SEPTEMBER 3
BUILDING A NEW LIFE
We feel a man is unthinking when he says sobriety is enough.ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 82
When I reflect on Step Nine, I see that physical sobriety must be enough for me. I need to remember the hopelessness I felt before I found sobriety, and how I was willing to go to any lengths for it. Physical sobriety is not enough for those around me, however, since I must see that God’s gift is used to build a new life for my family and loved ones. Just as importantly, I must be available to help others who want the A.A. way of life. I ask God to help me share the gift of sobriety so that its benefits may be shown to those I know and love.The GSR Says!
GENERAL SERVICE REPORT FOR August 17, 2024
● There are 111 delegates eligible to participate in the CCFAA Delegate’s meeting. At the
August meeting 62 delegates attended which was sufficient for a quorum.
● Sobriety birthdays for August totaled 24 years.
● CCFAA’s mailing address has changed. The new address is:
CCFAA
3609 Bradshaw Road, Suite H
Sacramento, CA 95827-3275
● New Groups
Wacky Sac Group
Saturday’s @ 10AM – 11AM
Meeting ID: 597 962 2941 PW
The We Can Group
Monday @ 6:30PM – 7:30PM
Sunset No-AL, 5809 Gibbons Drive, Carmichael
● At the August 13th Board of Directors meeting changes to by-laws and operating
procedures were discussed. One item of discussion, which the Board will vote on at their
September meeting, is potentially moving the in-person delegate meeting back to 100%
on-line instead of a hybrid. This is due to the very low in-person attendance and the time
and effort involved to set up these meetings.
I will report back on the outcome of this item next month.
That’s all I have for this meeting. Thank you for allowing me to be of service to the Step
2 Men’s Group!
Mark Q.
September Birthdays… IF They Make It!
September 15th… Michael L. celebrates 11 years
September 18th… Jeff B. celebrates 6 years
September 25th… Mark S. celebrates 2 years
If your birthday has been missed…. fill out the birthday form.
We really want to celebrate your AA anniversary because your birthday made ours possible!
Thanks everybody and apologies to you if you were missed or incorrectly noted.
Persistence is the Key
In writing this column, I found that it has become my assistant of annual reminders.
You know how you have to “work” this deal to have success at it. There are all kinds of
reminders in AA books and articles. “Work the Program”, I know I have heard that
before and more than once. The columns become reminders to me, that I have not
done something in a little while and must get back at it.
It’s great and refreshing until I get to the 9th month and Step Nine.
As I have said, I had a couple runs at sobriety before this last time when it finally stuck.
Its not perfect but I have made progress for 11 plus years.
In the beginning, when I got to my first Step 9, I ran around to many people and
apologized. In some cases, I gave them money. I didn’t know how much I had cost
them, but I made estimates. It was great. Like getting a Get Out of Jail Free card for
one’s soul. Though, I didn’t finish Step 9. There was this other list of characters who
harmed me.
I felt they took advantage of me because I was a drunk. I don’t know how I ended up in
this arena because I was a semi hippie in my youth. In my vocation later, there were
many individuals who felt that any of the cheese left unprotected or vulnerable was their
cheese, so to speak in an analogy sort of way. Some of these people really got me, too.
Some, I considered close friends. Some, while we were not close, we weren’t enemies,
and they know better. When I have ever had any discussion with them, they will
acknowledge that what happened was wrong. Then they shrug and change the subject.
These resentments have been very difficult to resolve.
I deal with this every time I write the column for September, but what do I do?
I had a sponsor who advised me that, I didn’t have to take it anymore. Just let it go. Like
pulling down a window shade. That has not been easy. He told me though, to look at my
life. It’s not bad. He asks, how many things am I grateful for?
There were things I did, things I was able to attain or accomplish I never thought I would
do when I was young. My family, it’s a given, they’re terrific. Well, maybe not the Ex so
much, but ya know… there are flaws in everything.
Now, Mark is going to tell you how I wrote basically the same column last year. I
probably did. It’s quite a dilemma.
Contributed by John M.
“Mouse’s Corner”
A.A. member Dave Mc. curates a few selected readings from a variety of A.A. related publications each month.
It’s often said that problem drinkers are perfectionists, impatient about any shortcomings, especially our own. Setting impossible goals for ourselves, we nevertheless struggle fiercely to reach these unattainable ideals.
Living sober number 16
“The answers will come, if your own house is in order”
Alcoholics Anonymous pg. 164
A Vision For You
Contributed by Dave Mc.
