DECEMBER ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

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Pauline Young
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1 Thus started one more Journey to the asylum for Jim. Here was the threat of commitment, the loss of family and position, to say nothing of that intense mental and physical suffering which drinking always caused him. He had much knowledge about himself as an alcoholic. Yet all reasons for not drinking were easily pushed aside in favor of the foolish idea that he could take whiskey if only he mixed it with milk! ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, PG DECEMBER ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE NAME YEARS SOBRIETY DATE CELEBRATION DATE WHERE WHEN Dave S 1 12/12/ /13/2015 Came to Believe Sun / Noon Fred V 1 12/16/ /19/2015 Positive Attitude Sat / 7 PM Stephanie L 29 12/19/ /23/2015 Seaside Group Wed / Chris L 10 12/26/ /27/2015 Assateague Group Sun / Nancy P 2 12/26/ /28/2015 Happy Hour Mon / Jennie R 7 12/20/ /29/2015 Come As You Are Tues / Mike B 20 12/28/1995 1/02/2016 Positive Attitude Sat / 7 PM Please submit all anniversary information to Laura P at sobrietyin13@gmail.com by the 28 th of the preceding month of your anniversary. Include name, sobriety date, celebration date, and where & when. Thanks!!!! OCMDAA DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Page 1

With approval of the General Service Board, G.S.O New York launches a site on the World Wide Web on December 22, 1995.

A. s when is issues of list of Frequently Asked Questions for A.A. entities looking looking to set up their own Websites. Bill W.

2 With approval of the General Service Board, G.S.O New York launches a site on the World Wide Web on December 22, With a click, users can now instantaneously access information about the Fellowship in English, Spanish and French. G.S.O. s A.A. Website is constantly evolving. In spring 1998, G.S.O. New York shares the of compter-savvy A.A. s when is issues of list of Frequently Asked Questions for A.A. entities looking looking to set up their own Websites. Bill W. had been a golden boy on Wall Street, enjoying success and power as a stockbroker, but his promising career had been ruined by continuous and chronic alchoholism. Now, approaching 39 years of age, he was learning that his problem was hopeless, progressive and irreversible. He had sought medical treatment at Towns hospital in Manhattan, but he was still drinking. Bill was, at first, unconvinced by Ebby s story of transformation and the claims of the Oxford Group. But in December 1934, after again landing in Town s hospital for treatment, Bill underwent a powerful spiritual experience unlike any he had ever known. His depression and despair were lifted, and he felt free and at peace. Bill stopped drinking, and worked the rest of his life to bring that freedom and peace to other alcoholics. The roots of Alchoholics Anonymous were planted. District 32 and the Area Fellowship Intergroup meet every first Tuesday of the month at the Atlantic Club, Ocean Gateway (Route 50 Westbound),, MD The District meeting starts at 5:30 PM, followed by the Intergroup meeting at December 5 Step Four A Gift to Myself hosted by District 32, District 29 and OCMDAA Roger M to moderate! Saturday, 10:30 am 3 pm St. Peter s Lutheran Church, 103 rd Street & Coastal Hwy,, MD Lunch - $5 December 31, 2015-January 1, 2016 Alcathon Atlantic Club,,, MD There will be continuous meetings through the New Year s Holiday; starting at 2:15 PM Dec 31, till Jan 1 at 4:30 PM. (except from 9:30 PM-1:00 AM) Beverages and snacks will be provided OCAA PHONE SCHEDULE December 2015 Happy Risers**January 2016 Action Group February 2016 Fresh Air**March 2016 Happy Hour April 2016 Positive Attitude. OCMDAA DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Page 2

