Dear friends in service…as the AHCAB is very busy with weekly meetings trying to get a Recommendation to the Area Assembly (not a motion, yet) I’m taking this opportunity to talk Traditions and how we have leaned into them over the last year. Whatever success may come from our efforts, the Traditions are our guideposts.
Tradition One: Unity. The December 2019 Area Assembly where we voted to keep the books was a contentious one. The motion passed by one vote. It has been our guiding principle to attempt to unify our Area through this work. WHO, Willingness, Honesty and Open-mindedness are principles which open every meeting. We honor the work of the previous committee, listen and test new ideas and pray for vision.
Tradition Two: God Directed. In all our deliberations formal and otherwise as a group we rely on prayer to guide us. Our work hasn’t been easy, but the loving God of A.A. has taken us a long way down the road.
Tradition Three: Inclusiveness. We recognize that not all who identify as alcoholics attend AA meetings. In fact, these are the people we are most concerned about. The 6000 books are likely life rafts for those still at sea.
Tradition Four: Autonomy. We as a committee cannot direct members of the Area on what to do about the Books, however, we do have a responsibility to make a clear and comprehensive recommendation and eventual motion for their distribution. We are also responsible to A.A. at large that our work not cast a negative eye on A.A. We may in fact be setting an example of Tradition in action for others to learn from.
Tradition Five: Primary Purpose. The alcoholic who still suffers is and always will be the primary focus of our work.
Tradition Seven: Self Support. We wrestled with this one. Since the books came from the outside world, purchased by a non-A.A. entity, MDC, we feel it is best that they return to the outside world. Our members and groups can purchase new books from A.A. directly. In fact purchasing literature is an important contribution to A.A.’s overall welfare. The MDC books are not part of this commitment to self-support.
Tradition Nine: Spiritual Simplicity. We recognize that A.A. is a “bottom up” organization. We who serve the groups literally do that. It is our job to facilitate the groups’ efforts not the other way around.
Tradition Twelve: Anonymity. We at AHCAB are here to serve the Area and pray that our work expresses our mutual love for A.A., and the alcoholic who still suffers. We pray that our actions are always beyond personal ambition and for the good
of the whole.
-Kristina F.