Tradition 09
Short Form
“A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.“
Long Form
“Each A.A. group needs the least possible organization. Rotating leadership is the best. The small group may elect its secretary, the large group its rotating committee, and the groups of a large metropolitan area their central or intergroup committee, which often employs a full-time secretary. The trustees of the General Service Board are, in effect, our A.A. General Service Committee. They are the custodians of our A.A. Tradition and the receivers of voluntary A.A. contributions by which we maintain our A.A. General Service Office at New York. They are authorized by the groups to handle our overall public relations and they guarantee the integrity of our principal newspaper, the A.A. Grapevine. All such representatives are to be guided in the spirit of service, for true leaders in A.A. are but trusted and experienced servants of the whole. They derive no real authority from their titles; they do not govern. Universal respect is the key to their usefulness.“
Tradition Summary
Organization and Service Aren’t Mutually Exclusive
In the beginning, our founders really felt like we didn’t need much organization and structure in the Fellowship, and then they went and created a bunch of it. “It is clear that we ought never to name boards to govern us, but it is equally clear that we shall always need to authorize workers to serve us. It is the difference between the spirit of vested authority and the spirit of service.” (12×12, Page 174)
One of the best examples of this is if you should ever find yourself needing to reach out to GSO for their ideas on a specific issue that your group, District or Area may be having; you can be relatively sure regardless of what you are asking about will garner a response that generally starts off with something like, “That’s a great question. Our shared experience in A.A. is….” and they will offer suggestions of solutions from those that have gone before us to help you with your concern. They cannot tell us what to do, but they can help us.
The organization of our Fellowship is crucial to our being able to carry the message to the still suffering alcoholic, but that structure is not there to govern, but to serve.
Step-Tradition Parallel
The first nine steps delivered us from the bondage of our past experiences with alcohol. We finally arrived at the place where we could say to ourselves, “I have totally faced my past. And there is nothing left in my past that I’m ashamed of. There’s nothing left that hurts anymore. There’s nothing left in my past that’s painful. There’s nothing left in my past I need to forgive or need to be forgiven for. I’m at total oneness and peace with my past.” Well, that’s a tremendous statement to be able to say. That’s an enormous statement for any person to be able to say about their life. And that’s what the first nine steps give us. And the ninth tradition assures me that once my ninth step amends have been made, I will be led to that profound place of peace I have always sought in my life: divine order.
The ninth tradition not only contains the secret of divine order but also contains the personal principle that will keep an alcoholic like me in divine order. It is so simple. I give up control. I stop organizing myself. I stop trying to organize God into my limited ideas of order.
How does this ninth tradition relate to the ninth step? My life gets unimpeded flow of divine love in a triangle consisting of you, myself and God. Whenever the divine order of that relationship is disturbed, I can restore order by making the unmade amend that put my life out of order. The ninth step poses the question, “After making amends, how do I stay reconciled with you today?” The ninth tradition answers that question by implying that I remain in the divine order by not organizing you, myself or God and spontaneously being of service to you and God.
From an idea by George T.
Funny Pages
Step 2 Men’s Group Believes…
“Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
We’d never presume that the 12 Steps are not clear. Nor would we imply that they need ‘improvement’. However…for purposes of assisting to keep the meeting pointed in an important direction each day, the “Step 2 Men’s Group Statement” is read as follows:
Step 2 Men’s Group is founded on the belief that spirituality is essential to our sobriety.
Our group is non-religious, but we do not oppose anyone’s religious beliefs. We believe that respect for others and their beliefs is essential to our spiritual development.
Accordingly we ask that avoid criticism of others or of their religion or lack of religion, their race, ethnicity, national origin, age, sexual orientation, physical appearance, trade or profession, length of sobriety, or personal beliefs.
Our goal is to further our spirituality, our sobriety and our personal development, not to confront or belittle others. Always remember to be kind to others.
Our Trusted Servants Continue to Be:
The current Step 2 Men’s Group meeting schedule is Monday, Wednesday & Friday at Tim’s (3809 J St), Tuesday & Thursday online, Saturday in the park is “Daily Reflections” and Sunday is our Rogue meeting in the park. Each gathering is one hour. Great job men!
- Monday: Tim C.
- Tuesday: Mark C.
- Wednesday: John M.
- Thursday: Sean F.
- Friday: Jon B.
- Saturday: Dave M.
- Sunday: Mark C.
Want to add your name to the “Back-up-Help-Substitute Secretary List”? Just contact Group GS, John M., Treasurer Mark W. or any of our other Secretaries and let them know!
Extra Special Thanks Dept:
Thanks to our General Secretary John M. for “Persistence is the Key”, Mark Q. for his GSR Report and service, Dave Mc. for “Mouse’s Corner”, Tom W. for comics, and our Treasurer Mark W. for all your contributions. We’re still waiting for YOU gentle reader…Why don’t YOU contribute a short “something?” Any length, most any AA related topic. Reply now and it will get included next month!
Men’s Gazette – August 2024
Men’s Gazette – October 2024