3 OCEAN CITY AREA FELLOWSHIP INTERGROUP CHAIR Tom B SECRETARY Bradley S ALT CHAIR Don B TREASURER Tom M GROUP INTERGROUP REPRESENTATIVE LOCATION ADDRESS DAY & TIME 164 (CLOSED) Tom M Stevenson United 123 N Main Street Action Group Bradley S Holy Savior Catholic Church 17 th & Philadelphia Friday Assateague Group Chris L Bethany United 6848 RT 611 Sunday Beginner s Big Book Joe P Atlantic Club 6:30 PM 101 Women s Big Book (CLOSED) Patricia G St. Paul s Episcopal Church 3 Church Street Saturday 9 AM Friendship VACANT Friendship United Friendship Road Came To Believe Jessica B AGH (Hospital) 9733 Healthway Drive Sunday Noon Come As You Are Jennie R Seaside Counseling & Wellness Center Suite RT 50 Ocean Gateway Center Tuesday Entirely Ready Robin D Atlantic Club Free To Be Women s Laura P Atlantic Club Fresh Air Allison K Crossway Church Community Church at Happy Hour Mark W Happy, Joyous & Free Community Church at Women s Step Study VACANT Happy Risers Jeff C Atlantic Club Joy of Living Bonnie B Atlantic Club Men s 12&12 Step Jeff S Atlantic Club All Hallows Not A Glum Lot Jerome N Episcopal Church Stevenson United Positive Attitude Rob A St Peter s Primary Purpose VACANT Lutheran Church Proud To Have Served John M Atlantic Club St Peter s Seaside Group Stephanie L Lutheran Church St Peter s Serenity Group Noraleesha W Lutheran Church RT Race Track RD Race Track RD 109 West Market Street Snow Hill 123 N Main Street Coastal Hwy Coastal Hwy Coastal Hwy Friday Tuesday Friday 10 AM M thru F / 7:30 AM S & S / 9 AM M thru F Noon M/W/F 7:30 PM Saturday 7 PM Thursday 7 PM Noon OCMDAA DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Page 3

YOUR TRUSTED SERVANTS IN MARYLAND GENERAL SERVICE DISTRICT 32 GROUP NAME or SERVICE FUNCTION SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE GROUP SERVICE NUMBER District Committee Member (DCM) Linda C 567949 Alternate DCM

4 YOUR TRUSTED SERVANTS IN MARYLAND GENERAL SERVICE DISTRICT 32 GROUP NAME or SERVICE FUNCTION SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE GROUP SERVICE NUMBER District Committee Member (DCM) Linda C Alternate DCM Noraleesha W District Secretary Diane H District Treasurer Tony D 164 Jess V Action Group Christa V / GSR Tom B / Alt GSR Assateague Group Kenny G Beginner s Big Book Lauren Z Women s Big Book Patricia G Friendship VACANT Came To Believe Tom J / GSR Edwin B / Alt GSR PENDING Come As You Are Jennie R Entirely Ready VACANT Free To Be Women s Rosemary K Fresh Air John S Happy Hour Matt P Happy, Joyous & Free Women s Step Study VACANT Happy Risers Mike M / GSR Karen L / Alt GSR Joy of Living Diane H / GSR Joann W / Alt GSR Men s 12&12 Step Study Tony D Not A Glum Lot Jerome N Positive Attitude Rob A Primary Purpose Group of North Rob W Proud To Have Served John M PENDING Seaside Group Stephanie L, Info Contact Serenity Group Rick B Step 12 Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principals in all our affairs. Now, what about the rest of the Twelfth Step? The wonderful energy it releases and the eager action by which it carries our message to the next suffering alcoholic and which finally translates the Twelve Steps into action upon all our affairs is the payoff, the magnifcent reality, of Alchoholics Anonymous. TWELVE STEPS & TWELVE TRADITIONS, P 109 OCMDAA DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Page 4

Between Noon, Dec 24 th, 1952 and Thursday, Jan 1 st, 1953, some 120,000 members of AA will have seen their dreams of a dry Christmas and their hopes of a sane New Year s come safely true.

