Sam Shoemaker

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Sam Shoemaker Sam Shoemaker The basic principles which the Oxford Groupers had taught were ancient and universal ones, the common property of mankind… The early AA got its ideas of self-examination, acknowledgement of character defects, restitution for harm done, and working with others straight from the Oxford Groups and directly from Sam Shoemaker. (Alcoholics Anonymous Comes Of Age, p. 39) Burnside Samuel Moor Shoemaker Jr. was born in Baltimore, Maryland, on December 27, 1893, making him about 2 years older than Bill Wilson. His ancestors had been Schumachers of Germany, Holland, and Switzerland who had converted to Quakerism under William Penn. Sam’s father “was intelligent… but was terribly handicapped by a shyness that would see him cut off from many persons including his young son”. (The Virginian, bbsgsonj. com) Nonetheless, he would one day be the chairman of the board of regents at the University of Maryland. His mother Nellie “was a dedicated church woman and president of the Woman’s Auxiliary of the Diocese of Maryland”. (The Virginian, bbsgwsonj.com) “A central figure in young Sam’s life at Burnside was his grandmother. ‘Nana’ was an avid story teller, reader of the Bible, and an accomplished musician… more Victorian than Victoria herself.” (The Virginian, bbsgsonj.com) When Sam was two, his parents joined his paternal grandmother on the 467 acres estate, 10 miles north of Baltimore, that had been acquired by his grandfather during the Civil War. The patriarch, also a Sam, had made his fortune organizing the Great Western Express transportation line between Philadelphia and Baltimore, then operated his cattle ranch, Burnside, before passing on in 1884. Located at the edge of the Green Spring Valley, this was fox-hunting territory, a verdant land of rolling hills and marvelous panoramas. In 1898, Sam’s father converted Burnside to a dairy farm. The Shoemakers enjoyed the privileged existence of the American aristocracy, complete with Negro servants. St George’s and Princeton At 14, Sam was sent to an Episcopal boarding school in Newport, Rhode Island. He was initially homesick, and not fully comfortable among the “Yankee” student body at St. George’s. Nonetheless, he held several positions, including president of the mission society. After graduation in 1912, he went on to Princeton, the alma mater of his father. After his sophomore year, he traveled to Europe. Upon his return, he expressed a newfound political interest by joining protests against war propaganda and military drills at the university. It was at Princeton that Sam discovered his interest in personal evangelism and missionary work as well as the relatively new, at that time, ecumenical movement. China and Buchman In 1917, with the blessing of Rt. Rev. John Gardner Murray, bishop of Maryland, Sam Shoemaker went to China to start a branch of the YMCA and teach business courses at the Princeton-in-China Program. Shoemaker was frustratingly unsuccessful in converting the Chinese to Christianity, a failing he confessed on meeting Frank Buchman, perhaps seeking a sympathetic ear. The somewhat brash Buchman suggested that Shoemaker look at his own shortcomings. Although he was at first offended, Shoemaker reflected upon what the older cleric had told him. Contemplation of the 4 absolutes of honesty, purity, love and unselfishness brought Shoemaker into an intense awareness of his own inadequacies, and he made the humbling decision to let God guide his life. Buchman had also stressed to the young missionary the value of sharing personal experience, a practice that would later form a key component in Alcoholics Anonymous. The very next day, he shared this personal experience with a young Chinese businessman who, as a result, “wanted what he had”, and made a decision for Christ. These experiences left Shoemaker with an enormously high regard for Frank Buchman, a man he viewed as “a born mystic”. In 1919, Shoemaker returned to Princeton to head the Philadelphia Society, a campus Christian organization. The Calvary Church In 1920, Shoemaker was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church. He returned to missionary work at Princeton, an institution frequently visited by Buchman. In the early twenties, he attended the General Theological Seminary in New York, and after graduation and ordination, got his bishop’s permission to travel with Buchman through Europe and the Middle East. These journeys were cut short when Sam received a cable and letter from Manhattan. The Calvary Church in the Gramercy Park neighborhood, a once more vibrant ministry, wanted the energetic young man to be their rector. Shoemaker accepted, and returned to New York. This was 1925, also the year in which he married Helen Smith, whom he had met at Princeton. Helen was an author, a sculptor, and a church leader. After a two year trial, Sam was confirmed in the