It’s February and this month we focus on step two, tradition two and concept two.

Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Therefore, Step Two is the rallying point for all of us. Whether agnostic, atheist, or former believer, we can stand together on this Step. True humility and an open mind can lead us to faith, and every A.A. meeting is an assurance that God will restore us to sanity if we rightly relate ourselves to Him.

Tradition Two: For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern. A.A. is a spiritual movement, and so the “ultimate authority” is the spiritual concept of the “group conscience.” Its voice is heard when a well-informed group gathers to arrive at a decision.

Concept Two: The General Service Conference of A.A. has become, for nearly every practical purpose, the active voice and the effective conscience of our whole Society in its world affairs. Every April, the delegates from the 93 areas in the U.S. and Canada meet for six days with the trustees of the General Service Board, the staffs of the General Service Office and AA Grapevine and certain other service workers. Thus, this General Service Conference of A.A. is “the actual voice and effective conscience of our whole Society in its world affairs.”

Fun Facts for the Month

Since this is a leap year, this is the only month that begins and ends on the same day (Saturday). February also always ends on the same day of the week as October every year.

Despite its status as the shortest month, February is packed with many events, including the Polar bear plunge, Groundhog Day (yes, early spring), the Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day. On 02-02-2020 we had the first global eight-digit palindrome day in 909 years.

Featured Committee of the Month

The Cooperating with the Professional Community (C.P.C.) is our featured committee this month.

“Our Twelfth Step — carrying the message — is the basic service that the A.A. Fellowship gives; this is our principal aim and the main reason for our existence. Therefore, A.A. is more than a set of principles; it is a society for alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven’t been given the truth may die.” — The A.A. Service Manual, “A.A.’s Legacy of Service,” page S1.

Cooperating with nonalcoholic professionals is an effective way to carry the message to the sick alcoholic. Such people often meet the alcoholic in places where A.A. is not present. Many of these people often encounter the suffering alcoholic, and, despite public awareness, many of them simply don’t know what to do with a drunk.

This includes health care professionals, educators, clergy, lawyers, social workers, employers, government officials, as well as those working in the field of alcoholism. The SDI C.P.C. Committee provides an additional resource for these professionals and may be a bridge to long term recovery for the active alcoholic. Further information can be found here.

The SDI C.P.C. Committee will develop events and activities with Southern Delaware professionals in 2020 and specific strategies will be dictated by local needs and experience.

All A.A. members in the SDI Community and elsewhere are invited and encouraged to participate, as it is often through personal connections to these professionals that productive relationships can be formed. Interested members with specific questions or wishing to learn more about C.P.C. Committee work can send an email to cpc@sussexaa.org.

February 2020 Printable Meeting List

You can download the February PDF listing of our meetings in Sussex County DE.