Sobriety in Stumptown www.pdxaa.org Portland Area Intergroup October 2016 newsletter@pdxaa.org 825 NE 20th Ave, Portland, OR Volume 9, No. 10 503-223-8569 News & Events The Three Legacies Speaker Meeting Get ready for another Intergroup speaker meeting! The Three Legacies Speaker Meeting will be on October 22, 2016. There will be speakers and information tables to showcase the work that Portland Area Intergroup does. This is a great way to connect with PAI s committees and find out what they do! Representatives from AA Hotline, Public Information, Cooperation with the Professional Community, Treatment Facilities, Bridging the Gap and AA in Correctional Facilities will be there to answer your questions. October s speaker is Marty J. of Richmond, B.C. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. Meeting starts at 7. If you have questions, please call 503-223-8569. October 22, 2016 - Eastridge Church - 14100 SE Sunnyside Rd, Portland Step Maniacs Workshop Please join us for a Big Book Workshop featuring Katie and Charlie Parker from Austin, TX, on November 4 th through the 5th (Friday 6-9pm, Saturday 9-6), at Mountainview Christian Church in Gresham, OR. Pre-registration is $30 ($40 at the door); snacks, beverages, breakfast and lunch provided. Registration contact: Kate Connolly-Fairchild, (503) 481-2193 kateconnfair@gmail.com Facebook: Step Maniacs November 4-5, 2016 Mountainview Christian Church, 1890 Ne Cleveland Ave, Gresham, OR October Stories and Art 1
by Eric K., Sobriety in Stumptown Editor This month s newsletter submissions are focused on the Tenth step, and we also have a new section for art, which was inspired by the Big Book and the meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. Step 10 is the beginning of the so-called maintenance steps; where we re continuing the process of self-searching and an honest appraisal of our actions throughout the day. For me, this step is intertwined with 11 and 12, as I continue to examine my daily actions so that I can continue to grow my relationship with my Higher Power, and be of maximum service to my fellow alcoholic brothers and sisters, and the other people that I interact with on a daily basis. By staying vigilant and examining my motives and the resulting actions, I can see where I was acting selfishly, and where I was being of maximum service. by Mike B. from Portland, OR I really appreciate the tenth step at this stage of my sobriety. Of all the arrows in my quiver, it's the one I reach for most often. The earlier steps helped me get in the door and build the basis of my sobriety, but step ten helps me keep it real on a daily basis. There's always room for growth, improvement, learning more. Step ten helps keep me focused on goals, keeps me on the path. It also keeps me humble. Someone wiser than me said, "Being humble doesn't mean thinking less of yourself, it means thinking of yourself less. by Riley S, Portland, OR I switched sponsors before I got a year, and one of the reasons I picked my current sponsor is because he did a solid year of written 10th steps. When I started working with him, we began doing a daily informal 10th step. We d talk on the phone each night and he d ask me if I lied which I did a lot or if I d gotten upset. We did that up until I got to the 10th step and was able to transfer that discipline over to paper. Now I do a nightly 10th step, where I write out if I ve been self-centered, fearful, resentful, or dishonest. I then go through the hiccups and review how I could have behaved differently, or trusted in my higher power a little bit more. I also go through the things I did well: instances of other-centeredness, tough spots where I was able to stay honest, or sometimes I just give myself credit for cooking a good meal and staying sober another day. I also take the 12 and 12 to heart where it mentions the four different inventories available to us: the inventory we take in the moment that we find ourselves upset, the nightly inventory, the since the last time inventory we do each time we meet with our sponsor, and then the annual or 2