new position. He was able to almost immediately boost the church’s flagging attendance. In the summer of 1927, he began outdoor services in nearby Madison Square. His mission was not without controversy. Shoemaker was now fully immersed in Buchman’s approach, and the “hot gospelling” of the Oxford Group was not universally appreciated. Also contentious was the decision to sell some vacant property, and use the funds to construct the 7 story Calvary House, adjacent to the church. This building became the American headquarters of the Oxford Group. At a different location, the church also owned and operated the Calvary Mission, an outreach project to serve the disadvantaged. The facility could house up to 57 homeless men, and served over 200,000 meals in its 10 years of operation. Ebby Thacher was living at Calvary Mission at the time of his famous “twelfth step” call on Bill Wilson. On another front, Shoemaker initiated a Faith At Work program in which dedicated Christians were trained to witness in the workplace. In 1932, he requested, and was granted, an extended leave so that he might pursue his ambition to bring his ideas to a wider audience. This continued as a problem, the division of his energies between his local responsibilities, and the worldwide evangelical effort. Moral Dis-armament From 1926 to 1936, the Faith At Work (later called LUMUNOS) group held Thursday night meetings. Around 1938, it transformed into Moral Re-Armament. These discretionary activities were taking increasing amounts of the rector’s time, and this now unpopular group occupied a significant share of the Calvary House’s facilities. Rev. Shoemaker spent 1940 and 1941 assessing priorities, and the conflicting demands on his time, and near the end of 1941, separated himself entirely from the Oxforders, now known as Moral Re-Armament. It is unlikely that mere scheduling issues led to the split. In 1936, Frank Buchman had made some extremely injudicious remarks in an interview. The remarks were somewhat laudatory of Adolf Hitler, and affected the public’s perception of the group. Throughout 1941, the involvement of the United States in the European conflict was increasingly seen as inevitable. As the nation was about to declare war on Hitler’s Germany, it was not a time to be seen to be affiliated with individuals or organizations which had demonstrated ANY friendliness toward Hitler. Another probable consideration was Buchman himself, a man with a reputation for not getting along with colleagues. Through the 1930’s, he was viewed by many as having crossed the line into megalomania. Reverend Sam detached. On the Radio and Off to Pittsburgh In the forties, Shoemaker became involved in “radio preaching”, and a 5-minute daily show on one station led to a half hour Sunday broadcast, and then another half hour program called Faith in Our Time. His growing fame led, in 1950, to an offer to become Dean of the San Francisco Cathedral. He declined. Following the split from Buchman, Rev. Sam reactivated the Faith At Work program. The following year he yielded to personal urgings from the Bishop of Pittsburgh to accept the position of “rector” at the Calvary Church of Pittsburgh. From his Pittsburgh base, he was encouraged to evangelize the entire area, including nearby Akron, Ohio. Reverend Sam and AA Samuel Shoemaker grew up in a privileged environment, but “his own conversion experience gave him an interest in helping people life had dealt with much more severely than most”. (Hartigan, p. 70) Calvary House was sheltering Ebby in December, 1934; it was also where Bill Wilson “came to know Sam Shoemaker who would become a lifelong friend”. (Hartigan, p. 64) It was not a friendship without problems. Calvary House, along with Towns Hospital, was where an enthusiastic Bill Wilson found drunks to tell of his dramatic spiritual experience. Although Bill and Lois, and later, other of their recruits like Hank P., attended Oxford Group meetings, “it was clear almost from the beginning that Bill Wilson was not well-suited to be an Oxford Group member… He never shared in, or had much sympathy for, the Oxford Group’s goals”. (Hartigan, p. 65) Whether the Wilsons quit, or were thrown out, remains uncertain, but Shoemaker was upset and did not speak to Bill again until after he detached from Buchman’s group. “He later wrote a letter of apology to Bill stating that he and other OG members were wrong to oppose Bill’s desire to work solely with alcoholics and to focus only on helping these individuals to stop drinking.” (Hartigan, pp. 97-98) Wilson then took the opportunity to extend gratitude and credit to Shoemaker and the Oxforders, a debt that had been minimized or ignored throughout the estrangement, and in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Rev. Sam was a prolific author, and half of his 30+ books were in circulation before the publication of the Big Book, likely reading material for the pre-book AA’ers.