5 Between Noon, Dec 24 th, 1952 and Thursday, Jan 1 st, 1953, some 120,000 members of AA will have seen their dreams of a dry Christmas and their hopes of a sane New Year s come safely true. It will be the 17 th Holiday season that AA has weathered, in the mutual help of fellowship. And, based on past experiences, it will be a time of many new hands knocking on AA s door. of persons whose holidays and lives have at long last proven unmanageable. Intergroups and central offices have come to know that the first week of January means the year s peak of phone calls and visits inquiry. The first Christmas for AA was the depression year of There were three old timers to mark it. hardly a dozen newcomers to share it with them. In Akron, Dr. Bob and Bill D, were going on their second six months. Four recruits had from four months to two months. In New York, Bill W had 13 months since his last drink, seven months since his historic trip to Akron and the start of A.A. In Akron, the six gathered with their families at Dr. Bob s. There was no ceremony, no exchange of presents. The Twelve Steps had not yet been formulated. The Big Book was only a vague stirring that would not even be in manuscript until three more Christmases had been achieved. But there was joy that that this most dangerous of times for the alcoholic had arrived. And 24 hours by 24 hours was being mastered. There were thanks, remembers one of the two who survives that first Akron Christmas, that we had come this far. However, I am certain that there was still considerable fear and trembling. Not fear that this new way would not work, but doubt and uncertainty that we would be able to hold on to it. We remembered our many failures and thanked God for what He had already granted us and prayed sincerely for continued success. The second Christmas was, of course, a lot more joyful and celebrated with a lot more confidence. In those first few years we stuck close together. we were helped by each other s presence, and we knew how much we needed one another. Bill W. recalls only a quiet day in New York that Yule of 1935.There were a very few and who could know that in a mere 17 years perhaps 120,000 ex-drunks could want to know what happened the first A.A. Christmas? Five years later, there was a place in New York for an A.A. Christmas party the first A.A. Clubhouse. And about the 24 th Street Club there hangs a real Santa Claus story!!! Or rather, it is a Saint Nicholas story. Just 100 years before in 1840, the building was erected at number 334 ½ West 24 th Street the property of a family named Moore who were large landowners in Manhattan Island s Chelsea section. And driving across the snow covered lawn, Dr. Clement Clark Moore began to compose (some say just as his sled runners touched what is now the meeting room of A.A. s first clubhouse!) his immortal gift to children of all ages Twas the night before Christmas. At first, the 24 th Street property was occupied by a carpenter shop, with a stable built in the west end then a tinsmithy and then a speakeasy and then a birthplace for many of those first A.A. groups that fanned out from New York while others fanned out from Akron. Again, this Christmas of 1952, A.A. s will gather in the Clubhouse, and there will be, some souls say, a twinkle just at midnight. No, not of ice cubes, they gravely assure you. No, not of glasses clinking together in a Yuletide toast. But listen carefully, they solemnly warn you listen, for at just the hour of twelve there are sleigh bells that twinkle especially over this old house where eight tiny reindeer took off from the gentle mind of a good doctor who loved Christmas and all people who can be, even for a moment, Christmas children The A.A. Grapevine Inc. December 1952 OCMDAA DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Page 5

6 Peace on Earth Our A.A. co-founder Bill W. concludes his story in the Big Book by stating on page 16, Each day my friend s simple talk in our kitchen multiplies itself in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men. Those are some phrases we may hear frequently during this holiday season, but how are they to be accomplished? For A.A. members, it s quite simple: Don t pick up the first dink, no matter what. Find a Higher Power. Get a sponsor and practice the Steps as a way of life. Attend meetings. Study A.A. literature. Serve others. Pray and meditate. Cultivate gratitude. Remain honest, open-minded, and willing. Forgive. Stay in the now. The list may be simple, but it can go on and on. And for good reason. As alcoholics, we are suffering from an incurable, progressive, chronic, and fatal disease which is cunning, baffling, powerful, and patient. Without help it is too much for us, for when we harbor feelings of resentment, self-pity, pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth or fear, we shut ourselves off from the sunlight of the Spirit, and set ourselves up for trouble. As the Big Book warns on page 66, The insanity of alcohol returns, and we drink again. And with us, to drink is to die. Bill s Tradition One essay on page 130 of the 12 & 12 expounds further on this idea: The A.A. member has to conform to the principles of recovery. His life actually depends upon obedience to spiritual principles. If he deviates too far, the penalty is sure and swift; he sickens and dies. Bill continues by explaining: At first he goes on because he must, but later he discovers a way of life he really wants to live. Moreover, he finds he cannot keep this priceless gift unless he gives it away. Neither he nor anyone else can recover unless he carries the A.A. message. So the way to experience inner peace for ourselves and to multiply that serenity in a widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men is to carry the A.A. message! This we can do one-on-one, in small casual conversations, or in more formal Step work. We can attend additional meetings, volunteer for the New Year s Eve alcathon, sign up to take meetings into the county jail, buy someone a subscription to the Grapevine, serve as a temporary contact for Bridging the Gap, or take a service position at our home group. We can give a call to the newcomer who showed up at the meeting this week. We can get involved in intergroup or general service. Our options are endless, but we must take action. We can t recover by just talking or thinking about it. So, how do YOU plan to widen the circle of peace on earth and good will to men? Even though we recover together, each one of us must work out for himself or herself the manner in which our sobriety is accomplished. Peace on earth begins with the quality of peace within us. And, as the Big Book reminds us on page 164, you cannot transmit something you haven t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. Remember that Great Fact and you can t go wrong. May each of you enjoy all the blessings that your Higher Power has to offer during this holiday season, as you carry the A.A. message and multiply our ever-widening circle of peace on earth and good will to men. Yours in love and service, Don B., Alternate Chair (outgoing) Area Fellowship Intergroup OCMDAA DECEMBER NEWSLETTER Page 6

AUGUST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS

AUGUST ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATIONS We have a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we are willing to make amends. We made it when we took inventory. We subjected ourselves to a drastic self-appraisal. Now we go out to our fellows