of AA.
After a few minutes, a member of the group interrupted the man—rather gruffly everyone later agreed—and told him that this was an AA meeting and that we really didn’t want to hear about the Bible, and he asked him to sit down. The room heaved a silent and collective sigh of relief. Thank goodness someone had thought more of the group, thought more of our common welfare than of his own ego, and had the courage to speak up. There were a few seconds of awkward silence before the chairperson quickly called on someone else and the meeting got back on its normal footing.
Naturally, this incident was a topic of much discussion at the next home group meeting. It provided the basis for a lengthy discussion about Tradition One and how we could deal with disruptive people in the future. We all worried that telling someone that their sharing wasn’t appropriate might jeopardize their sobriety. If embarrassed they might go out and drink. Others felt strongly that the welfare of the group as a whole was more important and that we had a responsibility to the newcomer to carry the message of AA. If our group failed in our primary purpose, newcomers would not be attracted to our meetings or worse yet, would not stay.
The result of this discussion was increased unity for the group. Everyone had their say and in the end we agreed that our common welfare as a group must come first. We would do our best to lovingly explain Tradition One to anyone who disrupted the group.
To participate in God’s will through the group conscience process was a tremendous spiritual experience to me. I understood that in being a member of AA and of my home group, I was a part of something much greater than I was. For this I am truly grateful. The principle of putting AA’s welfare above my own self-interest teaches me humility and self-sacrifice. These are principles that do not come naturally to a “me-first” alcoholic. But it’s a tremendous way to live.
Anonymous
Maui, Hawaii
It Only Takes Two
July 1997
(From Dear Grapevine)
I live in a remote town here in the Yukon Territories. Watson Lake boasts a population of about 1,700 residents. Our nearest city is Whitehorse, over 280 miles away, where two-thirds of the Yukon’s population lives.
My home group has one meeting a week. Attendance is minimal. Sometimes I feel that because the same few people show up, my spirituality becomes deadened. Not often is there any new input into the group. Living in a small town doesn’t readily lend itself to change, so it’s easy to become complacent. In addition, our active involvement in AA as a whole is very restricted. Yet because I’ve decided to go to any length to stay sober, I’m always grateful for our Monday night meeting. The scarcity of our members and the lack of more meetings just makes me more aware of the true meaning of Tradition One: “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.”
The Watson Lake group started with two dedicated members who faithfully attended each week for the first year and a half. These members set a fine example for me; they are living proof that it only takes two to have a meeting.
Living here in the Yukon, which is above the national average in alcohol consumption, I feel blessed to be a member of the Monday night meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous in Watson Lake. I want to thank each and every member for my sobriety.
Susan W.
Watson Lake, Yukon Territories
Growing Pains
January 1998
The principle that “our common welfare comes first but that individual welfare follows close afterward,” as expressed in the long form of Tradition One, was brought home to me in my early sobriety.
The Kihei Morning Serenity group (KMS) on Maui began in 1982 with a Friday morning meeting at 7 A.M. Originally held in an elementary school, KMS soon moved to a small public library in a group of community buildings consisting of an open hall, a cafeteria, an office and a tiny church across the common.
When KMS moved to the library, we met around one table in a corner, penned in by books. In Maui’s young AA Fellowship, meetings of four or five people were very common and six or eight chairs usually sufficed, with a couple more available from the librarian’s office if the meeting overflowed. In just a few months, however, an influx of newcomers and a few folks who had moved to Maui, brought KMS a bigger crowd. Some mornings it was as many as 20 people. Seeing a need, we expanded to Mondays as well. Eventually we had people sitting on the sills of the open windows and on the floor between the stacks on both days.
Soon, some long-timers joined with the new arrivals in calling for a change of meeting halls to accommodate the growing throng. A couple of enterprising members spoke with the pastor of the church across the common about the use of the hall behind the church. There was some concern on the congregation’s part about overuse since meetings already met there on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday evenings. However, they decided that renting their facilities to twelve-step groups was part of their mission, and they voted to allow us use of the hall.
When this information was brought before the group at the next home group meeting, a “loving debate” ensued. The group’s conscience was finally put to a vote and everyone was in favor of moving—everyone, that is, except one lone holdout, an original member of the group. We asked him to voice his minority view, and while his reasons for staying put—he didn’t think bigger was always better and he like the ambience of the library—didn’t sway the group, he was very adamant about not moving. He said that if the group moved, he would no longer attend.
Well, this really threw the group into a dither. Some felt it was emotional blackmail, while others calmly asked, “How important is this move right now, anyway?” and still more reminded us, “We should never be in a hurry in AA.” A second group conscience was taken and we voted to remain where we were until next month’s home group meeting.
The next month’s home group meeting was a repetition of the first. We all voted to move except the holdout who again said that if we moved, he would no longer attend. We still had the dilemma of people hanging from the windows and stacked up like cordwood in the aisles of the library, but the group once again voted in favor of the individual member and decided not to move for another month.
The third monthly home group meeting arrived and once again the move was the major topic. Once again the group voted to move the meeting. But—surprise!—the opposing member didn’t raise his hand against the motion. The group wanted to know if this member would still attend the meeting when it moved. The member said he didn’t know if he would attend but he could see there was a definite need to move and he no longer objected to the group conscience.
So, after three months, we felt we had sufficient unity to make the move and we did so promptly; the former opposing member did attend meetings in the new hall. Over the years, KMS has grown in size, and now 60 to a 100 members meet Monday through Saturday.
So, I learned firsthand that each AA member is a small part of a whole, and though every individual is important, he or she is not more important than the common welfare of the group.
D. E.
Wailuku, Hawaii
TRADITION TWO
For our group purpose there is but one ultimate
