doesn't encourage the abuse of newcomers, or would that be the cult which does precisely the reverse? We suspect the latter in this instance. The flier 'promoting' this event (in Word document format) came to us from a source well distanced from the convention's Kent location which suggests that it is being widely 'touted' throughout the region (if not nationally). When we passed the information on to our various contacts in East Kent they seemed entirely ignorant of the forthcoming 'gig' (which would suggest that East Kent Intergroup too is none the wiser). But if you look carefully at the small print at the bottom of the flier there is that soooo telling statement:

“This is not an official AA Conference Approved Event”

Now if you refer to Guideline No. 15 “Conventions” (Revised April 2002) in the handbook for 2010 you will find the following:

“ORGANISATION

The decision to hold a convention ought to be made by the group conscience of the appropriate Intergroup or Region (the Sponsoring Body).

A committee should be elected for the purpose of planning, organising and running the event. The convention committee should have overall responsibility and be accountable to the Sponsoring Body for financial and all other matters. They should bear in mind the need for conventions to be self-supporting.”

ie. this is effectively NOT an AA convention. Moreover its financing is quite unclear. There is no mention on the flier of a registration fee or “voluntary contributions” although there are references to accommodation costs, and an “optional” dinner dance at £20.00 per head. Ah well they do say “misery is optional” so we'll be giving that a miss! Well actually we'll be giving the whole thing a miss. If we want to go to an AA convention then we'll go to an actual AA convention and not some fraudulent copy.

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)