Good morning. My name is Mitchell. As we move into June, I have had several A.A. members ask me about service roles in sobriety, some in General Service but also in Hospitals and Institutions and Intergroups. All services provide similar participation options for members as all three are engaged in making Twelve Step work possible.
From the Co-Founders of Alcoholics Anonymous. pages 16-17.
This is Dr. Bob’s last major talk, as transcribed from a recording made at Detroit, Michigan, in December 1948. It was printed for the first time in the June 1973 issue of the Grapevine and is reprinted here with the permission of The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.
“You see, in Akron we have the extreme good fortune to have a very nice setup at St. Thomas Hospital. The ward theoretically accommodates seven alcoholics, but the good Sister Ignatia sees that it’s stretched a little bit. She usually has two or more others parked around somewhere. Just as soon as that idea that I could probably polish off a couple enters my mind, I think “Oh-oh. How about the boys in the ward? You’ve been giving them the semi-brush-off for the last few days. You’d better get back on the job, big boy, before you get into trouble.” And I patter right back and am much more attentive than I had been before I got the funny idea. But I do get it every once in a while, and I’ll probably go on getting it whenever I get careless about seeing the boys in the ward.
Any time I neglected them, I was thinking more of Bob than I was of the ward. I wasn’t being especially loving. Those fellows had come there indicating their desire for help, and I was just a little too busy to give them much of my time, as if they had been panhandling on the street. Don’t want to be bothered with the fellow? Ten cents to get rid of him — why, that’s easy! He could even stand two bits — not because you love the fellow, but just to be relieved of the nuisance of his hanging on your coat sleeve. No unselfishness, no love at all indicated in that transaction.
I think the kind of service that really counts is giving of yourself, and that almost invariably requires effort and time. It isn’t a matter of just putting a little quiet money in the dish. That’s needed, but it isn’t giving much for the average individual in days like these, when most people get along fairly well. I don’t believe that type of giving would ever keep anyone sober. But giving of our own effort and strength and time is quite a different matter. And I think that is what Bill learned in New York and I didn’t learn in Akron until we met.
”Opportunities for service”
4-Area DCM Sharing Session
August 26 @ 11:00 am – 4:00 pm
Norma Hertzog Community Center 1845 Park Avenue, Costa Mesa, CA, United States
October Election for Area and District positions
October 8, 2023 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Delegate’s Bulletin Board
- I have been posting Quick Reference summaries and GSO copies of the 73rd GSC Advisory Actions and Committee Recommendations, the Picnic Table short financial summaries, a written summary of financial results of the Fiscal 2021 and 2022 audit, and the full financial report.
- Thursday, July 13, 2023 – 7-9pm EST (4-6 PM PST) – Michelle Mirza , GSO Archivist, will give a Presentation – “The First Four Editions of the Big Book.” On Zoom ID: 998 938 7641 PW: 714921
Honored to be of Service!
Mitchell B., MSCA 09 Panel 72 delegate
Cell: (949) 278-8263
Email: [email protected]