Volume 20 | Issue 05          Web version

Anonymous Times

Published by North Orange County InterGroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous Groups, Inc.

(714) 773-HELP

 1661 E. Chapman Avenue, Suite 1H

Fullerton, CA 92831

www.aanoc.org 

September 2020 Issue

Step 9

"Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others."

A tranquil mind is the first requisite for good judgement.  Good timing is important in making amends.  What is courage?  Prudence means taking calculated chances.  Amends begin when we join A.A. Peace of mind cannot be bought at the expense of others.  Need for discretion.  Readiness to take consequences of our past and to take responsibility for well-being of others is spirit of Step Nine. 

Concept 9

Good service leaders, together with sound and appropriate methods of choosing them, are at all levels indispensable for our future functioning and safety.  The primary world service leadership once exercised by the founders of A.A. must necessarily be assumed by the Trustees of the General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Tradition 9

"A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve."

Tradition Nine

An Essay by Bill Wilson

August 1948

The least possible organization, that’s our universal ideal.  No fees, no dues, no rules imposed on anybody, one alcoholic brining recovery to the next; that’s the substance of what we most desire, isn’t it?

But how shall this simple ideal best be realized?  Often a question that.

ONE Raffle.  ONE Book.  ONE Winner.

1st Edition Big Book Raffle 

The first ever Big Book Raffle was launched July 16th and ran through Friday, September 4th.  All 500 tickets were sold online or in the NOCCO office.  We had a enthusiastic response to this event and our community is chomping at the bit to see if they won.  And the winner is...

Brett S.

Fullerton, California

Ticket# wpraffle-2020-17

Congratulations Brett & Holly

NOCCO Member Survey

A.A. experience has demonstrated that central and intergroup offices are helpful, particularly in populous areas.  There are over 700 central offices throughout the world, performing vital A.A. services.  These constitute a network of service outlets and A.A. contacts to help carry the A.A. message.

With all of the changes we have experienced in 2020, the NOCCO Board is interested in your feedback on how we are doing.  Take a few minutes to answer this quick 14 question survey.  

Thank you for your input.

Mark E., Wes M., Cheryle D., Christy W., Don H., Laura M., Jennifer L., Randy L.

NOCCO Board

Group Contributions

$4,535.28

Statement of Income & Expense

$5,969.30

Our Common Welfare

Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole.  A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die.  Hence our common welfare comes first.  But individual welfare follows close afterward. 

- Tradition One (Long Form)

Stay Safe.  Stay Strong.

It is hoped that our common suffering as alcoholics and our common solution in A.A. will transcend most issues and curtail negative behaviors that could jeopardize the safety of anyone attending an A.A. meeting.  Nevertheless, Alcoholics Anonymous is a microcosm of the larger society we exist in.  As such, problems found in the outside world can also make their way into the rooms of A.A.  For this reason, groups and members discuss the topic of safety - to raise awareness in the Fellowship and to seek through sponsorship, workshops and meetings, to create as safe an environment as possible to carry A.A.'s message of hope and recovery to the still-suffering alcoholic.

August 2020 Website Activity

www.aanoc.org

An Alcoholics Prayer

AN alcoholic's prayer could be as follows:

God grant me the serenity to accept my condition gracefully and humbly, grant me also the ability to absorb the teachings of those who are by their past experience trying to help me. Teach me to be grateful for their help. Guide me, oh God, in the path of tolerance and understanding of my fellow man, guide me away from the path of criticism, intolerance, jealousy and envy of my fellow. Let me not prejudge, let me not become a moralist, keep my tongue and thoughts from malicious idle gossip. Help me to grow in stature spiritually, mentally, and morally. Grant me that greatest of all boons, that of being able to help my fellow sufferer in his search out of the morass that has encompassed him. Above all, help me to be not too critical and impatient with myself.

Ernie of Ravenswood | Chicago, Illinois

September 1950

InterGroup Meeting

Please join us at the next NOCCO InterGroup Meeting.  InterGroup Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm.  

