October 2004 Not one of us has been given a torch big enough to lead the drunks of the world out of the darkness and into the light. Instead, each of us has been given a candle that burns for a short while with a flickering flame. If we stand together, the light will outshine the greatest torch. If we argue and bi ck er a n d bl ow a t ea ch ot h er s ca n d l e so that each of us starts shielding our own little flame, then the alcoholics of the world will continue to suffer in darkness and so will we. Gerry F. Western Canada regional trustee (from the 1995 Final Report of the General Service Conference) CCFAA October 2004 PAGE 1 October 2004 ONE ULTIMATE AUTHORITY AND IT ISN T ONE OF US I was raised in mainline Protestant denominations. I left Churches thirty-five years ago, and twenty- three years of sobriety haven t sent me back to organized religion. Recovery in Alcoholics Anonymous has, however, eliminated my anti-religious bent. I m left with a tremendous feeling of gratitude for the structure of Alcoholics Anonymous. As long as we try our best to live by our Traditions and our traditions, we may never have to face the kinds of trials some denominations or religious institutions have come up against. There is no hierarchy in Alcoholics anonymous. Isn t that great? We have one ultimate authority, a loving God; and that authority is never wrong, and is not subject to human failure. Our method of discipline is incredibly effective. We follow the rules as individuals or groups, or we die. Of course, there are no rules, just suggestions and Traditions and traditions. The chairman of our board of directors has no authority over any member. Our trustees, a dedicated and trusted group of alcoholics and nonalcoholic, put in long hours of hard work. They are paid nothing, and they also lack authority over anyone. We elect area delegates every year and are not surprised by the dedication and self-sacrifice of these ninety-three members. And none of these trusted servants would consider flaunting Tradition or tradition by standing for reelection. With what wonderful Traditions have we been blessed! A simple membership requirement; group autonomy; one primary purpose; no outside affiliation, or even an opinion on outside issues; self- support; nonprofessional; unorganized; and anonymous. Throughout our Fellowship; rotation is practiced, sometimes rigorously, sometimes not. We seem to have learned, at nearly every level of service, that no one is so bad that we can t endure him/her for one term, nor is anyone so good that we must have him/her for a second term. Those outside our Fellowship may look at us with amusement or disbelief. Why not a system of membership dues? Why not some paid professionals to conduct some needed fund-raising campaigns? (Think of all the good that could be done with more money!) Why not train the staff to become experts at one desk, rather than rotate assignments? Why not put someone in charge one of the really good guys? We know why not. It wouldn t work. We seem to have been guided by a power greater than any one of us. This power seems to have allowed us to make mistake after mistake, error after error, and allowed some of us to learn from these mistakes. When our groups were falling apart, and our Fellowship was close to disintegration, Bill W. was able to look at the dismal record of mistakes and the growing list of successes and put together our Twelve Traditions. When it became clear that we needed some guidance for the Fellowship as a whole, Bill wrote our Twelve Concepts for World Service. And as our need for new leaders grew, new leaders appeared. My job? To live by the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous as best I can; to share my experience, strength and hope with regard to our Traditions and Concepts, as well as our Twelve Steps; to serve where I can, as well as I can, to understand that the Responsibility Pledge applies to me. I can t keep AA going, and neither can you. But we can, for as long as God chooses to allow us to exist. Al H. Bakersfield, CA. CCFAA October 2004 PAGE 2 October 2004 To the Teleservice and Hotline Volunteers who are on the Firing Line. To the Men and Women who put in the extra effort this past month. You are #1! W e don t know what we would do without you! In Memory of Millie S. In Memory of Member of the Steven S. Round Table Passed away Group Aug 30,2004 Passed away 9yrs sober Aug. 30, 2004 CCFAA October 2004 PAGE 3 October 2004 CCFAA MASTER CALENDAR SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES October 12, 2004 AT THE CCFAA CENTRAL OFFICE OFFICE OPERATIONS COMMITTEE 6:30PM Central Office 1. Would you like to be a phone volunteer at Central Office? 