VOICE WITHIN District 12 Newsletter

HOMEGROUP HIGHLIGHT getting to know district 12’s homegroups june 2020 VOICE WITHIN District 12 - NHAA Bedford what's inside this issue GoffstowN Hooksett Manchester New Boston

Each issue of The Voice Within will cover a concept, tradition, and step. Over the course of the 2020/2021 season we will cover all of the 36 Legacies of Service outlined in the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, and 12 Concepts. We’re honored to present to you our issue about the 3rd Step, Tradition, and Concept.

This issue also features our first Homegroup Highlight, a new article series about the fantastic groups that make up District 12!

03 06 08 Concept three Tradition Three Step three with dan With mike WIth crystal

11 13 14 homegroup A Note on gratitude News & highlight from christine Announcements Voice Within / 03 june • 2020 CONCEPT THREE To insure effective leadership, we should endow each element of A.A. - the Conference, the General Service Board and its service corporations, staffs, committees, and executives - with a traditional “Right of Decision”.

When elected to a service position in A.A., at first it might not be clear just how much freedom we’ve been given to do our service job. “What falls within my authority and where do I need to consult?” This is a question most newcomers to service find themselves asking. The Right of Decision tells us that when we’re given delegated authority by some group conscience in A.A. to carry out a service position, we get to decide on our own and make up our minds of where the boundaries are. It’s a principle we can apply everywhere within Alcoholics Anonymous, not just within the Conference structure. I find that it’s really helpful in my life as well. It is one of the things that ensures a smooth functioning of the relationship between the ultimate and delegated authority.

Of course, we’ve been delegated authority so if in the course of doing service work we fall short the ultimate authority will let me know and then we’ll correct and work on it. But the Right of Decision allows me the freedom to operate, like the coffee maker, to select the brand of coffee for the meeting.

So why is it a good idea to do this? If the coffee maker was always given a bunch of grief about the type of coffee they bought they would feel demoralized and quit. The coffee maker my ask may ask the group: “Well what do you think about this?” Voice Within / 04 june • 2020

Concept 3 gives us in the group the ability to say: “I think this, but you can do whatever you think is best. And I really mean that”. That’s delegated authority. On the flip side, the part about deciding where the boundaries of my authority lie takes practice and time. Not to mention that each role in A.A. is different as well, but without having this kind of gray area we’d never get anything done.

How does Right of Decision come up in the General Service Conference?

It comes up everywhere, which is the cool thing. So your group elects a General Service Representative (GSR). Your GSR has the Right of Decision at the District, and from there they inform the District Committee Member (DCM) about their group’s opinion on Conference items. Your GSR shows up at the Pre-Conference Assembly with the DCM. At the Pre-Conference Assembly, the DCM has the guidance from all of the GSR’s, as well as their own thoughts and opinions. Likewise, the GSR’s have the delegated authority from their groups on Conference items. During the Assembly everyone gives the Delegate their view to take to the Conference in New York. The Delegate has their delegated authority to vote on all these matters. If they’re given strong guidance on an item from the Area but they find out that the Area just didn’t have the right information to make a decision, or made a hasty decision, the Delegate can vote differently from the guidance they were given. But they are then beholden to tell the Area why they voted that way when they come back. Voice Within / 05 june • 2020

They have to say “I know you folks said this, but I learned this at the conference which changed my thinking. This is why I voted the way I did.” This is essentially our whole system of checks and balances in action.

How does this relate to personal recovery?

This is really about trust. Do we really trust our trusted servants? They are trusted servants, right? Trust is hard for an alcoholic that likes to have control. But ultimately surrendering that control and trusting that we’re individually being taken care of by our Higher Power, and that A.A. as a whole is being taken care of by its trusted servants, we become more effective in our ability to carry out service work.

Questions for Groups to ask themselves This is really about trust. Do (from aa.org) we really trust our trusted Do we understand what is meant by the servants? They are trusted “Right of Decision”? Do we grant it at all levels of service or do we “instruct”? servants, right? Do we trust our trusted servants — G.S.R., D.C.M., area delegate, the Conference itself?

