SOUTHERN DELAWARE INTERGROUP NEWSLETTER January 2026

‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE….POWERLESS! 

In our drinking careers we would never consider including powerlessness in the annual “New Years Resolutions” list! Yet here we are, knowing this is the paramount belief required for achieving and maintaining our sobriety. Being powerless means to be “absolutely helpless” and we, control freaks to our very core, could never imagine powerlessness as an asset. However, step one tells us: “We are powerless over alcohol, and our lives have become unmanageable.” This is our very first and most important task in starting our journey. By the time we show up at our first meeting, most of us have been brutally beaten and battered by our addiction and have run out of options. Our lives are a mess and completely unmanageable way beyond just the act of drinking too much. Why are we different from other drinkers who may drink daily or heavily at times? Unlike those drinkers, we suffer from addiction pure and simple.

The “4 C’s” of addiction are compulsion, control, craving, and consequences. Compulsion, the irresistible urge to behave in a certain way even against our conscious wishes, drives us to seek out and consume alcohol without concern of danger or circumstance. Once consumed, our ability to control our drinking is surrendered to our addiction and the “phenomenon of craving” kicks in. Once that switch is flipped this intense urgent desire silences all reasonable thoughts, regardless of the consequences. Our warped minds cannot comprehend anything more important than the briefly euphoric state which quickly evolves into numbing darkness. For most of us the “party” was over long before we started to even consider needing help. Once the alcohol crosses our lips, we are powerless as to how much we consume or how, or where, or when that particular spree will end.

Admitting powerlessness is the only step we have to do 100% every single day of our sober lives, one day at a time. Once mastered we are free to start rebuilding our broken souls using each consecutive step with the guidance of a sponsor. May your powerlessness take you to new heights this coming year as you trudge the road of a life beyond your wildest dreams!   Happy New Year!   Beth S

Highlighted Tradition/Concept for January

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.

LITERATURE PRICE INCREASE NOTICE FROM GSO

December 22, 2025

Dear A.A. Friends:

Warm greetings – we hope this letter finds you well.

We are writing to inform you of an upcoming literature price increase affecting our English, Spanish, and French books, booklets, pamphlets, and other literature items. At the December meeting of the A.A. World Services Board, the board approved a price increase of $3 per item for books and a 15 percent increase for all other literature items, with standard rounding applied.

The new prices will go into effect on February 1, 2026. For historical perspective, the last price increase occurred in April 2023, and the previous increase was in 2014. As with the 2023 increase, this decision is the result of prudent fiscal planning and the goal of long-range stability. Like organizations everywhere, Alcoholics Anonymous is impacted by current economic changes and challenges. One of the most significant challenges we continue to face, as we did in 2023, is the increasing costs associated with the sale of literature.

It is important to note that before the COVID-19 pandemic, the combined costs of production, materials, warehousing, and shipping—collectively referred to as the cost of goods sold—generally ranged between 31% and 34% of sales. Over the past several years, those costs have fluctuated between 42% and 56% of sales, resulting in an annual revenue loss exceeding $1.8 million. We do not expect these costs to return to pre-pandemic levels. This impact is especially significant given that the General Service Office is supported through both voluntary contributions and revenue generated from literature sales.

We continue to diligently and carefully monitor and reduce expenses where possible, always mindful of the profound significance of each “nickel in the basket” sent to the General Service Board.

Updated pricing will be reflected in the online store when the increase goes into effect.

For this increase, the following guidelines will apply:

• Books are defined as any item whose item number begins with B, SB, or FB.
  • These items will receive a $3 per-item increase, excluding B-0 (Alcoholics Anonymous Facsimile First Printing of the First Edition—recently reduced to a discounted $2 USD List Price) and B-28 (A. for the Older Alcoholic).
• B-0 will remain unchanged and is the only exception to the book price increase.
• B-28 will receive a 15% price increase.
• All other literature items will receive a 15% price increase.
• Literature sets will reflect a $3 increase per book.

We appreciate your understanding and continued support.

With gratitude for your service,
Ken T/Chair/AAWS Board

Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us Thursday January 8 @ 6 pm via Zoom. Meeting ID: 987-8110-5001, 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.

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE SOUTHERN DELAWARE INTERGROUP
WEBSITE COMMITTEE!!

The website committee is here to support A.A. services that carry the message to the alcoholic that still suffers. To that end, it adds and improves functions to meet those goals.

WEBSITE HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2025

• Implemented online ticketing for events
• Implemented online volunteer sign-ups
• Added sections to the Member and Group Resources page for Alanon, Alateen and ACA
• Added a page for archive bins ~ these contain the list of SDIAA archive documents
• Enhanced the “Events” page with color coded categories
• Added a banner to the home page which has been used to advertise events and announce open Intergroup positions

Looking Forward to an Amazing 2026

In Love & Service,

Website Committee Volunteers