Recommended publications
  • The Anonymous Groups
    The Enduring Legacy: the anonymous groups The apology that launched a million amends By Jay Stinnett, Los Angeles July 27th, 2008, marked the 100th anniversary of Frank Buchman’s Spiritual Awakening – one that directly linked him to the cofounders of AA. As a young man Buchman gave everything he had to establishing a shelter for homeless boys in the slums of Philadelphia. The shelters success surpassed his budget and the six-member board of directors insisted that he cut the amount of food being given to his charges. He quit instead of cutting back. Resentment consumed him. His family despaired that he might not come to his senses. His work was destroyed by what he saw as the short-sightedness of others. His health was well past the breaking point. “Everywhere I went, I took me with me,” he later said. During a trip to recuperate in Europe, he exhausted the funds his father gave him and existed on the kindness of his family and the generosity of acquaintances. Tired and dejected he went to an Evangelical Conference in Keswick, England, hoping to connect with F.B. Meyer, a famous minister he knew, for spiritual help. Meyer was not in attendance; another plan gone awry. July 27, 1908, thirty year-old Frank Buchman, a Pennsylvanian Lutheran Minister, walked into an afternoon service with 17 other people to hear Jessie Penn Lewis preach on the cross of Christ. And then it happened. As Buchman sat in that Chapel, “There was a moment of spiritual peak of what God could do for me.
    [Show full text]
  • View of the Essentials of Group Cohesion
    ABSTRACT THE SPIRITUAL DYNAMIC IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AND THE FACTORS PRECIPITATING A.A.’S SEPARATION FROM THE OXFORD GROUP by Andrew D. Feldheim Alcoholics Anonymous has grown since the mid-1930’s from a loose cohesion of individuals seeking recovery to iconic status as a paradigmatic self-help organization. Few people among the many familiar with A.A. are aware of its genesis from a popular Christian evangelical organization called the Oxford Group. This paper charts the course of A.A. from its Oxford Group roots, both in terms of historical development and the evolution of the spiritual dynamic that served as the functional nexus for both organizations. This paper also addresses key differences in the agendas of both groups that eventually necessitated their separation, as well as the questionable assumption that Alcoholics Anonymous is the more “secular” of the two. THE SPIRITUAL DYNAMIC IN ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS AND THE FACTORS PRECIPITATING A.A.’S SEPARATION FROM THE OXFORD GROUP A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Miami University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Comparative Religion By Andrew Feldheim Miami University Oxford, Ohio 2013 Advisor ________________ Elizabeth Wilson Reader _________________ Peter Williams Reader ___________________ SCott Kenworthy TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………………………1 Chapter 1: History of the Oxford Group………………………………………………………3 Chapter 2: The Development of Alcoholics Anonymous……………………………...13 Chapter 3: The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions……………………………………32 Chapter 4: Response to an Anticipated Objection and Closing Remarks……..45 ii Introduction Most people have heard of Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as many of the “spin offs” from this group, like Narcotics Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous.
