May 2026 News
SOUTHERN DELAWARE INTERGROUP NEWSLETTER May 2026
MAY AND STEP 5: EGO IS NOT MY AMIGO!
STEP 5: “ADMITTED TO GOD, TO OURSELVES, AND TO ANOTHER HUMAN BEING THE EXACT NATURE OF OUR WRONGS.”
I vividly remember as a child entering the “confessional” with my well prepared list of wrong doings; “I lied twice…I cursed 10 times” and the ensuing penance of recited prayers and absolution. Looking back, I realize I learned at a VERY early age that my truth was not meant for sharing. My truth was either too disturbing or simply too magical for someone else to comprehend without judgement…even too much for God. Week after week I repeated this mandatory ritual and with it added “another brick in the wall”.
That wall served me well for behind it I was protected while I perfected the façade that would allow me to appear to be acting “normal”….meanwhile my ego was becoming larger than life. I was the center of everything that happened around me and I was either the hero of the story or the victim…never EVER was I a mere player. Of course, I never shared those thoughts in the rawest realist version, but only in the polished way that I would be validated. I had no idea at the time that this was my grandiose ego creating a story I would believe was written in stone. WOW! What a shock I had coming!
If done earnestly and thoroughly, admitting our deepest, darkest, most painful (or exhilarating!) secrets to a trusted human, exposes our larger-than-life egos in its truest most INFLATED form, thus allowing for the DEFLATION to begin. Once we take this huge leap of faith, we can then join forces with our fellow mortals and learn to trudge this road of happy destiny… Beth S, Intergroup Chair & Humble Servant
HIGHLIGHTED TRADITION/CONCEPT FOR MAY
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.
In March 2020, Paul S of the Chestertown, MD Alano Club’s “Brown Bag at Noon” meeting realized the need to reach members amidst the crippling lockdown of the Covid pandemic. Knowing it is imperative for AA members to connect, he generously paid the Zoom fees for the following year and so began the “Brown Bag at Noon Zoom Group.” Within the first month attendance was in the 20’s, an official script created, and they were listed on the Midshore Intergroup’s website. By January of 2021 the group was hosting 6 meetings a week and members once again benefitted from the fellowship of AA and the opportunity to share their experience strength and hope!
In June of 2022 Jon H paid the Zoom fees for the coming year, the group’s name was shortened to “Zoom at Noon” and it obtained it’s own official group email address. They decided to eliminate the “waiting room” feature to allow for easier for entrance to the meeting, especially for newcomers. By the end of the year Kathy G.H. volunteered to pay the fees for the following year and the group had a home group totaling 18. Realizing the need to do more the group officially registered with the General Service Office (GSO) of AA in New York.
When in-person meetings began to open up again the group realized they needed to make a decision about separating from the “Brown Bag” meeting and become their own entity. A group conscious was held and “S.O.S. Sobriety on the Shore” became an official on-line meeting with the help of Trinidad C and Joyce F and became part of the District 14 online registry.
Today the group holds in-person fellowship events, monthly “guest speaker” meetings and attracts people from all over the country.
The group will always remember their “founder” Paul S who passed, sober, on February 1, 2023.
Group History Submitted by Alice H
*If you are interested in telling your group’s story, reach out to archives@sussexaa.org and they will guide you!
Dear A.A. Friends,
Warm greetings from the General Service Office. We’re pleased to share that “Page in Book” display is now available for our Kindle e-books. This feature, which has been requested by many A.A. members, allows readers to view the same page numbers that appear in the print edition of a book on a Kindle device or in the Kindle app. This feature can be especially helpful for members who are reading along together with their sponsees and sponsors, either at the kitchen table or in meetings, workshops, and study groups. We can now follow the same page references used in the printed book.
How to enable the “Page in Book” feature If you do not see page numbers at the bottom of your screen, you can turn them on by following these steps:
On a Kindle eReader:
- While reading, tap near the top of the screen to open the menu.
- Tap “Aa” (Font).
- Select the “More” tab
- Under Reading Progress, choose “Page in Book.”
On the Kindle App (iPhone, iPad, or Android):
- While reading, tap the center of the screen.
- Tap “Aa” (Font).
- Select “More.”
- Under Reading Progress, choose “Page in Book.” Once activated, the page number displayed will correspond to the page number in the print edition.
Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us Thursday May 7th @ 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.
