November 2024 Newsletter

November brings fellowship at home and as part of A.A. The Area 12 State Convention kicks off today, November 1, in Dewey Beach where workshops, literature sales, meditation sessions and many more activities will be held. For many decades now, A.A. has formally set aside all of November as Gratitude Month as a time to express our collective gratitude for our individual sobriety, and this month Sussex County AA members will gather on November 16th for a Gratitude Breakfast. For more information about the Breakfast, please see the article below.

The history of gratitude month dates back to the 1940s when the General Service Board hosted small “Gratitude Dinners.” By the 1960s they had become larger, more elaborate “Gratitude Luncheons.” The motivation behind these gatherings was to express personal gratitude for sobriety and appreciation to our professional friends for their articles, books, radio and T.V. interviews relating to A.A. over the past year. Though the luncheons were discontinued in 1968, the concept of gratitude persisted and expanded in scope marking the occasion with special contributions to G.S.O.

Step, Tradition and Concept 11

Taken together, the Steps, Traditions and Concepts embody what are known as the three legacies of Alcoholics Anonymous: Recovery, Unity and Service. As November is the 11th month, let’s take a closer look at Step 11, Tradition 11 and Concept 11.

Step Eleven — Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out. Perhaps one of the greatest rewards of meditation and prayer is the sense of belonging that comes to us. We no longer live in a completely hostile world. We are no longer lost and frightened and purposeless. The moment we catch even a glimpse of God’s will, the moment we begin to see truth, justice, and love as the real and eternal things in life, we are no longer deeply disturbed by all the seeming evidence to the contrary that surrounds us in purely human affairs. We know that God lovingly watches over us. We know that when we turn to Him, all will be well with us, here and hereafter. — Reprinted from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions© (page 105), with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Tradition Eleven — Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio and films. This Tradition is a constant and practical reminder that personal ambition has no place in A.A. In it, each member becomes an active guardian of our Fellowship. — Reprinted from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions© (page 186), with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Protecting anonymity is a major concern for members, who are accessing the Internet in ever-growing numbers. When we use digital media, we are responsible for our own anonymity and that of others. When we post, text, or blog, we should assume that we are publishing at the public level. When we break our anonymity in these forums, we may inadvertently break the anonymity of others. For more information, see the A.A. pamphlet Understanding Anonymity, the October 2010 issue of A.A. Grapevine on Anonymity on the Internet, and the A.A. Guidelines on the Internet.

Concept Eleven — While the Trustees hold final responsibility for A.A.’s world service administration, they should always have the assistance of the best possible standing committees, corporate service directors, executives, staffs, and consultants. Therefore the composition of these underlying committees and service boards, the personal qualifications of their members, the manner of their induction into service, the systems of their rotation, the way in which they are related to each other, the special rights and duties of our executives, staffs, and consultants, together with a proper basis for the financial compensation of these special workers, will always be matters for serious care and concern. The longtime success of our General Service Board will rest not only on the capabilities of the Trustees themselves; it will depend quite as much upon the competent leadership and harmonious association of those non-Trustee committee members, corporate service directors, executives and staff members who must actively carry on A.A.’s world services. Their quality and dedication, or their lack of these characteristics, will make or break our structure of service. Our final dependency on them will always be great indeed.– Reprinted from The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts, 2021-2023 Edition (page c37) , with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us on Thursday November 7^th at 6 P.M. 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.

International Conference of Secular A.A. with Al-Anon Participation
Date: November 20-22, 2024
Venue: DoubleTree Hilton at Universal Studios, Orlando, Florida
Website: www.aasecular.org
The flyer: https://aasecular.org/icsaa2024

For District Meeting Times and Dates visit: Events – Southern Delaware Intergroup (sussexaa.org)

Sponsored by the Southern Delaware Intergroup, the annual Gratitude Breakfast will be held this year at the Indian River Fire Hall located at 32628 Oak Orchard Road in Millsboro.

The Gratitude Breakfast this year coincides with Gratitude Month – a traditional time to express our collective gratitude for our individual sobriety. Next year, the breakfast will be held in April as it was in the past before the pandemic forced a temporary change. The new Events Committee will also be implementing a new on-line platform for ticket purchase as well as Intergroup keeping the prices affordable by underwriting part of the cost. Thank you to the Events Committee team and Intergroup!

For more information, contact events@sussexaa.org. https://sussexaa.org/events/event/2024-gratitude-breakfast/

2025 A.A. International Convention: When is the convention? How do I get into Canada if I have a past legal incident? Will there be a mobile app for the Convention? Get answers to these and many other Frequently Asked Questions by clicking here: https://www.aa.org/international-convention-2025-faqs

The 2025 A.A. International Convention is scheduled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada! An International A.A. Convention is held every five years and this year marks the 90^th anniversary of the beginning of our fellowships founding and is titled “90 Years – Language of the Heart. More information is published regularly at https://www.aa.org/international-convention

Vancouver will welcome A.A. members from around the world for the 2025 International Convention. The International Convention will take place from July 3 – 6, 2025, at the Vancouver Convention Centre and BC Place Stadium. As the Convention approaches, AA will update the website with registration information. Let’s celebrate sobriety together in Vancouver in 2025!

Traveling to Canada:

Question: If travel to Canada is difficult for some members, why are we holding an International Convention in Vancouver?

Answer: The Fellowship of the U.S. and Canada General Service Structure of Alcoholics Anonymous functions as one entity in spirit and service to the Fellowship. As this event rotates through the regions of A.A., there will be times when it takes place in the U.S. and other times when it is held in Canada.

For more information for those who may have entry issues due to past criminal history: https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/inadmissibility/overcome-criminal-convictions.html

We have been asking for submissions for our newsletter (see article below) and our member Beth O. was kind enough to send in a submission that we are able to feature here again!

“First things First. I tend to future cast and worry about things that are totally out of my control. The first thing I have to do every day is stay sober. Everything else will fall into line. It’s been helpful especially these last few months.”

Thank you Beth!

Want to be part of this newsletter? 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. Below are some ideas.

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

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.