January 2025 Newsletter

As we welcome the new year, we reflect this month on Step One. We admit we are powerless over alcohol and, until then, there is not the chance for recovery. Reading Step One is a reminder of the hold alcohol had on our lives before we sought help. It is also a reminder that there is hope.

As stated in the Twelve and Twelve (page 24), “Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to AA and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then and only then do we become as open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession within us”.

It is important to remember from where we came, but it is equally important to remember how far we have come. A new year. A new life. A new chance. A new happiness.

Happy January.

As it’s January, the first month, let’s look at Step 1, Tradition 1 and Concept 1.

Step 1: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.”

Who cares to admit complete defeat? Practically no one, of course. Every natural instinct cries out against the idea of personal powerlessness. It is truly awful to admit that glass in hand we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of providence can remove it from us….

Under the lash of alcoholism, we are driven to A.A. and there we discover the fatal nature of our situation. Then, and only then, do we become open-minded to conviction and as willing to listen as the dying can be. We stand ready to do anything which will lift the merciless obsession from us.

— Reprinted from The Twelve and Twelve – (pages 21 and 24), with permission of  A.A. World Services, Inc.

Tradition 1: “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends on A.A. unity.”

The unity of Alcoholic Anonymous is the most cherished quality our society has. Our lives, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon it. We stay whole, or A.A. would cease to beat; our world arteries would no longer carry the life-giving grace of God; His gift to us would be spent aimlessly. Back again in their caves, alcoholics would reproach us and say, “What a great thing A.A. might have been.”

Reprinted from The Twelve and Twelve – page 129, with permission of  A.A. World Services, Inc.

Concept 1: “Final responsibility and ultimate authority for A.A. world services should always reside in the collective conscience of our whole fellowship”

Alcoholics Anonymous has been called an upside-down organization because the “ultimate responsibility and final authority for . . . world services” resides with the groups — rather than with the trustees of the General Service Board or the General Service Office in New York. In Concept I, Bill traces how this came to be. The first step in 1938 was “the creation of a trusteeship,” first called the Alcoholic Foundation, renamed in 1954 the General Service Board. Why? To perform the services the groups could not do for themselves: e.g., uniform literature, uniform public information about A.A., helping new groups get started, sharing with them the experience of established groups, handling pleas for help, publishing a national magazine, and carrying the message in other languages and in other countries. A service office was formed to carry on these functions under the board’s direction. Both the board and the office looked to the co-founders, Bill and Dr. Bob, for policy leadership.

Reprinted from A.A. Service Manual/Twelve Concepts for World Services (with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us on Thursday, January 2nd at 6 pm 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.

The recently published Plain Language Big Book is a tool to help readers understand the book of Alcoholics Anonymous, which was first published in 1939. The book has been written to present the original ideas and same spiritual message of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous in simpler language. The first printing was so well-received that due to high demand, it is temporarily out of stock. An expedited second printing is in progress, and it is anticipated that copies will be available soon. Check https://onlineliterature.aa.org for updates on availability.

Did you know you can purchase the 2025 International Convention Three Big Meetings Video? The video will be an anonymity-projected recording available for viewing post-convention. Cost is $60 (USD). You may order the video as an add-on when registering for the Convention or purchase after the Convention at the online bookstore on aa.org.

For more information about the Convention, please visit: https://www.aa.org/international-convention

Box 459

As printed in the A.A. Grapevine: “P.O. Box 459 just an ordinary looking Post Office  box number, but into it daily flow letters postmarked all over the world. It is internally famous because it is the address of Alcoholics Anonymous General Services Headquarters in New York City. “ To read the latest Box 459 or sign up to receive the newsletter by mail, go to: https://www.aa.org/box-459

The Ocean City Area Intergroup presents:
An Interactive Workshop about Love and Service
The Atlantic Club – 11827 Ocean Gateway, Ocean City MD 28142

What’s Your Favorite slogan, phrase or prayer?

We have been asking for submissions for our newsletter (see article below) and our member Joyce F. was kind enough to send in a submission that we are able to feature here! We are asking for a favorite slogan, phrase or prayer.

“I’ve always appreciated ‘pressing the pause’ (evokes the big red staples easy button) in concert with the acronym SOBER — stop/observe/breathe/evaluate/reflect — gives me the time I deserve and require to turn the emotional heat way down and make a strong clear balanced sober choice, firmly rooted in love and kindness.”

Thank you, Joyce!

REMINDER!

Want To Be Part of the Newsletter? We would love to hear from you!

Here are some topic ideas:

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

You can submit entries to support@sussexaa.org.

Subscribe to this Newletter via E-mail!

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.