bi-annual 4th step style inventory. In the weekly inventory I do with my sponsor we go over the things in my lifestyle, at work, with family, and in my program that I did well or need to work on. It sounds like a lot of work but it s really pretty easy. It helps me keep perspective on my sobriety. Sometimes I freak out and think I m not doing enough or doing everything wrong, but when I see the week on paper I realize I m doing just fine. Anyways, that s about all I ve got for now. I m actually supposed to be working on a 4th step which conveniently doubles as that annual or biannual house cleaning. So that s pretty convenient. I think I ll get going on that. Art by Kari F, Portland, OR Monthly Business Meetings For details about monthly business meetings, contact the PAI Office at 503-223-8569. Or send your questions or concerns to: 1212@pdxaa.org 3
Portland Area Intergroup (PAI): Business Meeting, 2 nd Monday of every month, 7:00 PM, 4524 SE Stark St. (Unity of Portland), Portland. Portland Deaf Access Committee: Monthly, 2nd Sunday of every month, 6:30, The Alano Club, NW 24th & Kearney. Dist 9: 1 st Wed, 6:30 PM, 24 th and Kearney, Portland Dist 10: Last Mon, 7:00 PM, 12945 Beaverdam Rd., West Side Service Cntr, Beaverton Dist 11: Last Thu, 7:00 PM, URS Club, Portland Dist 12: 1 st Tue, 6:30 PM, 12x12 Club, 7035 NE Glisan, Portland Dist 15: 1 st Wed, 6:45 PM, 710 6 th St., Oregon City Dist 18: 1 st Sat, 9:30 AM, 215 N 6 th St., St. Helens Dist 23: 1 st Tue, 6:00 PM, Emmanuel Presbyterian, 19200 SW Willamette Dr., West Linn Dist 24: 1 st Thu, 6:00 PM, 5441 SE Belmont St., Portland Dist 25: 4 th Tue, 5:30 PM, Immanuel Lutheran Church, 39901 Pleasant Street, Sandy, OR Dist 26: 2 nd Sun, 5:00 PM, St Charles Church, 5310 NE 42 nd Ave., Portland Dist 27: 1 st Mon, 7:00 PM, 11631 SE Linwood Ave., St. Paul s Methodist, Milwaukie Dist 31: 2 nd Tue, 7:00 PM, 937 NE Jackson School Rd., Hillsboro Dist 34: 3 rd Sat, 5:00 PM, 485 Portland Ave., Gladstone Dist 35: 2 nd & 4 th Sat, 7:00 PM, 18926 SW Shaw St., Suite A, Beaverton Dist 36: 2 nd Thu, 6:00 PM, 2025 SW Vermont St., Portland Dist 37: 2 nd Tue, 6:30 PM, 29775 SW Town Center Loop East, Wilsonville Committee News We have several committee positions available. Portland Area Intergroup needs your help. Working on a committee is excellent 12th Step service work. If you are interested in being on any Portland Area Intergroup committee, send an email to pdxaa.org with "COMMITTEE INTEREST" in the subject field. Or, just click on Service on the Intergroup website. Intergroup committees carry the message of recovery to the still-suffering alcoholic. Please help yourself and others. Sign up. Thank you. Bridging the Gap (BTG): provides a one-time temporary contact for people transitioning from a treatment center to AA meetings. BTG meets the second Monday of each month at 6:30 PM at the Portland Intergroup Office basement, located at 825 NE 20th Ave, Suite 200, Portland. "We Bridge the Gap so alcoholics leaving treatment don't have to walk alone across that scary gap between the beginning of recovery in treatment and the continued recovery in AA. Please contact the PAI office via phone, 503-223-8569, or email 1212@pdxaa.org, if you are interested. AA Hotline: The AA Hotline keeps the Portland phone number for AA active 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The way this is accomplished is by volunteer support. Calls to the AA number placed after Central Office hours and redirected to volunteers phones, keeping the volunteer s number anonymous. A volunteer can elect to go on a 12th Step call or just provide the information the caller needs about meetings. Commitments are generally two times a month. In particular, if you re a night-owl, we d really appreciate your help. Call the Central Office for more information at 503-223-8569. Newsletter (Sobriety in Stumptown): The committee for the very publication you are now 4
reading is looking for members. Send an email of interest to: newsletter@pdxaa.org Events: The Events Committee needs committee members. Send an email to Events@pdxaa.org for more information. Get Published! If you have AA news, a meeting change, a big event, a story, a painting, a poem, or just a rant, Sobriety in Stumptown wants to hear it! Send articles of 1000 words or fewer to: newsletter@pdxaa.org Deadline for the November issue: November 1st. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it. Tradition Ten Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy. Serenity Prayer God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. -Reprinted with permission of AA World Services, Inc. 5