| Anonymous TimesPublished 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 |
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STEP 10 Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. |
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TRADITION 10 Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. |
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| CONCEPT 10 Every service responsibility should be matched by an equal service authority—the scope of such authority to be always well defined whether by tradition, by resolution, by specific job description, or by appropriate charters and bylaws. |
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10TH STEP PRAYER GOD, remove the Selfishness, dishonesty, resentment and fear that has cropped up in my life right now. Help me to discuss this with someone immediately and make amends quickly if I have harmed anyone. Help me to cease fighting anything and anyone. Show me where I may be helpful to someone else. Help me react sanely; not cocky or afraid. How can I best serve You - Your will, not mine be done. AMEN (Page 84-85 BB) |
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AOCYPAA We are a committee of alcoholics with a purpose to spread the message of Alcoholics Anonymous to the Orange County Area |
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| A tenth step is not something to be confused with “ah this is all my fault.” You can start out by talking with your higher power every night. Asking your sponsor (or spiritual advisor) or others for help as well. Think about all your words and actions you did that day. Ask yourself, “Did I cause damage?” “What can I do to make it right?” “How can I be better tomorrow?” Over time we start to learn and catch ourselves while we are doing it and admit our wrongs right away! A sponsor once told a sponsee that “let’s be real, you probably won’t do a tenth step until you’re in pain.” A lot of us refuse to make any change until it hurts. It was that way during the switch from loaded to sobriety. We probably wouldn’t have gotten sober if it didn’t hurt. Now that we are choosing to live in a spiritual way of life, we can choose how much pain we want to sit in. Sometimes, real-life hits and things are not in our control. We still work the steps and ask for help. Some things we can do to help keep us out of this pain are thinking and talking to your higher power throughout the day; this won’t always be easy but the more mindful we become the easier it will be. Our actions speak louder than words so by thinking of others and going out of our way to be of service we are aligning ourselves with what is good and are less likely to engage in behavior that warrants us making amends. We cannot do it alone, so by working this step we are sure to keep in close contact with a higher power. By doing this it becomes easier to catch ourselves when we are wrong and it is more natural for us to do the right thing. |
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There are key differences between the A.A. principles and traditions and an opinion. Often times when things like medication, religion, politics, and other 12-step programs come into conversations or are shared at meetings; people forget the content of this tradition. Our stance on this tradition is that we oppose no one and have no opinion on such matters. A.A. as a whole has no opinions on these issues and our personal opinions should not deter us from our common goal which is to carry the message to the Alcoholic. If A.A. were to have opinions on these outside issues it would surely divide us. It is because of this tradition that we have been able to remain unified throughout the years in lieu of war, civil rights movements, elections, and so forth. Surely these topics have no place in our rooms lest we wish to destroy our beautiful program and the fellowship we have built. So in our meetings and as we carry the message it is important to remember that this tradition keeps us humble, unified, and free from such conflicts. If you ever get the impression that there is an “A.A. opinion” it is important to bring that up in your meetings and service boards. We want people to feel welcome and encouraged to bring such things to light to be discussed candidly. And I employ you all to ask yourself and members of your group these questions “Do I share my opinion on issues in my life that are outside of my role?” “Do I give others my opinion when it is not wanted?” If you answered yes to either of these remember this tradition and confer with a sponsor or trusted A.A. about how you can better follow this particular principle. The principle that goes with this step is neutrality. The definition of neutrality is the state of not supporting or helping either side in a conflict, disagreement, etc.; impartiality, or, absence of decided views, expression, or strong feeling. Tradition 10 makes it so A.A. is truly available to anyone who wishes to join. How can we use the principle of step ten to comfort newcomers |
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2021/2022 NOCCO Service Board |
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* Live email links embedded as permitted by NOCCO Service Board members |
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These articles appeared in the main Cleveland newspaper, the Plain Dealer, just five months after the first A.A. group was formed in Cleveland. The articles resulted in hundreds of calls for help from suffering alcoholics who reached out for the hope that the fledgling Alcoholics Anonymous offered. The thirteen reliable members of the Cleveland group handled as many as 500 calls in the first month following the appearance of Davis’ articles. The following year Cleveland could boast 20 to 30 groups with hundreds of members. |