~ Article based on an interview with Dan L, District 12 DCM Voice Within / 06 june • 2020 TRADITION THREE WITH MIKE The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

Staying sober during the pandemic is hard! I miss going to my church basements and function halls. I struggle to stay connected to people I usually see quite often. Even though I “Zoom”, I feel like I’m socially distancing myself from my own recovery. So I was really excited when Joel reached out to me to share on Tradition 3 for this issue of Voice Within. “That will get me back on track!” My first thought was, “Tradition 3. Hmm, which one is that?” (How quickly my brain atrophies when I’m not connected to my fellows) But it was easy to recall in its breathtaking simplicity.

“The only requirement for A.A membership is a desire to stop drinking.”

My sponsor taught me about the importance of the Traditions and Concepts in service work. “Dan” was a self-avowed “service junkie” so there wasn’t an option about being in service work or not. It was going to happen, whether I thought I was ready for it or not. Voice Within / 07 june • 2020

Today, I thank Dan for every uncomfortable moment he put me through. Left to my own insecurities, I would have missed out on the crippling fear of sharing my story in front of a roomful of people for the first time. Or the time I stood for a GSR position fully aware that it would push me so far out of my comfort zone, I may never find my way back. However, the most important thing Dan taught me (besides Rule #62) is that the Steps, Traditions and Concepts are all interconnected in a brilliantly laid out plan to keep me, my home group, and AA at large healthy and whole.

Over the years, I’ve had a number of It doesn’t matter what I drank, service positions from “bologna sandwich guy” at my home group to the who I drank with or how much I DCM in my District. To be an effective drank. I’m a part of something humble servant, I often reference the big if I say so! Traditions and Concepts to ensure that I don’t “louse it all up” as Dr. Bob warned us back in 1950.

Whenever I refer to a Tradition, I try to conceptualize its meaning in regards to its counterpart step (and concept). At first glance, Tradition 3 and Step 3 seem like apples and oranges. What does AA membership have to do with turning my will and life over to a higher power of my choice? I came across a great article from the Grapevine published in 1948 about Tradition 3. It describes a conversation with a newcomer. He states, “Are there any conditions?” we joyfully reply, “No, not a one”. In Alcoholics Anonymous, there are no musts.” I feel that this “unconditionality” is the thread that connects both Tradition 3 and Step 3. The Tradition outlines that there are no conditions to my entry into this fellowship. It doesn’t matter what I drank, who I drank with or how much I drank. I’m a part of something big if I say so! Step 3 directs me to turn my will and my life over to the care of God as I understood him. Again, there are no conditions asked of me. It doesn’t matter if I’m religious, spiritual, atheist or agnostic. I’m part of something big if I say so!

~ Article submitted by Mike B, member of the Manchester Original Group Voice Within / 08 uune • 2020 STEP THREE WITH CRYSTAL Made a decision to turn our will and lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

I grew up as the child of a southern Baptist minister. I learned all about God, heaven & hell (mostly hell) pretty much from the time I could hold a Bible. I believed it all for a time, but disillusionment started in my late teens. By the time I reached adulthood, I suppose I felt that I was in control of my life, although I never actually gave it much thought. I certainly was unaware of my growing dependence on alcohol. It simply had been an easy solution to the increasing demands of life and my lurking fears of inadequacy. I am not sure when I lost control. It is one of those mysteries that is moot to ponder. However, alcohol managed to transform itself from a friendly confidante to a merciless tyrant through the subtle manipulation understood only by the mind of another alcoholic. In its grip, I became a husk of the person I once was. Indeed, in the end, I barely recognized the person I had become. Voice Within / 09 june • 2020

Step 1 was easy for me. I think I came into the program ready to concede my powerlessness. I could not control my drinking. Likewise, there was no doubt in my mind, nor in the minds of those close to me, that my life had become unmanageable. However, Step 2 did not come so quickly. Despite having had a religious upbringing, I had long since lost faith in God. My descent into alcoholism did not help in that regard. How I had I fallen so far if God was watching out for me? Why had God not prevented my descent into this madness? Any belief that I had tried to forge in God was negated by these questions. As it says in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, I had “tried faith and found it wanting.” Despite my lack of belief in a power greater than myself, desperation proved to be my greatest ally. It kept me coming back to the meetings. Like many others, drawn by the message of recovery and the evidence of so many people successfully living sober lives, I started to believe that there was hope for me. Something was working for these people, and I wanted it. I came to believe that A.A. could restore me to sanity and, with that realization, I had embarked on Step 2.