    [Show full text]
  • Dr. Frank Buchman Founder of the Oxford Group Dr
    Dr. Frank Buchman Founder of the Oxford Group Dr. Frank Buchman & Conrad Adenauer First page “What Is The Oxford Group” description Assorted Oxford Group books. Oxford Group Book 2 Oxford Group Books: A.J. Russell For Sinners Only and V.C. Kitchen I Was A Pagan Rowland H. (left), wife and son. Rowland carried the Oxford Group message to Ebby. Cebra Graves Ebby was released from court to Rowland H. and Cebra’s care Dr. Carl Jung Carl Jung’s Modern Man in Search of a Soul William James Father of American Psychiatry William James Book Varieties of Religious Experience Ebby carried this book to Bill at Townes Hospital The Common Sense of Drinking by Richard Peabody Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic Half measures availed us nothing 1932 Akron newspaper article on the Oxford Group. Frank Buchman is in the picture. Frank Buchman and 60 members of the Oxford Group invited to Akron by Harvey Firestone Reverend Sam Shoemaker With the Calvary Church, and head of the Oxford Group in U.S. Calvary Episcopal Church – 21st Street and Park Avenue South. Headquarters of the Oxford Group. Bill W. went to Oxford meetings before the founding of A.A. Calvary House adjacent to the Calvary Episcopal Church Entrance to the street mission Bill and Ebby Ebby carried “The Message” to Bill Bill and Lois’s house, 182 Clinton Street, Brooklyn A note from Bill to Ebby “Wishes for a Merry Christmas and thanks.” Dr. Leonard Strong – A.A. trustee and brother-in-law of Bill Wilson. Townes Hospital located at Central Park West and 89th Street NYC.
    [Show full text]
  • A Recovery & Healing Holy Eucharist January 24, 2020 at 6:00P
    A Recovery & Healing Holy Eucharist January 24, 2020 at 6:00p Prelude & Welcome Opening Hymn 680 O God, our help in ages past St. Anne THE WORD OF GOD Opening Acclamation Celebrant Blessed be the one, holy, and living God. People Glory to God for ever and ever. Amen. Preamble & Step 1 of Recovery Celebrant Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power. That one is God. May you find Him now! Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon. These are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery. Celebrant The First Step: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction; People that our lives had become unmanageable. Collect for Purity Celebrant Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. People Amen. Kyrie Celebrant Lord, have mercy. People Christ have mercy. Celebrant Lord, have mercy. Step 2 of Recovery Celebrant The Second Step: We came to believe People that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. Collect of the Day Celebrant God be with you. People And also with you. Celebrant Let us pray. O blessed Lord, you ministered to all who came to you: Look with compassion upon all who through addiction have lost their health and freedom.
    [Show full text]
  • What's What in Aa History
    PLACES & THINGS IN AA HISTORY (Many heartfelt thanks go out to Archie M., who compiled this!!!) REFERENCES: (A) ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE (AA) (B) BILL W. by Robert Thomsen (C) CHILDREN OF THE HEALER by Bob Smith & Sue Smith Windows as told to P. Christine Brewer (D) DR. BOB AND THE GOOD OLD TIMERS (AA) (E) A.A. EVERYWHERE ANYWHERE (AA) (G) GRATEFUL TO HAVE BEEN THERE by Nell Wing (H) THE LANGUAGE OF THE HEART (AA) (L) LOIS REMEMBERS by Lois Wilson (N) NOT-GOD by Ernest Kurtz (P) PASS IT ON (AA) (S) SISTER IGNATIA BY Mary C. Darrah (SM) THE SERVICE MANUAL (AA) (TC) TWELVE CONCEPTS FOR WORLD SERVICE (AA) (W) A.A., THE WAY IT BEGAN by Bill Pittman (Note: Each snippet is referenced: example (B 147)=Bill W. page 147, (N 283)=Not-God page 283,(P 111)=Pass It On page 111.) 1st psychiatrists recognize A.A.'s effectiveness Dr. Harry Tiebout (A 2) (E 19) (G 66) (H 369) 1st Trustees Frank Amos (G 92) 1st 3 Steps culled Bill's reading James, teaching Dr. Sam Shoemaker & Oxford Group; 1st Step dealt calamity & disaster, 2nd admission defeat 1 could not live strength own resources, 3rd appeal Higher Power help (P 199) 1st 13th step Lil involved 13th step Victor former Akron mayor (D 97) 1st A.A. archivist Nell Wing (E 78) 1st A.A. Cleveland group meeting May 12, 1939 home Abby G. Cleveland Heights Cleveland, 16 members (A 21) (N 78) (S 32) 1st A.A. clubhouse 334 1/2 24th Street, 1940, old Illustrators Club (A viii,12,180) (B 304) (G 86) (H 47,147) (L 127,172) 1st A.A.
