NOCCO: Anonymous Times Newsletter - August 2021 Issue

Newsletter Archive

Volume 21 | Issue 08         Web version

Photographic_Print__Two_Hands_Making_a_Heart_Shape_in_the_Sky_Cross_Processed_by_graphicphoto___16x16in

  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 


August 2021 Issue


images_5

STEP EIGHT

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.


TRADITION EIGHT

Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers. 


PRINCIPLE EIGHT

Brotherly Love (Forgiveness)

images_3_7805f63f

CONCEPT EIGHT

The trustees are the principal planners and administrators of over-all policy and finance. They have custodial oversight of the separately incorporated and constantly active services, exercising this through their ability to elect all the directors of these entities.


EIGHTH STEP PRAYER

Higher Power, I ask Your help in making my list of all those I have harmed. I will take responsibility for my mistakes and be forgiving to others as You have been forgiving to me. Grant me the willingness to begin my restitution.


bigstock-Silhouette-Of-Man-Pray-On-Duri-424185050

Becoming Willing

When you become "willing" to make the amends necessary, you don't actually have to "do" anything in the way of amends just yet. But you do have to be honest with yourself.

Making a list of the persons you have harmed requires you to examine and face your behaviors without making excuses for them.

As you continue to compile your list, ask yourself the following questions:

  • Were you kind, tolerant, and considerate of others?
  • Were you mean spirited, impatient, and selfish? 
  • What were your motives when dealing with family members, friends, and co-workers?
  • Were you only concerned with getting what you wanted and not with what was right?
  • Did you pour out self-pity on those from whom you thought you could extract sympathy?

By asking yourself these questions, you will be able to form a more complete list of those to whom you can make amends now or in the future.

Like each of the 12 steps, step 8 takes commitment as you journey toward lasting recovery. Step 8 forms the base for all future relationships with ourselves and others; if we can let go of our previous hurts to others, we can begin a new facet of sobriety.

ignatiabob

FUN FACTS FOR AUGUST

08/05/1940:  The Christian Herald reviews the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. "There is a book on alcohol you should read...The unnamed alcoholics write their own stories, and those stories are dynamite."

08/08/1879:  AA's cofounder Dr. Bob is born in St. Johnsbury, VT.

08/11/1938:  First meeting of the Alcoholic Foundation.

08/16/1939:  Dr. Bob and Sr. Ignatia admit the first of over 5,000 drunks they will treat at St. Thomas Hospital in Akron, OH over the next 10 years.

08/28/1954:  24 Hours a Day is published by Richard W.


images_32

THE KEYS TO YOUR CELL

By: Tony B.

The July addition of the Grapevine was "The Annual Prison" Issue. I have thought a lot about how this pertains to me and my alcoholism. I have been in jail – a couple of overnight visits. Quite a detestable experience. The only way I could get out of this mess I’d made for myself was to wait for someone to release me. They had to provide, at the right time, not mine, the key.

I believe if we’re looking, searching for answers, if we are behind the bars in our life (alcohol addiction) and looking for a key, the key, any key, they are available.

The keys come in many forms. Words, an analogy, or metaphor can be revelatory. I have found those keys coming from my sponsor, the Bible, in the Big Book, in meetings of AA or Celebrate Recovery. I have found word keys for my various defects (jail cells) in all these options.

From my sponsor: I’ve had numerous meetings where his words were able to give me direction, joy, and release. The program directs us to find, pray for, seek a person with same sex, significant sobriety, experience with the many jail cells where we’ve been or are incarcerated!

From the Bible: “and a brother(sister) is born for adversity”. Proverbs 17:17 My friends are for me. I like the thought that when I really feel I’m in trouble, I can use the phone or drive and meet my sponsor and/or my accountability group of men. They seriously want to help me and I, them. These men have the keys to set me free!

b2528bf994f53e333aff2628536f4096_1

NOCCO By Laws - Full Document

Election Results:  2021/2022 NOCCO Service Board

Wes M.* - Chairman of the Board

Mark E. - Alternate Chairman

Cheryle D. - Treasurer

Christina W. - Secretary

Randy L.* - Outreach Committee

Paul S.* - Outreach Committee

Don H. - Events Committee

Scott N.* (alternate) - Events Committee

* Live email links embedded as permitted by NOCCO Service Board members


pickle

Common Elements of AA Slogans

______

These 3 things are actually very much in line with AA’s fundamental principles.

____

The first is a belief in a Higher Power to help you.

____

Slogans also emphasize how important it is to take the first step and know that it is the correct one.

____

AA slogans motivate you to constantly hang in there and not let your efforts go to waste.

AA’S THIS’ & THAT’S:
By: Marie W.
If you have spent any time in AA going to meetings or talking to someone in the program, you have most likely heard some of the following AA “isms.” An “ism” is a short saying that carries a message. We in AA have a rich collection of “isms” that are referred to quite often.
Listed below are just some of the “isms” I have heard.  Test yourself to see how many you know.
These are in no particular order:
  • Don’t quit before the miracle happens.
  • One Day at a Time.
  • Where two or more are gathered: there is a meeting.
  • Stinking thinking.
  • Don’t take someone’s inventory.
  • Have you asked your Higher Power for help?
  • Work an HONEST program.
  • There go I but for the grace of God.
  • 90 meetings in 90 days.
  • Keep coming back! It works if you work it!
  • There are no coincidence’s AA.
  • You have to give it away, to keep it
  • You are a miracle.
These are just some of the many “isms” we talk about in AA. How many more do you know?  Here is my very last “ism” for this article...
Did you know we all start out being “cucumbers?”
Once we become alcoholics: we turn into a “pickle.”
And a pickle can never go back to being a “cucumber.”
Once we admit to ourselves, we are an alcoholic,
we will always be an “alcoholic.”
A PICKLE.
What we can and do is become HAPPY- SOBER- SERENE-PICKLES.

