It’s October and autumn has arrived and there is no better time to forget the things that trouble us and let them fall away like dead leaves. Autumn is regarded as the end of the growing season, but fortunately that refers to vegetation and not our spiritual and physical paths.

With cooler temperatures, the risk of heat related health issues decreases and we can get outdoors to walk, hike, bike and enjoy the changing of the season. Regarding spiritual changes, with necessary work in the program — working the steps, working closely with our sponsors, and doing our own service work — we can enjoy the abundance of our recovery.

As it’s October, the tenth month, let’s take a look at Step 10, Tradition 10 and Concept 10.

Step 10 — Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. As we work the first nine steps, we prepare ourselves for the adventure of a new life. But when we approach Step Ten, we commence to put our A.A. way of living to practical use, day by day, in fair weather or foul. Then comes the acid test: can we stay sober, keep in emotional balance and live to good purpose under all conditions? A continuous look at our assets and liabilities, and a real desire to learn and grow by this means, are necessities for us. — Reprinted from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions© (page 88), with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Tradition 10 — Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. Never since it began has Alcoholics Anonymous been divided by a major controversial issue. Nor has our Fellowship ever publicly taken side on any question in an embattled world. This, however, has been no earned virtue. It could almost be said that we were born with it, for, as one oldtimer recently declared. “Practically never have I heard a heated religious, political or reform argument among A.A. members. So long as we don’t argue these matters, privately, it’s a cinch we never shall publicly”. — Reprinted from Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions© (page 179), with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Concept 10 — Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority — the scope of such authority to be always well defined whether by tradition, by resolution, by specific job description, or by appropriate charters and bylaws. All of this is fully implied in A.A.’s Tradition Two. Here we see the “group conscience” as the ultimate authority and the “trusted servant” as the delegated authority. One cannot function without the other. We well know that only by means of careful definitions and mutual respect can we constantly maintain a right and harmonious working balance. — Reprinted from The A.A. Service Manual combined with Twelve Concepts, 2021-2023 Edition (page c36) , with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.

Young People’s Video Project 2022

How would you carry the message that would relate to the “young” alcoholic who has yet to come to A.A.?

The A.A. Public Information Desk is asking for video submissions from A.A. members to carry A.A.’s message to young people in high school, college settings, or any setting. Share your experience!

Submissions should be 2 to 3 minutes in length and reflect and adhere to the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymously, especially A.A.’s anonymity traditions. When filming A.A. members make sure no one is identifiable.

Focus on the experience of getting sober young and reflect the diversity of the Fellowship. Use members stories to help alcoholics identify.

Individuals submitting videos must be at least 18 years of age and must reside within the boundaries of the U.S. and Canada A.A. General Service Structure. Submissions should be in English, Spanish or French.

Deadline for submission: November 7, 2022. For more information about this project, go here.

Highlights From G.S.O.

Bob W., General Manager at the A.A. General Service Office, shared summer highlights of the work by the A.A. World Services Board and the General Service Board, and outlined how G.S.O. staff are implementing the group conscience expressed at the 73rd General Service Conference. Bob also reports on current financial challenges and how G.S.O. is carrying out its stewardship of A.A. dollars.

Submit Your Story for the Big Book

In response to the 2021 General Service Conference Advisory Action requesting development of a Fifth Edition of the book Alcoholics Anonymous, the A.A. trustees’ Literature Committee is working on the fifth edition of Alcoholics Anonymous and is searching for recovery stories from a broad cross-section of our local communities. Your story could be one of them. Deadline: October 31, 2022.

As Bill W. wrote on page 29 of the Big Book: “Our hope is that many alcoholic men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, ‘Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing.’” Consider sharing your experience, strength and hope. For info about how to submit your story, go here. Questions? Please email 5BBStory@aa.org.

Intergroup Trusted Servant Nominations

There are two trusted servant positions rotating out after December. Beginning in January 2023, the new two year positions for Secretary and Treasurer will take place. (The two-year positions for Chair and Vice Chair will rotate out on January 2024). These trusted servants are elected by the Intergroup Representatives (IGRs).