Eventually, I found myself looking at the 3rd step and there was that pesky G-word again. I had begun praying again and I had not taken a drink in months. However, the God of my understanding was still the God of my youth, and I was not ready or willing to trust Him. So, I was stuck. Or so I thought. Attending meetings had become a daily habit and my circle of A.A. friends grew. Ever so slowly, my concept of a Higher Power broadened as I listened to the many variations that others used to support their sobriety. I had heard some say that they had used A.A. itself as their Higher Power. Only later did I realize that I, too, initially had turned my will over to the care of the A.A. fellowship. In fact, when I got a sponsor and conceded that I was willing to do “whatever it took” to stay sober, I was starting to work Step 3.

While I continued to wrestle with my understanding of God, I was, in fact, discovering faith. Every morning I I have lost the need to engage in sought the help and grace I needed not to pick up a drink that day. Likewise, each night that I went to bed theological debates with sober, I had something for which to be thankful. During the hours in between, I started to hear words of wisdom myself or anyone else. I do not and to see the light and love that surrounded me. At have to reconcile old concepts first, most of that took place in the meetings. I learned to cherish the “golden nuggets” of wisdom that I heard of God with my new revelations. from those who shared about their journeys in sobriety. Additionally, the support, hugs and laughter of the I no longer try to fit God into groups enabled me to begin to feel the genuine warmth and love gleaned from enjoying the fellowship of others any box. I have seen God’s grace and letting myself be known by them. In my second year of sobriety, I received a cancer diagnosis which was all and wisdom come from unlikely too soon followed by the death of my husband. Alone, I do not believe I would have stayed sober through that sources. time of tragedy. Frankly, it is nothing short of a miracle that I did. During these months, I was the recipient of numerous acts of service and support from friends in and out of the program. Although these acts were performed by people, to me, they were undoubtedly an expression of divine, selfless love. Voice Within / 10 june • 2020

I had experienced abundant grace. Through that experience, I came to truly comprehend that divine love and grace was God’s gift to me, but that it often came through the service of others. Additionally, it was something which I would share by performing acts of service myself. My understanding and appreciation for the divine was growing and love was at its core. As I grew in love (for others, as well as myself), I began to see divinity all around me. I found it in people and in nature. Divinity was present in my rekindled passion for music, as much as in the joy I experienced in the sound of my children’s laughter. It was present in the beauty of a sunset and in the smile of a friend. It was even present in hardship and the lessons which came from it. It was, truly, the essence of life. And in sobriety, I could experience it, and therefore life, in a way which I never had before.

Today, I choose to call my Higher Power “God” and I see “Him” everywhere. He is both intimate and infinite, residing fully in me, as well as in all creation. I have lost the need to engage in theological debates with myself or anyone else. I do not have to reconcile old concepts of God with my new revelations. I no longer try to fit God into any box. I have seen God’s grace and wisdom come from unlikely sources. I have experienced great love and compassion in the midst of death and sorrow. My eyes have been opened to the vastness of God’s presence and the infinite means which He uses to express His love. Not the least awesome of these expressions being that of one alcoholic sharing the message of hope and healing with another. I believe that the light and peace of God’s presence is infinitely available to me as I choose to share his love, with gratitude and humility, through service to others.

I feel that I am blessed finally to be able to bask in that light. And, as I continue to seek Him, I pray that my will and my life are forever bound to this truth. Let it be so.

~Article submitted by Crystal C, member of the First Light of Day Group Voice Within / 11 june • 2020 HOMEGROUP HIGHLIGHT getting to know district 12’s homegroups

We at the Voice Within would like to take the opportunity to highlight District 12’s fine meetings. We are blessed to have an abundance of meetings and communities within our fellowship right here within the District. It is our goal to highlight as many groups as we can during the 2020-2021 season. This first Homegroup Highlight was submitted by Don H, a founding member of the Heard it Through the Grapevine Group. heard it through the grapevine group founded: may 2004 when: Tuesday 7:00p - 8:00p live location: St. Andrews church, Manchester nh online location: Zoom ID - 973 5992 6536 currently meeting online

Couple of thoughts/quotes from the June 1989 issue (SPECIAL 45TH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE) of the AA Grapevine. "Now comes another lighted lamp---this little newspaper called The Grapevine" One of the original concepts of the Grapevine was to provide a "meeting in print" to the estimated 300 AA members in the armed forces (1944, WWII still on) all over the world. In all the history of publishing, there is no magazine like the Grapevine. What other magazine do the readers write?”