    [Show full text]
  • When the Church Goes to Market How Christians Have Influenced Economic Life
    CHRISTIAN Issue 137 HISTORY When the church goes to market How Christians have influenced economic life Second in our Faith and Flourishing series She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. Proverbs 31:18, NIV $5.00 US $7.00 CAN 137 ChristianHistoryMagazine.org TRINITY AND USURY Besides coming up with the Nicene Creed, the First Council of Nicaea (left) forbade interest on loans (see p. 8); 1,600 years later a French chil- dren’s book still attached distrust to interest and identified it with Jews (below). She helped Jerome in his work of transla- tion and bought rare books and manu- scripts essential to his task. Jerome wrote of her, “What bedridden man was not supported with money from her purse?” TO MARKET WITH A MONK Modern churches with coffee shops and gift shops inside have a long history. Markets were set up inside Did you know? some medieval churches and outside monasteries! And if you’ve ever read the Brother Cadfael myster- THE CHURCH AND ECONOMICS FROM THE PARABLES ies, you’ll have seen ample evidence of Shrewsbury TO BROTHER CADFAEL TO MISSIONARY PRESSES Abbey’s involvement in local financial affairs— giving and receiving property, earning income SURPRISE! from fairs, executing contracts, and collecting What subject did Jesus talk about most? fees from artisans. Although Cadfael is fic- Would you be surprised to learn that it tional, Shrewsbury was real and its role in was money? Some years ago Preaching the medieval economy is largely accurate. Today surveyed the parables and reported that 16 (more than half of all parables) ALL THE MISSION NEWS FIT TO PRINT EDIA M deal with money and possessions, and Protestant missions transformed the ] WIKI 288 verses in the Gospels are con- printing industry in East Asia.
    [Show full text]
  • THE JOURNEY at the BEACH July2020
    July 1, 2020 THE JOURNEY AT THE BEACH July2020 Tradition Seven - “Every A.A. group ought to be fully self supporting, declining outside contributions.” Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 160 ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS These fellows celebrate this month. Congrats to you all! Since there are limited in-person meetings, we hope to see you in Zoom or at the Atlantic Club. NAME YEARS SOBRIETY DATE CELEBRATING WHERE WHEN Meegan O 30 06/27/90 Happy Hour • CCOP 6 pm Joe C 40 06/16/80 Proud To Have Served • Atlantic Club 6 pm Patricia G 32 07/04/88 Berlin 101 • St Paul’s Episcopal Church 9 am Glen A 8 07/05/12 Happy Risers • Atlantic Club 9 am Founding Date 07/07/19 Assateague Group • Bethany UM Church 6 pm Marie L 12 07/04/08 07/07/20 Come As You Are • OP Chamber of Comm 6 pm Evelyn W 13 07/17/07 07/21/20 Come As You Are • OP Chamber of Comm 6 pm Please submit all anniversary information to [email protected] by the 28th of the preceding month of the anniversary. Include your name, sobriety date, celebration date, where and when. The newsletter is printed on the first Tuesday of every month, so if your sobriety date falls early in the month, we may put your announcement in the prior month’s newsletter. Thanks! Step Seven • “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 70 Seventh Step Prayer • "My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good & bad.
