Welcome to April 2024. Spring is typically known as the time of new beginnings, new flowers, warmer weather, and a chance to get outside. But it is also is a time for reflection as we ponder our moral inventory.  Perhaps for the first time we begin to take an honest look at ourselves and identify areas of improvement or wrongdoing that need to be addressed. So, as we take those walks on our beautiful trails here in Sussex County, perhaps use the time to reflect or to connect with fellows. Happy Spring!

As it’s April, the fourth month, let’s look at Step 4, Tradition 4, and Concept 4.

Step Four — Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. We thought “conditions” drove us to drink, and when we tried to correct these conditions and found that we couldn’t to our entire satisfaction, our drinking went out of hand, and we became alcoholics. It never occurred to us that we needed to change ourselves to meet conditions, whatever they were. — Reprinted from The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 47, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Tradition Four — Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole. When A.A.’s Traditions were first published, in 1946, we had become sure that an A.A. group could stand almost any amount of battering. We saw that the group, exactly like the individual, must eventually conform to whatever tested principles would guarantee survival. We had discovered that there was perfect safety in the process of trial and error. So confident of this had we become that the original statement of A.A. tradition carried this significant sentence: “Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group provided that as a group they have no other affiliation.” — Reprinted from The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 147, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Concept Four — Throughout our Conference structure, we ought to maintain at all responsible levels a traditional “Right of Participation,” taking care that each classification or group of our world servants shall be allowed a voting representation in reasonable proportion to the responsibility that each must discharge. The “Right of Participation” is therefore a corrective of ultimate authority because it mitigates its harshness or misuse. It also encourages us who serve A.A. to accept the necessary disciplines that our several tasks require. We can do this when we are sure that we belong, when the fact of our “participation” assures us that we are truly the “trusted servants” described in A.A.’s Tradition Two. — Reprinted from The A.A. Service Manual Combined with the Twelve Concepts, p. C15, with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us on Thursday April 4 at 6PM via Zoom. Meeting ID: 987-8810-5001, Passcode: 914711. Our intergroup is a resource for 12-Step work and Alcoholics Anonymous information in Southern Delaware. Please consider volunteering for a service opportunity, which includes most Intergroup committees. For more information about what each Committee does, see our Service Committees page and plan to attend our next intergroup meeting.

SDIAA Archives Committee Meeting – April 8 at 6:30 p.m. at the Lutheran Church of our Savior at 20276 Bay Vista Road, Rehoboth. The mission of the Archives Committee is to collect, preserve, and protect a variety of original material containing information of permanent historical value relating to the history of A.A. in Sussex County. Please join the meeting, if interested.

District 13 Monthly Meeting – April 10 at 5:30 p.m. at St. Martha’s Episcopal Church located at 17 Maplewood Street in Bethany Beach.

Bash at the Beach! September 15^th

Another year of food, fellowship and fun! More info to come!

Delaware Area 12 Convention – New Place and New Time!

Organizers are seeking volunteers to lead (small room) breakout sessions. The sessions are 75 minutes and will be held before and/or after the main room events. Some suggested topics are: The Three Legacies, Service Sponsorship, Yoga, Meditation, Safety in A.A., The Home Group, Committees, Archives/History.

2025 International Convention

Make plans to attend the 2025 A.A. International Convention scheduled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! An International A.A. Convention is held every five years and this year marks the 90^th anniversary of the beginning of our fellowships founding and is titled “90 Years – Language of the Heart.” More information will be published in the coming months in this newsletter. Meanwhile, here is a glimpse:

Vancouver will welcome A.A. members from around the world for the 2025 International Convention. The International Convention will take place from July 3 – 6, 2025, at the Vancouver Convention Centre and BC Place Stadium. As the Convention approaches, AA will update the website with registration information. Let’s celebrate sobriety together in Vancouver in 2025! For more information, go to: https://www.aa.org/international-convention

Do You Think You’re Different?
Calls for Stories for AA Pamphlet

In compliance with a 2022 Conference Advisory Action the Trustees Literature Committee is seeking submissions from AA members with diverse backgrounds in order to update the A.A. pamphlet Do You Think You’re Different? with stories that represent greater diversity.

In particular, stories are sought from A.A. members that reflect multicultural backgrounds, those who have multiple alienating factors, as well as those from diverse populations not addressed in current A.A. literature. Formatting Manuscripts: 500-800 words, double spaced, in 12-point font. Handwritten manuscripts: should be approximately 5 to 6 pages.

Deadline: April 30, 2024

Submission link: https://app.smartsheet.com/b/form/5a77c27d179d4856b32eed86b01e3426

Email: pamphletstories@aa.org
Subject Line: “Do You Think You’re Different?”

Postal Mail: Attn. Literature Assignment
General Service Office, Box 459, Grand Central Station
New York, NY 10163

Write: “Pamphlet” on the envelope, and at the top of the first page of the manuscript. Please include your complete name, address, and email/phone information on the first page of your manuscript. A copy of your manuscript should be retained for your files. The anonymity of all authors will be observed whether their story is selected for publication or not.

We have been asking for submissions for our newsletter (see article below) and our member Tony F. was kind enough to send a submission to feature here! We have been asking for a favorite slogan, phrase, or prayer. We recently have received many submissions, which we will be featuring in the coming months. Please continue to send us your ideas!

“There are no coincidences in A.A.” I love this slogan because it reminds me to look at each encounter and experience just as they are and to find the teachable moments and gifts offered in my encounters with others in and out of the program. People, answers, and solutions show up at the right time when I am open to receive them”.

Thank you, Tony!

Want to be part of this newsletter? We would love to hear from you! We’re always interested in receiving short articles and experiences written by our A.A. members for possible publication. All submissions are subject to review and editing. Send submissions to support@sussexaa.org. Below are some ideas.

• How you worked a specific step.
• A favorite A.A. slogan and how it has helped you.
• Something your sponsor said that impacted you

This month’s special section is “Happy Birthday Big Book!” To celebrate our beloved Big Book’s 85th anniversary, members share their favorite memories and stories.

Subscribing to this Newsletter via e-mail is very easy. Simply email “subscribe” to support@sussexaa.org or sign up online and you will receive the monthly email on the 1^st of each month.