STEP 5: “ADMITTED TO GOD, TO OURSELVES, AND TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING THE EXACT NATURE OF OUR WRONGS.”

It may have seemed sufficient enough in Step 4 to have painstakingly created a list of all people, places, and things that have burned and badgered us.  After all, it is written in black in white…the truth is out, right?  Not r-e-a-l-l-y.   Until we share these troublesome and sometimes torturous events and feelings that we have been harboring and even distorting, we will never be truly free of the bondage of self.

Some of us learned the act of “confession” in our religious upbringing.  However, this exercise goes much deeper than “bless me father for I have sinned”.  This is a soul-searching transformative process of sharing our deepest darkest thoughts; thoughts that have molded our brain waves into believing things that are not true about ourselves and our place in the world around us.  Anger, resentments, jealousies that we may have been harboring for decades.  The outcome of completing a fearless Step 5 is not a penance of recited prayers.  It is a loving and yes humbling unleashing of our personal demons that have kept us full of justified anger and isolation.  Because….if people knew who we “really are” surely, they would realize we are not loveable.   But we are Blanche….we are!

Don’t hesitate to complete an HONEST Step 5….because…. newsflash…your sponsor knows your secrets anyway…you’ve been sharing them in safe bits and pieces all along. They will not burst into flames!  Let yourself grow and be free butterfly, be free…you’ll ALWAYS be glad you did!

Tradition 5: “Each group has but one primary purpose – to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.”

“Shoemaker, stick to thy last!” … better do one thing supremely well than many badly. That is the central theme of this Tradition. Around it our sobriety gathers in unity. The very life of our Fellowship requires the preservation of this principle.

Reprinted from The Twelve and Twelve – page 151, with permission of  A.A. World Services, Inc.

Concept 5: “Throughout our world service structure, a traditional “Right of Appeal” ought to prevail, thus assuring us that minority opinion will be heard and that petitions for the redress of personal grievances will be carefully considered.”

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

What each attendee can expect to do:

• Take part in the Thursday night party, flag ceremony, stadium meetings and the Saturday night Old-Timers Meeting.
• Over 20+ hospitality suites, collecting pins and how some people bring to share and trade
• More than 250 meetings to choose from, including clergy panels, international and, of course, A.A. topic related.

And there is much more! For more information about the Convention, please visit: https://www.aa.org/international-convention

RULE 62

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.

Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us on the first Thursday of every month 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.

Bash At The Beach!  Sunday September 14, 2025

Want to help make the Bash a smash?  Seeking volunteers to join the Bash crew in all areas: Food, drinks, entertainment, parking, audio and more.  Please email us at support@sussexaa.org to be part of the hottest ticket at the beach this summer!

DID YOU KNOW????    DISTRICT 14

Did you know???  There is an online district!  District 14 is exclusively online!  Isn’t that cool?  Want to learn more?  Join us the second Tuesday of every month at 7pm via Zoom!  (See calendar at https://sussexaa.org/events/)

MAY CALENDAR

SAVE-THE -DATE:  SATURDAY JUNE 7

Hosted by: Districts 1-2-3
Topic: AA Service Structure &  Role Definitions
Location:  St. Marks/Millsboro

FIELD TRIP ANYONE??

The Lazy Hazy Crazy Days of Summer are almost upon us! Please let us know if you have any seasonal outdoor meetings you would like to have listed on the website! 😊