7500 14th Avenue, Ste. 27 If you have 1 year sobriety and 4 hours of free time to Sacramento, CA 95820 help another alcoholic call Central Office at 454-1771 2. We need volunteers to help with assembly, labeling and mailing of the Flyers on Tuesday October 12, at 9 am. October 16, 2004 Call 454-1771. DELEGATES MEETING 4:00PM 3. We need volunteers to help with the assembly, labeling, 3:00PM New Delegates and mailing of the By the Way on Friday October 29, at Woodlake Park 9 am. 500 Arden Way Sacramento, CA. You may Fax, Email, Mail or Walk-In your Group News, Birthdays, Mailing Address Changes, etc., to the Central CNIA Office. The Fax number is 452-9132. The Flyer deadline is October 16, 2004 Area Committee th the 10 of every month. The deadline for the By The Way is East Yolo Fellowship the 15th of the month for the following month's issue. 1040 Soule Street Please include a name and phone number with all West Sacramento correspondence. E-Mail Address: [email protected] ALL REGISTERED GROUPS HOT LINE ACTIVITY REPORT Please send us an electronic copy of your September 2004 Telephone Service July 2004 YTD flyer so we will be able to put them on our 12 STEP Calls 12 432 website: MEETINGS/ INFO Calls 408 16,015 [email protected] TELESERVICE ACTIVITY REPORT August 2004 TELESERVICE OPPORTUNITIES Telephone Service June 2004 YTD 12 STEP Calls 102 450 Be on the Firing Line of service in MEETINGS/ INFO Calls 875 6,006 Alcoholics Anonymous Call Central Office (916) 454-1771 GROUP SECRETARIES Next Mtg., Sept. 19th @ 2 PM 2703 El Camino Please let us know who you are so we can send you your Ave. group s copy of the By The Way each month. We want to be sure we have up-to-date information about your group meeting location, day, time, and format. CCFAA is here to be The By The Way is published monthly by the Central of service to you and your group. Does your group have a California Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous, 7500 Central Office (CCFAA) Delegate? Every registered group is 14 Avenue, Suite 27, Sacramento, CA 95820. entitled to be represented. Your group s participation helps Current subscription rate $12.00 per year. us do a better job of serving our Alcoholics Anonymous Opinions, letters, and stories printed in the By The Community. Call us if you would like to know more about the Way are not to be attributed to Alcoholics duties and rewards of being a Central Office (CCFAA) Anonymous, the Central California Fellowship of Delegate. Please feel free to visit your Central Office at 7500 Alcoholics Anonymous or any group within 14th Avenue, Ste. 27 Sacramento, CA 95820. Stop in, say Alcoholics Anonymous unless otherwise stated or hello---we re always glad to see you. We would like you to get attributed. All Reprinted articles are done so with the to know your Central Office, and we would like to get to know permission of their respective publisher. you. CCFAA October 2004 PAGE 4 October 2004 GROUP NEWS Birthdays celebrated last Saturday each month, 7 PM. AMERICAN RIVER ALANO 20 weekly mtgs. listed in the directory, all NO CLUB meetings now located SMOKING; all ONE hour with the exception of the 8 p.m. at 5660 Main Ave., Tuesday meeting is 1-1/2 hrs. We are located at, 169 4th Orangevale, CA. Street, Galt. (209) 745-1525. ACTION GETS IT GOING GRANITE BAY LAKESIDE 6365 Douglas Blvd., Friday 8 PM Book Study; Lutheran Church. 7 PM Saturday. Tuesday 8 PM Step Study, Sunday 7 PM Open Congratulations Discussion, 1725 K St. (corner of 18th & K St.) HAPPY CAMPERS FELLOWSHIP St. George s ALIVE AND SOBER GROUP Tuesday & Friday, 8 PM. Episcopal Church. 5600 Winding Way, Carmichael. 1050 Douglas Blvd, Roseville at Bethel Lutheran Tuesday 8 PM. Church. HEAD ACROSS WOMEN'S GROUP Wednesdays from 6:00 PM, 7850 Watt Avenue, St. Andrews Church, North CAMERON PARK GROUP Light of the Hills Ch., 3100 Highlands. Come join us. Rodeo Dr., behind Burke Junction, Cameron Park. HI FLYERS GROUP has moved to its new location back CARRYING THE MESSAGE GROUP has open mtgs. alongside the Cameron Park Airport, 3043 Alhambra U C Davis Medical Center, 2315 Stockton Blvd Drive, Suite A in Cameron Park. Mtg are daily at noon Mon Sat 5:30 PM. Sun-Fri 7PM. Wed & Sat. 7:30 AM CITRUS HEIGHTS GROUP every Wednesday 8 PM., mtgs., Friday 9 PM & Saturday 10 PM.