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| Alcoholics Anonymous Makes Its Stand Here
by ELRICK B. DAVIS
October 21, 1939 Cleveland Plain Dealer |
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Much has been written about Alcoholics Anonymous, an organization doing major work in reclaiming the habitual drinker. This is the first of a series describing the work the group is doing in Cleveland. |
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Success
By now it is a rare Clevelander who does not know, or know of, at least one man or woman of high talent whose drinking had become a public scandal, and who suddenly has straightened out “over night,” as the saying goes-the liquor habit licked. Men who have lost $15,000 a year jobs have them back again. Drunks who have taken every “cure” available to the most lavish purse, only to take them over again with equally spectacular lack of success, suddenly have become total abstainers, apparently without anything to account for their reform. Yet something must account for the seeming miracle. Something does. Alcoholics Anonymous has reached the town. Fellowship
Every Thursday evening at the home of some ex-drunk in Cleveland, 40 or 50 former hopeless rummies meet for a social evening during which they buck each other up. Nearly every Saturday evening they and their families have a party — just as gay as any other party held that evening despite the fact that there is nothing alcoholic to drink. From time to time they have a picnic, where everyone has a roaring good time without the aid of even one bottle of beer. Yet these are men and women who, until recently, had scarcely been sober a day for years, and members of their families who all that time had been emotionally distraught, social and economic victims of another’s addition. These ex-rummies, as they call themselves, suddenly salvaged from the most socially noisome of fates, are the members of the Cleveland Fellowship of an informal society called “Alcoholics Anonymous.” Who they are cannot be told, because the name means exactly what it says. But any incurable alcoholic who really wants to be cured will find the members of the Cleveland chapter eager to help. |
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An Important Message from the Outreach Committee |
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Earlier this month, the North Orange County Intergroup Association launched new technology to manage information on live, hybrid and virtual meetings in our community. We were able to combine multiple meeting lists into a single resource containing all meetings. The NOCCO meeting database is now linked to the “Meeting Guide App”, a free of charge meeting finder for iOS and Android that provides meeting information in an easy-to-access format. If you don't have the app, you can get it on Google Play or download from the App Store. |
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| This new tool is only as good as the information it holds. To ensure we have correct information to guide newcomers and visitors alike, we are asking that YOU review the meeting information for your groups. Have you moved from a virtual to a hybrid meeting? Has your meeting reopened in a new venue? You can provide us with updated information by clicking on the button below, submitting changes directly from the page of your listing, or by clicking on the icon from the home page of the www.aanoc.org website. Your input is needed and truly appreciated. Outreach is an important part of what we do at NOCCO and this is the first step in carrying the message to those still suffering. |
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NOCCO Hotline - (714) 773-HELP (4357) We are available 24/7. All calls are confidential. Phones answered by sober volunteers. |
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How it Became Known as "The Big Book" Having argued over virtually everything else concerning their book’s writing and publication, the newly sober alcoholics were hardly about to pass by in staid silence the one final opportunity for debate over their work: what price was to be charged for it? Stockholders Wilson and Hank P. argued for a price of $3.50. The book, in their view, was not only to spread the program, but to support its operations. Others, however, wondered – loudly – how many alcoholics needing the program would be able to spend that amount on a book in the spring of 1939. The prices they suggested ranged from $2.50 down to $1.00. Bill’s telling of the tale had Hank finally winning out, but a touch of the Wilson humor appeared in the final compromise: “As a consolation to the contestants, we directed Mr. Blackwell [printer] to do the job on the thickest paper in his shop. The original volume proved to be so bulky that it became known as the ‘Big Book’. Of course the idea was to convince the alcoholics that he was indeed getting his money’s worth.” Kurtz, E. (1979). Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous. (1st ed.) Hazelden. |
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NEW LITERATURE FOR OCTOBER A Program For You - A Guide to the Big Book's Design for Living |
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| You can't beat the basics in times of trouble. During the the coronavirus pandemic, take a fresh look at the twelve steps, and the Big Book's wisdom for healing and hope.