    [Show full text]
  • The Post POWER of SOBER THOUGHT April 2016 Volume 12 Issue 4
    The Post POWER OF SOBER THOUGHT April 2016 Volume 12 Issue 4 Sam Shoemaker, Clergyman and Friend of AA INSIDE THIS ISSUE Sam Shoemaker, was one of the earliest friends of AA, and became a friend of Bill W., even before Bill met Dr. Bob. They met before AA existed. How did that happen? History Feature...................... page 1 Let’s take a glance at Sam Shoemaker himself first. He was born in 1884 to a wealthy Mark Your Calendar.............. page 2 family, had the finest of educations, and was a handsome, congenial, well-liked and well- District 8 minutes................... pages 3-4 respected man. Yet in 1918, while in Beijing, China, he knew that something was missing. After hearing and speaking with Frank Buchman, the founder of the Oxford Group, Sam Intergroup minutes................ page 5 realized what it was. Sam wanted to serve God, but on his own terms. When he Step Reflections………….......... page 6 surrendered to serving God unequivocally, his life dramatically changed, and his ability to Birthdays................................ page 6 inspire others expanded greatly. It also began a long-term friendship with Frank Area Meeting Schedule.......... page 7-8 Buchman, and led Sam to go to seminary and become an Episcopal priest in 1921.1 Español Spoken Here............ page 9 By 1934 the Rev. Dr. Shoemaker was rector of Calvary Love and Letting Go………...… Page 9 Episcopal Church in New York City, and chief publicist in the Tradition 4............................ page 10 US for the Oxford Group.2 While rector there Sam launched The Concepts, The What?...... page 10 two projects that deeply affected AA.
    [Show full text]
  • Shelf List 1/18 East Dorset VT 05253 Title Author's Name 1 the 7 Key Principles of Successful Recovery: the Basic Tools for Progress, Growth, and Happiness B., Mel
    Griffith Library 07/25/0514:13:40 38 Village Street Shelf List 1/18 East Dorset VT 05253 Title Author's Name 1 The 7 key principles of successful recovery: the basic tools for progress, growth, and happiness B., Mel. 2 The 24 hour drink b~u!de to executive survival. Maloney, Ralph. --- 61 A.A. in prison: inmate to inmate. 71 AA, the way it began I Pittman, Bill, 1947-_1 way of life; a reader 10I AA's godparents: three early influences on Alcoholics Anonymous and its foundation, Carl Jung, Emmet Fox, Sikorsky, Igor I., 1929- I Jack Alexander 11 Abundant living Jones, E. Stanley (Eli Stanley), 1884-1973:l 12 Abundant living Jones, E. Stanley (Eli Stanley), 1884-1973. I 13 Addictionary: a primer of recovery terms and concepts, from abstinence to withdrawal Wilson, Jan R. I 14 The addictive drinker; a manual for rehabilitation. Thimann, Joseph. I 15 Addictive drinking: the road to recovery for problem drinkers and those who love them Vaughan, Clark. I 16 Addresses Drummond, Henry, 1851-1897. 171 Addresses I Drum~o_nd._Henry. 1851-~~97. 181 Adult children of alcohoTi-cs ~ Woititz, Janet Geringer. 191 Adventurous religion and other essays Fosdick, Harry Emerson, 1878-1969. 20 Afire with serenity Jackson, Bill, Dr. 21 After repeal: a study of liquor control administration Harrison, Leonard Vance, 1891- 22 Aggression and altruism, a psychological analysis. Kaufmann, Harry. 23 The Akron genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous B., Dick. 24 The Akron qenesis of Alcoholics Anonymous B. Dick. Alcohol, hygiene, and legislation EdwardHu~ington!~~ 411 Alcohol in and out of the church lOates,_~ayne Edward, 1917- ~IXcohof; Its relation to human efficiency and longevity Fisk, Eugene Lyman, 1867-1931.~ Alcohol problems; a report to the Nation.