Outreach Corner

IMG_5275
NEW - Meeting Guide - NEW
Virtual Newcomer Packet
Read Big Book Online
Read 12x12 Online
Speaker Meetings
ASL | Deaf Meetings
SoberCHAT

An Important Message from the Outreach Committee


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.

Meeting-Guide-Featured

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.

Check out your AA Meeting Listing in our Meeting Guide Here

NOCCO Hotline - (714) 773-HELP (4357)

We are available 24/7.  All calls are confidential.  Phones answered by sober volunteers.


COMING SEPT 2021

Prayer & Meditation:

AA members share the many ways they connect spiritually

PM_CVR_V3

Prayer & Meditation features powerful stories by members of Alcoholics Anonymous about the many ways they pray and meditate in their daily lives. The stories in this book show how members begin to pray and meditate and then branch out to develop very personal, and often creative, ways to practice. 

Chapters include: daily routines, traditional religious practices, activities and exercise, personal techniques,

 the Serenity Prayer, and connecting with nature and the universe. All stories were previously published in Grapevine, the International Journal of AA. Great for people in recovery or those who want to explore prayer and meditation.

$15 plus tax

 Call us at (714) 773-4357

NOCCO can ship now!


NOCCO's Neighborhood Feed

In Loving Memory

On Wednesday, June 23, 2021, Isabel H - mother, daughter, spouse and sister - passed away surrounded by loved ones.  The service was held on Saturday, July 17th at Christ Community Church in Buena Park.  Her sisters in sobriety have made contributions to NOCCO in her honor. 

August Birthdays

It works if you work it, One Day At A Time.

Jane B - 08/04/1984 - 37 years

Ed G - 08/16/85 - 36 years

Wes M - 08/24/86 - 35 years

Rick S - 08/06/20 - 1 year

Faithful Fivers

Geraldine W., Faith, Kirk, Scott N., Rose W., James S., Michael V., Greg, W.D.G., Cheryle D., Cliff, Karen, Debby, Nicki, and our monthly Anonymous benefactor.

Thank you for your 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).

Upcoming Events

20210709_234054_0000-1

September 2021

Woman to Woman Conference, San Diego CA

Kern River Valley 2021 Soberfest Campout, Kernville CA

October 2021

Miracle On The River, Lake Havasu City AZ

NOCCO Halloween Bingo Event, OC CA

December 2021

NOCCO LIVE Comedy Night, OC CA

Please check the www.aanoc.orgwebsite regularly for more activities in the coming months.

Do you have something special to report for our monthly neighborhood feed?  Please email birthdays, celebrations, sober activities and other odds and ends to rikki@aanoc.org.


AA-MEETINGS-IN-BANGALORE

InterGroup Meeting - Aug 12 @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.  

Click Here to Join the InterGroup Meeting on August 12

Group_contributions

Group Contributions - July 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.

Click for Group Contribution Report

Profit-and-Loss-1024x853-1024x853

NOCCO Profit & Loss - July 2021

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.

Click for Profit & Loss Report

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.

PayPal or Credit Card
Venmo: @nocco-aa

AA_Logo-removebg-preview

Area Delegates

Mid Southern California Area 09 of Alcoholics Anonymous

Ed L.

delegate@msca09aa.org

www.msca09aa.org

_____

Southern California Area 05 of Alcoholics Anonymous

Lauren A.

delegate@area05aa.org

www.area05aa.org

_____

Central California Area 93 of Alcoholics Anonymous

Karla Y.

delegate@area93.org

www.area93.org

AA GSO Staff Opening

Applications are once again being sought for a G.S.O. Staff Member. G.S.O. Staff are members of Alcoholics Anonymous who rotate through the various assignments such as Corrections, Public Information, Cooperation with the Professional Community, Literature, Conference, etc. They also correspond with A.A.s on all aspects of recovery and service. Additionally, they represent the General Service Office at A.A. functions throughout the U.S. and Canada and provide the primary staff support for the General Service Board and the annual General Service Conference.

The resume and application are due by September 21, 2021 to be considered by the Nominating Committee.

Read More Here

New Grapevine Publisher

Dear friends and Fellowship,
The Board of AA Grapevine, Inc. is fortunate to announce that Chris C. has accepted the role of Publisher at AA Grapevine, Inc. effective August 15th of 2021.
Please click on the button below to read the complete announcement from the Chairman of the Board.
Read More Here

Follow Grapevine and LaViña on Instagram

To  follow us on Instagram, use these addresses:
@alcoholicsanonymous_gv
@alcoholicsanonymous_lv

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.


Thanks to all contributors who support NOCCO.  

© Copyright, 2024, North Orange County InterGroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous Groups, Inc. • 1661 E. Chapman Avenue - Suite 1H, Fullerton CA 92831

Unsubscribe

Sent via

SendPulse