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Healthy sponsorship boundaries

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The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Newbury (Berkshire) UK meetings

Worrying stuff! 

Two meetings to avoid, both in West Berkshire:

MIDWEEK RECOVERY MEETING,
BISHOPS GREEN.
Wednesday 6.30pm
Bishops Green Village Hall,
Beech Road,
Bishop’s Green,
North Sydmonton,
Newbury,
RG20 4AD
 

FRIDAY TABLEMATE
Portal Hall,
Burghclere,
Church Lane,
RG20 9HX. Doors open at 6.30pm. Meeting from 7pm to 8.15pm. 

Former and current attendees/members of both meetings are reporting the following practices:


    Strong prohibitions against using medication of any kind, including those prescribed by medical doctors for depression and other mental illness.  
    Strong prohibitions against the use of NHS and private counselling for issues which are not related to alcoholism.

    Telling people how to conduct their relationships with their partners and in some cases, ordering people to break up with their partners.

    Telling people that the Steps protect from COVID 19 transmission and visiting each others’ homes during lockdown without any protective masks or gloves.
    Telling newcomers in particular that people in service in AA re exempt from both the Rule of Six and the Maximum of 15 rule. This exposes newcomers to a potential fine and criminal record.

    There is a very strong link with a local religious sect with fairly extreme views on matters which are not related to AA at all. A small number of people “at the top” of both meetings attend some sort of religious meeting weekly or twice weekly where some pretty extreme views are preached. Newcomers who are “strong enough” are encouraged to begin attending this religious group in addition to the two named AA meetings and in some cases, break off contact with some or most family members.

Thanks to our contributor

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Narcissists - AA's got some - and a lot of them become cult sponsors. How to deal with them!

And of course there's always the “walk away” option!

Cheers

The Fellas (Friends of Alcoholics Anonymous)