    [Show full text]
  • Inside This Issue What That Was, and Seemed to Be Getting Help from That Program
    October, 2020 Volume 51, Issue 10 Experience, Strength, and Hope in Orange County A Spiritual Experience of the Educational Variety At the age of forty-three, I had been drinking 24/7 for many years. Mis- “moment of clarity” that could only have come from that Spirit of erable and tired of running the show, I was the Universe, who I eventually called God. out of answers. I was probably headed for disaster, but I had no idea how to fix me. That next day I was driving down the freeway I was pretty sure I was not an alcoholic be- at about noon when I noticed a highway patrol cause I had never gotten a DUI or suffered any car in my rearview mirror. It didn’t really both- of the tragedy that I saw in my father’s life. I er me; I was driving the speed limit and follow- had custody of my two kids, a struggling busi- ing all the rules of the road. Ten minutes went ness, a decent apartment and had the love of by, and that car was still in my rearview mirror. a really good woman. How could I be an alco- I decided that it might be wise to exit the free- holic? Alcoholics lost jobs due to their drink- way and shake this guy. ing. They got arrested by the police, lost their wives and children, were constantly embar- As soon as I moved to the exit, his lights went rassing the family and were obviously very Original artwork by April G.
    [Show full text]
  • Spiritual Reading List II Alcoholic's Anonymous Approved
    Spiritual Reading List I. I. Alcoholic’s Anonymous Approved Literature: Wisdom & History ♦ ¨ Original Manuscript of the Big Book – Alcoholics Anonymous A copy of the pre-publication manuscript circulated prior to printing of the 1st edition of the Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous). Differences are underlined. The original belonged to Clarence Snyder, “The Brewmeister”, is in each printing of the Big Book. The Big Book’s “Womb.” Price: $10 Order Online at: http://shop.store.yahoo.com/sgly/books---liturature.html Also FREE Download at: http://www.silkworth.com An Amazing Site In Itself! ♦ ¨ Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book): “Reproduction of the First Printing of the First Edition “ (Hardcover - January 1999) This is where it all began! The Real Deal! If you want an Original – Go to Ebay Auction Online & Look to spend $600-800, you Bleeding Deacon, You! ♦ ¨ Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers: A Biography, With Recollections of Early A.A. in the Midwest -8 Classic A.A. History! The Good Doctor’s Spiritual Practice. Akron Meetings Required Reading ♦ ¨ Pass It on: The Story of Bill Wilson and How the A. A. Message Reached the World (#2075) (Hardcover - December 1984) How Our Founder’s Carried the Message, The Origin of the Big Book & the Steps, N.Y. Meetings. ♦ ¨ Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age: A Brief History of A. A. by Alcoholics Anonymous World Service A good, basic history text. ♦ ¨ The Language of the Heart: Bill W’s Grapevine Writings . by Alcoholics Anonymous World Service High spirited, inspirational writing. Bill W’s take on a lot of the things you wondered about.
    [Show full text]
  • Unity Newsletter Made Direct Amends to Such People Wherever Possible, Except When to Do So Would Injure Them Or Others
    September 2020 East Tennessee Intergroup Volume 44, Issue 9 Unity Newsletter Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. DISTRICT MEETINGS A.A. Oldtimers…On the Ninth Step A.A. Grapevine, July 1945, Vol. 2 No. 2 Please see your Like others of the Steps, Number Nine is closely related to Number Three – district minutes for the “to turn our will and our lives over to God as we understood Him.” If we most up to date have accomplished this step to any measurable degree, we have attained at district meeting places least a small measure of humility and a realization of our dependence on Him. and times. Having prepared a list of all people we have harmed and brought ourselves to the point where we are willing to make amends to them, our Ninth Step is one calling for positive action. There is a world of difference between being willing to do a thing and actually doing it. How many times in the pre-A.A. state have we said “I am sorry, I won’t do it again” and felt that that consti- tuted complete amends. A sincere apology, with a true explanation to the person harmed, of what we believe to be the reason for our past actions can quite frequently readjust personal relations –but the A.A. realizes that this cannot take care of the ones we have really hurt and invariably these are the ones we should and do love most. Most of us had at least a few years of real pathological drinking behind us when we first learned of the Twelve Steps.
    [Show full text]