A Program for You leads each of us--newcomer or old-timer--to a deeper understanding of recovery as a way of life.
A Program for You clears our way for discovering positive, powerful answers to these questions. In the years since 1939, the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, has guided millions in their search for a design for healthy living free of addictive behaviors. Now, two program old-timers share their years of intensive study of the Big Book, revealing the vitality of its message for those of us reading it today. This celebration of the basic text of Twelve Step recovery breathes new life into the Big Book's timeless wisdom. Thoroughly annotated line and page, written with down-to-earth humor and simplicity, and providing a contemporary context for understanding, A Program for You helps us experience the same path of renewal that Bill W. and the first on hundred AA members did. |
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$18.00 + plus tax NOCCO can take orders over the phone and ship anywhere. Call us at (714) 773-4577 for all of your A.A. literature needs. |
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NOCCO's Neighborhood Notables |
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October Birthdays It Works If You Work It, One Day At A Time. -------- Mike D. - October 1st - 42 Years Marshall B - October 1st - 17 Years Lorenzo H. - October 1st - 3 Years Jim W. - October 2nd - 28 Years Kirk G. - October 3rd - 13 Years Allison K. - October 3rd - 13 Years Chuck H. - October 4th - 35 Years Kenny T. - October 6th - 7 Years Robert M. - October 6th - 2 Years Robb - October 8th - 27 Years Moises A. - October 8th - 25 Years Carol R. - October 10th - 10 Years Paul W. - October 10th - 4 Years Feliz E. - October 10th - 3 Years Linda C. - October 10th - 27 Years Denise R. - October 17th - 33 Years Woody - October 17th - 12 Years Joan M. - October 22nd - 15 Years Jack H. - October 26th - 18 Years Bobby B. - October 27th - 9 Years -------- We want to start acknowledging yearly milestones in sobriety each month. Email rikki@aanoc.org with your month and date and we will add your annual birthday to our list. |
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Faithful Fivers Thank you for your August contributions of $5 to NOCCO. To join the Faithful Fivers club, go online to https://www.aanoc.org/7th-tradition. Every time you buy NOCCO a cup of coffee, an angel gets her wings! - (or something like that). Geraldine W., Faith, Kirk, Scott N., Rose W., James S., Michael V., Greg, W.D.G., Cheryle D., Cliff, Karen, Debby, Nicki, Mindy M. and our monthly Anonymous benefactor. |
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| November 2021 11/06/2021
11/13/2021
11/30/2021
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December 2021 Date to Be Confirmed Ugly Christmas Sweater Comedy Night hosted by NOCCO Please check the www.aanoc.org website regularly for more upcoming events. |
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| In Loving Memory of Al & Beverly VanTubbergen |
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Aaaaaaaalcoholic, Al V, was a powerful carrier of the message of sobriety. Al had been on hospice care for kidney failure. He passed away on September 21, 2021 with all the blessings of over 40 years of continuous sobriety. Beverly, his loving wife, followed her beloved husband in death 15 hours later. She passed away on September 21, 2021 as well with almost 5 years of sobriety. At this time, we are not aware of any services that have been scheduled in memory of the VanTubbergen’s. However, if you would like additional information, please email bevandalinfo@gmail.com. |
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| 2022 Women's Banquet Brunch Sunday, March 12, 2022 Tickets on Sale NOW Email nocaawomensbanquet@gmail.com for tickets Tickets and tables also available for sale at NOCCO (714) 773-4357 |
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Donations Needed The Women's Banquet Brunch is also a platform for our annual raffle fundraiser. All proceeds are used to cover the cost of tickets donated for women in recovery who would be unable to attend the banquet without our sponsorships. Proceeds also go to the North Orange County Central Office who provides 24-hour telephone service, 7 days a week, meeting information, supplies literature and other meeting aids to local AA groups. We greatly appreciate your generous donation to help with raffle prizes/sponsorship tickets for our event. Your donation is tax deductible. If you would like to donate a themed basket, gift cards, specialty items or more, please contact Jennifer P. (714) 882-9059 or Tammy D. (714) 412-5049.
