Thank you to these meetings for donating to the LAI!

Bylaws and Standing Rules — the latest versions are available on the website and at the office.

— The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Step Eight, pp. 77–82

— Grapevine, December 1952

Throughout the world AAs are twelfth-stepping with thousands of new prospects a month. Between one and two thousand of these sober up on our first presentation; past experience shows that most of the remainder will come back to us later on. Almost entirely unorganized and completely nonprofessional, this mighty spiritual current is now flowing from alcoholics who are well to those who are sick. One alcoholic talking to another — that’s all.

Could this vast and vital face-to-face effort ever be professionalized or even organized? Most emphatically, it could not. The few efforts to professionalize straight Twelfth Step work have always failed quickly. Today, no AA will tolerate the idea of paid “AA therapists” or “organizers.” Nor does any AA like to be told just how he must handle that new prospect of his. No, this great life-giving stream can never be dammed up by paid do-gooders or professionals. Alcoholics Anonymous is never going to cut its own lifelines. To a man, we are sure of that.

But what about those who serve us full time in other capacities — are cooks, caretakers, and paid intergroup secretaries “AA professionals”?

Because our thinking about these people is still unclear, we often feel and act as though they were such. The impression of professionalism subtly attaches to them, so we frequently hear they are “making money out of AA” or that they are “professionalizing” AA. Seemingly, if they do take our AA dollars they don’t quite belong with us AAs anymore. We sometimes go further; we underpay them on the theory they ought to be glad to “cook” for AA cheap.

Now isn’t this carrying our fears of professionalism rather far? If these fears ever got too strong, none but a saint or an incompetent could work for Alcoholics Anonymous. Our supply of saints being quite small, we would certainly wind up with less competent workers than we need.

We are beginning to see that our few paid workers are performing only those service tasks that our volunteers cannot consistently handle. Primarily these folks are not doing Twelfth Step work. They are just making more and better Twelfth Step work possible. Secretaries at their desks are valuable points of contact, information, and public relations. That is what they are paid for, and nothing else. They help carry the good news of AA to the outside world and bring our prospects face to face with us. That’s not “AA therapy”; it’s just a lot of very necessary but often thankless work.

So, where needed, let’s revise our attitude toward those who labor at our special services. Let us treat them as AA associates, and not as hired help; let’s recompense them fairly and, above all, let’s absolve them from the label of professionalism.

Let us also distinguish clearly between “organizing the AA movement” and setting up, in a reasonably businesslike manner, its few essential services of contact and propagation. Once we do that, all will be well. The million or so fellow alcoholics who are still sick will then continue to get the break we sixty thousand AAs have already had.

Let’s give our “service desks” the hand they so well deserve.

The AA Grapevine online store has a variety of books, ebooks, and other publications full of inspiring stories of fellow AAs on their journey to recovery.

It is the time of year when we start to get things set up for the annual Ride for Sobriety. It is going to be September 19th; riders will gather at the LAI between 11:30 and 12:30. We will conclude the ride at South Perry Meeting’s Annual Burger Burn.

I want to take a moment this month to talk about something that matters to all of us: keeping our building a safe and welcoming place.

Our doors are open so that anyone who is still suffering can walk in and find what we found. As the steward of this building, LAI takes seriously the job of making sure every person who comes through that door feels safe enough to keep coming back. That is not an “outside issue” — it goes to the very heart of our primary purpose. AA’s own guidance, in the Safety and A.A. Groups pamphlet (MG-25), reminds us that concerns like harassment have a rightful place in our conversations, and that members whose behavior seriously interferes with a meeting can be asked to step away for a while.

I want to be clear about what that means and does not mean. No one can ever be barred from Alcoholics Anonymous — that is not who we are. But if someone’s conduct makes our building unsafe or unwelcoming, we may ask them to attend meetings elsewhere for a time. It is not a judgment on their sobriety or their membership; it is simply us looking out for one another, the way this fellowship has always done.

If you ever have a safety concern at a meeting held here, please talk to the meeting secretary, or to me, or to anyone on the Advisory Board. And remember that anonymity was never meant to be a cloak for harmful behavior — if your safety is at risk, don’t hesitate to reach out to the proper authorities.

We take care of each other. That’s the whole thing, really.

Love, Gratitude, and Service,
James Garner

Make a difference — get involved! Check out the link for more information: www.area53aa.org

 

The 70th Ohio State Convention is being held August 14–16 in Newark.

The LAI has been asked to host the literature room! If you would like to help sell literature at the convention, please contact James G. at officemanager@lancasterareaintergroup.org — details and registration.

 

Bored on a Monday or Wednesday evening? The Somerset meetings need your support — Monday 7:30 PM at 139 E. Main St., Somerset, and Wednesday 7:30 PM at 101 Public Square, Somerset.

 

Greetings! Your District 13 would like to invite you to attend a get-to-know-the-District meeting, an effort to improve participation in our geographical area. We represent ALL the meetings in a three-county area — Fairfield, Hocking, and Perry — so we would like to see your group represented. We is the basic tenet of our recovery program, so without a we, there can be no real representation.

August 22nd, Saturday at 2:00 PM (new day and time) will be our monthly meeting, held at the LAI office, 723 Slocum St., Lancaster, Ohio. We are counting on the GSRs currently elected to represent your group, as well as anyone who is interested in how this part of the Fellowship works for you. All are welcome! We will be providing hot dogs and fixins, water, and coffee.

We will be discussing a fundraising idea for some time in October — a chili cookoff, 50/50 raffle, cornhole, and a screening of an OSU game. Something fun for all to participate in; after all, we are not a glum lot.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Allison A., our DCM, at allisonappel22@gmail.com. We will have a flyer shortly, and hopefully you will be announcing this at your group meetings.

Thank you,
Amy K — Acting Secretary, District 13