• The Secretary is one of the officers of SDIAA. Responsibilities include attending all meetings of the Intergroup Representatives, making a report of the minutes of all meetings of the Intergroup and recording all motions. You can view the minutes on our reports page on the website.
• The Treasurer is one of the officers of SDIAA. Responsibilities include receiving and recording all Seventh Tradition contributions and maintaining oversight of the finances. Other duties include paying bills, tracking expenses, reimbursing individuals for miscellaneous expenses, and distributing a monthly report about the finances at each Intergroup meeting. You can view monthly treasurer reports on our reports page on the website.

If you want to be of service, these great opportunities will be available beginning January 1, 2023. Nominations will be accepted at the October 6 Intergroup meeting and will be voted on at the November 5 meeting.

Speaking of Service Work!

Consider a service position in our Southern Delaware Intergroup organization. Vacancies include Intergroup Vice Chair; Website/Tech Committee Chair and Liaison for Area 12. The Website/Tech Committee is also looking for volunteers with experience in WordPress, HTML, CSS and IT who can help identify, recommend and implement ways to use technology in A.A. locally. For more information see our Service Committees page and plan to attend our monthly intergroup meeting on Thursday, October 6. Any questions? Please contact us by email.

Meeting Guide App Update

G.S.O. released version 4.0 of the Meeting Guide App on September 6. This major release included improvements to meeting filtering and support for multiple filter selection. In addition it now supports retrieving additional meetings when users select in-person or online attendance options.

• On the main landing page users can easily tap to change day, time or attend options.
• Users can swipe left on the filter bar to access the All Filters panel. This option allows users to select multiple criteria to narrow meeting results.
• Types are now grouped into different categories making it easier to choose relevant options.
• Tapping any of the categories will expand them to display available options. The options are based on the types that are applied to meetings by participating entities.
• The View button updates with the number of meetings that match the selected criteria. It is recommended to choose Any Day from the Days option to see the maximum results for specific options.

For more information on using filters, see this support article.

Meeting Guide is available for iOS and Android smartphones.

Mark Your Calendar

Upcoming events that may be of interest to you.

• Southern Delaware Intergroup Monthly Meeting — Join us on Thursday, October 6 at 6PM via Zoom. Please note new Meeting ID: 987-8110-5001 and Passcode: 914711. Our intergroup is a resource for 12-Step work and Alcoholics Anonymous information in Southern Delaware.

• Conscious Contact Workshop — Hosted by District Two, the workshop will be based on the Grapevine book: Prayer & Meditation. It will be held on Saturday, October 15, 2022 from 9:30 am to 11:30 am (Doors open at 9:00), located at St. Georges Chapel Hall, 20271 Beaver Dam Road, Harbeson, DE 19951. For more information, please see the flyer or email dcm2@delawareaa.org.

• 2022 Gratitude Breakfast — It’s back this year live and in person on November 19 at the Indian River Fire Hall located on 32628 Oak Orchard Road in Millsboro. This year the Gratitude Breakfast will coincide with Gratitude Month — a traditional time to express our collective gratitude for our individual sobriety. For more information, contact events@sussexaa.org

• Annual Thanksgiving Dinner — Thursday, November 24 from 10AM to 5PM, the Oak Orchard Thursday Third Tradition Group will once again be hosting their Thanksgiving Dinner at the Indian River Fire Hall located on 32628 Oak Orchard Road in Millsboro. Open A.A. meetings begin at 10AM and recur on even hours through 4PM. Dinner will be served beginning 11AM and will continue through 4PM. Volunteers are needed to help with all aspects of this event! If your group can host one of the meetings, or you would like to volunteer, or have any questions, please contact us at support@sussexaa.org. Currently, the 4PM slot is open. For more information, see the event flyer and share with others.

• Annual Thanksgiving Alcathon — Sponsored by Courage to Change through Northern Delaware Intergroup, the November 24 alcathon will be held in-person at the Jesus House Retreat Center located at 2501 Milltown Rd in Wilmington, DE and online via Zoom — Meeting ID: 860 4543 6713
  Password: 882376. The meeting room will be open from 10AM to 10PM for people to talk, listen and relax. Marathon speaker/discussion meetings will held on even hours, beginning at 10AM through 8PM. For more information, please see the event flyer.

• 59th International Women’s Conference (IWC) — Held February 16 through 19, 2023, the IWC will be a hybrid event at the Renaissance Dallas Addison Hotel, 15201 Dallas Parkway, Addison, TX and online via Zoom. For more information on the conference and to register, please see their website.