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Do you have something special to report for our monthly neighborhood notables? Please email birthdays, celebrations, sober activities and other odds and ends to rikki@aanoc.org. |
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| InterGroup Meeting - Oct 13 @7:30pm Please join us at the next NOCCO InterGroup Meeting. InterGroup Meetings are held the 2nd Wednesday of each month at 7:30 pm. |
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| Group Contributions - September 2021 To help support local essential services, the General Service Conference suggests that individual groups, through an informed group conscience, adopt a specific contribution plan. Click below to see all of the Group Contributions from last month. |
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| NOCCO Profit & Loss - September2021 Each month, NOCCO provides accounting detail of income and expenses to indicate net profit or loss over the last month. This information is available to any group or member. Click below to see the financial detail from last month. |
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NOCCO Appreciates Your 7th Tradition Support Even though meetings, 12-step services and operations have shifted to a hybrid environment, expenses continue as we navigate the re-opening of meetings, 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. |
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General Service Announcements www.aa.org |
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Follow Grapevine and LaViña on Instagram |
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| NEW! The Grapevine Half-Hour Variety Hour Each week Don and Sam will interview a different member about their experience, strength and hope, in a casual "meeting after the meeting" manner. Special features will enhance each episode.
A new podcase episode will be available in English every Monday |
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Archives The Archives staff continues to receive many research inquires that include requests for assistance to prepare presentations at local service events, requests for various items available from the Archives, requests for historic background on the development of service entities and A.A. history in general. The department is currently assisting South Africa is celebrating 75 years and the local members are putting together a series of events to commemorate the Jubilee celebration starting this month. |
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Return to the Workplace The full return to the workplace, with some work from home eligibility, is set to begin October 1, 2021. The Human Resources department collaborated with the senior leadership team to assess job roles for eligibility to work from home 1-3 days per week and qualifying employees were notified of their eligibility. |
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Name That Theme: 2025 Int'l Convention Time seems to fly so quickly, yet there is so much to look forward to especially as we begin to imagine themes for the 2025 International Convention celebration of A.A.'s 90th Anniversary in Vancouver, B.C., on July 3-6, 2025. Your creative ideas are vital and will be presented to and selected by the Trustee's International Conventions/Regional Forums Committee. With the October 15, 2021 deadline right around the corner, we ask you for quickly forward your ideas. Send you ideas to the International Conventions Assignment, P.O. Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163, or email 2025ictheme@aa.org. See you in Vancouver! |
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A.A. Service Manual 2021-2023 The Publishing department is proceeding with the production of the newly redesigned, revised and updated "A.A. Service Manual". Current projections for the online PDF to be available on November 5, 2021 and the print version on November 26, 2021. This book will only be in the 8-1/2" x 11" size, not in large print. This new edition has color and graphics. |
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What's Coming in October - New recordings of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous in English, French and Spanish in CD sets
- Our Great Responsibility will be released in eBook form in English, French and Spanish
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Save The Date A Virtual Pan Continental Special Forum will be held on December 11, 2021, also Bill W's AA birthday). More information will be forthcoming from the Regional Forums Assignment Desk. |
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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. |
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Thanks to all contributors who support NOCCO. |
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© Copyright, 2024, North Orange County InterGroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous Groups, Inc. • 1661 E. Chapman Avenue - Suite 1H, Fullerton CA 92831 |
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