Next Meeting:  September 9, 2020 via ZOOM

Meeting ID: 860-4109-6976 | Password: Serenity Dial-in Phone: (669) 900-9128

Online Meeting Directory

In-Person Meeting Directory

Back to California ... with the Big Book on his Knee

On my fourth AA birthday God was generous beyond belief and sent my poor old alcoholic father, whom I hadn't seen for many years, to my home. I was so very grateful for the opportunity to see him and to make my amends to him for all the bitterness and lack of understanding I had harbored toward him for so long. It was wonderful to tell him, "Dad, I do love you, and I know now that you have always loved us too, and I know that your drinking had nothing to do with that love--that you were a sick man. I know this, because I have been afflicted with the same sickness."

Well, it's a long story but, to cut it short, Dad was so shocked to hear his only daughter admit to being an alcoholic and a member of "that there AA" that he did the only logical thing--went out and got stoned. A few days later we discovered him in our local hospital's psychiatric ward and started a vigorous campaign to condition dear old Dad to AA. It didn't work.

I think he went home (back to California) too soon, back to the old ideas and old associations. Also, being a cocky, stubborn little Irisher, he still felt that all it took was will-power.

Not long ago he turned up again in terrible shape. After three more years and eight months of beating himself to death with the bottle, the poor old dear was terribly sick. This time we kept him in the hospital for three weeks, then drove him back to his home and personally took him to some meetings down around the Bay Area--Oakland, San Francisco, Albany and Vallejo, California, and introduced him to some people who may be of help to him.

Hope he will stay with it this time. We got him his Big Book while he was still in the hospital here and he read a bit of it and said to me, "Boy, that book is really something, isn't it?"

I had to agree.

 Submitted by I.O. | Reno, Nevada

March 1967

NOCCO Appreciates Your Support

Even though meetings, 12-step services and operations have shifted to a virtual environment, expenses continue to accumulate during this crisis, which underscores the importance of practicing the Seventh Tradition. We still stock literature, handle 12-step calls around the clock, and assist those with a desire to stop drinking. Your generous support is critical and appreciated.

$19 plus tax

Back to Basics is based two years of research, and more than one hundred interviews of old-timers who found lasting sobriety in the 1940's.  In this book, Wally P., archivist, historian and author, will take you through the Twelve Steps as they were taken in the "original" A.A. Beginners' Meetings.  

This book is dedicated to Dr. Bob., cofounder of Alcoholics Anonymous.  It is also dedicated to the numerous A.A. pioneers who led Beginner's Meetings during the early days of the fellowship.  In the 1940s and 1950s, tens of thousands of men and women recovered from the affliction of alcoholism by taking the Twelve Steps in four one-hour sessions.  In the process, they discovered a God of their understanding and a new way of living based on the guidelines of "Trust in God ... Clean House ... and Help Others."

I am Responsible. 

When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there. 

For that, I am responsible.

A Letter from G. Gregory Tobin, General Manager of GSOAA

September 1, 2020

Dear fellow Conference member,

Just coming off the General Service Board Weekend, where we reported on current services, contributions, publishing activities and literature sales, I am pleased to communicate with you today.  Staff, committee and financial reports will be shared very shortly to keep you as up to date as possible.  There is much good to report, highlighting results of the efforts of your General Service Office to sustain services and business operations through the first half of 2020 - the unanticipated period of the Coronavirus pandemic.

The main theme of this letter is gratitude: The A.A. groups of the United States and Canada have stepped up and sent a strong message to the Board and office, understanding their role as the "bosses" of our Fellowship and giving the trustees and office workers unambiguous direction to keep up our efforts in support of your Twelfth Step Work.  We are grateful for the clarity of message... 

Thanks to all contributors who support NOCCO.  

© Copyright, 2020, North Orange County InterGroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous Groups, Inc. • 1661 E. Chapman Avenue - Suite 1H, Fullerton CA 92831

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