Having done service work at the district level (Grapevine chair and Literature chair) a member with a passion for "our meeting in print" determined that District 12 could handle one more meeting, especially one that would provide new insight into recovery as many AA members were unaware of this magazine. Voice Within / 12 june • 2020

Tuesday night seemed to be a good fit as there were 3 speaker meetings that night (Manchester Original;New Boston, and Pathway to Sobriety). Having announced the upcoming meeting through the first part of the year we had our first meeting in May 2004 with 4 in attendance (including a coffee maker). UGH !!! Through the years the group has grown to a comfortable 20-25 people on a regular basis. One of the first obstacles was a lack of women in attendance which meant there was no one to direct the new gal to for guidance. At that point the best solution was to direct them to the Women’s Step Meeting on the other side of town. Currently the group has 6 or 7 women with solid sobriety whose experience, strength, and hope can address the newcomers needs.

The format for the meeting is to read 2 or 3 stories from the current issue of the Grapevine and then open the meeting for discussion. Because there is no repetition of stories there exists spirited discussion for the reason that individual interpretation and identification allows them to share their perspective whether they are early in sobriety or have been sober for 45 years or anywhere in between.

The group has a strong core of members who believe in the spirit of service and the principle of rotation of trusted servants. Many of the members have gone on to service positions at both the district level as well as the area. In adhering to Tradition 7 we are "self supporting through our own contributions" and support the District, the Area, and GSO. We have coffee, cookies, cakes as well as camaraderie every Tuesday at 7 o'clock at St. Andrews. One of the hardships of the group is that unlike Big Book or 12 Step group who purchase their books once and done, the Grapevine group has 20 subscriptions year at a cost of $492.49. The generosity of the members through the years has allowed the group to make this investment. At the end of each month an effort is made to distribute these "back issues" to appropriate groups/facilities (the July issue is the Prison issue, the September issue focuses on Young and Sober, and there is a military issue that goes to the VA).

The group has 2 special events every year, the groups anniversary in May and a Gratitude meeting the Tuesday of Thanksgiving week.The anniversary speakers for the most part are longtimers/oldtimers (2 of whom had over 50 years of continuous sobriety). We have also had husband/wife combos as well. Recently we introduced both an AA speaker as well as an Al-Anon speaker. We have also been blessed to have meetings chaired by local people whose stories appeared in the AA Grapevine. Having read their stories and listened to their "experience, strength, and hope" was inspiring in the opportunity to put a face to the story.

Let me close with the same words/invitation that I used in 2004. "If you are looking for a new meeting on a Tuesday night, please stop in for a live "meeting in print" with the Heard it Through the Grapevine Group...BUT if you are a member of a home group stay with that group and make it as strong as you possibly can!!!

With grateful heart, Don H. Voice Within / 13 june • 2020 A NOTE ON GRATITUDE

Being grateful wasn’t something I ever thought of until I became sober almost 2 years ago. Now, it is what I think about daily. I am so super grateful for all the gifts I have received since coming into the halls of A.A., the gift of sobriety, the gift of self worth the unconditional love I have for others and myself, the unconditional love my children have for me. The gift of freedom, selflessness, compassion for others. I am truly blessed with my connection and relationship I have with my higher power whom I choose to call God! Without him all this would not be possible. May all who have read this be blessed during this time. May you love the ones you love and love the ones you don’t.

~ Article submitted by Christine P Voice Within / 14 june • 2020 NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS What's happening in the district

News & Announcements

Online Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous - A list of online meetings happening around the world

https://aa- intergroup.org/oiaa/meetings/

New Hampshire A.A. Zoom Meetings -

https://nhaa.net/meetings/?tsml- query=zoom

2020 Area 43 Pre-Conference Survey Results -

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1C7ImksL nxPAuo5eb5ey2bG0pLMyf6F9t/view

Cover art credit: Detail view of an original collage by TJ M of the Goffstown We Understand Group