Hello, everyone, my name is ____________, and I am an alcoholic.

Welcome to the "Feed me Seymour" 6 o'clock ct newcomers meeting of alcholics anonymous.

Let’s start with a moment of silence to reflect on why we are here followed by the Serenity Prayer.

(Pause for 30 seconds before the prayer)

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference."

AA Preamble: AA Preamble (PDF):

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength,
and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem
and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

There are no dues or fees for AA membership;
we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution;
does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

This is an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous and we are so glad you are all here - especially newcomers.
Remember, a burden shared is halved and a joy shared is doubled.
In this meeting we do not sign court slips, nor do we participate in chip or literature mailings
or receive any financial contributions. Our apologies, staffing issues for now.
Please if you wish to contribute to the cause financially make a monthly,yearly contribution direct to the organization.
In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that

“The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking,”

we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol.

If you’re all about carrying the message and not the mess then you’re in the right place!
Share your experience, strength and hope on the Topic in a GENERAL way.
For more personal and deep-seated issues, please get a sponsor to talk to or call your current sponsor.

AA Safety Card (Yellow card)

We have 3-minute shares and ask that you share your experience, strength and hope on the Topics.

Alcoholism centers in the mind but the obsession can be removed through the 12 Steps.
Have a sense of urgency as it is a matter of life and death.

The purpose of the Big Book Study meeting is to arm you with the facts about alcoholism, yourself and the AA program.
FREEDOM FROM ALCOHOL comes thru taking the 12 steps and working with others.
Page 15 of the 12&12 says that “AA’s Twelve Steps are a group of principles, spiritual in their nature,
which, if practiced as a way of life, can expel the obsession to drink and enable the sufferer to become happily and usefully whole.”

How soon do you want to be Happy, Joyous, and Free?

We suggest that you purchase a copy of the Big Book for future use. You will want to underline, highlight and write notes.
Please order your AA literature directly from AA so that the money goes to Alcoholics Anonymous.
Links are available if you will ask after the meeting or send host/co-host a pm when chat opens.
We will get them to you.

Please read the Big Book on your own and look up the definition of all the words you are not familiar with.
There are tons of AA Conference-approved and non Conference- approved books available to help you get a better understanding of our Big Book.
You can read the Big Book as much as you want but our group guarantees you that it will make much more sense to you
when you start working with other people and reading and discussing the Big Book with them.
And working this book with a sponsor will help you understand it even more.

The Big Book is our basic text and contains the full recipe for recovery.
It is impossible to find a loophole in the Big Book that excludes you from being a member of AA.
The Big Book is our basic text and contains the full recipe for recovery.
It is impossible to find a loophole in the Big Book that excludes you from being a member of AA.

Before we start the reading I’d like to give you a few facts about our Big Book.
You may want to remember the answers to these questions. Do you know why we in AA call our basic text the Big Book?
The printer was asked to use the thickest paper he had in stock so it was originally a bigger, thicker book. Do you know when the Big Book was published?
April of 1939 Do you know how much money people were actually paying for the Big Book when it was first printed?
$3.50 in 1939 which is over $60 today (thankfully the Big Book is only about $10 from the AA literature store)
How long did it take to write the Big Book?
Bill started seriously writing the Big Book in the Summer of 1938 and it was published in April of 1939.
How many people wrote the Big Book?
Bill Wilson wrote every chapter of the first 164 pages of the Big Book except “To the Employer” which was written by Hank Parkhurst.
Was the Big Book named after Alcoholics Anonymous?
The AA movement got its name from the title of the book Alcoholics Anonymous. Where is the best place to hide a $100 bill from a still drinking alcoholic? In the Big Book.

We will reserve time at the end of the meeting for general shares, so please try to share during this portion of time on the specific reading-thank you!

Start reading from the Big Book
“Today we are on page _______”
BEGIN SCREENSHARE: AA Big Book PDF
**Stop every few paragraphs for shares. The room is open for discussion now. You can lead with a 10 minute share or ask if a member would like to share for 10 minutes and roll on with meeting share when or wherever you want to. After first share keep shares to 3 minutes.

Closing This ends the sharing portion of our meeting but we always have time for a burning desire which is a desire to drink. This is not a time for another share but if you have that burning desire to drink, please raise your virtual hand or throw a reaction in your square so we can identify you and ensure that we speak with you during fellowship as you are in the right spot. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. Please respect this and treat in confidence who you see here and what you hear here let it stay here when you leave here! Here here. Hosts choice,members choice, call out. Before we close this Big Book study, I’d like to read a Vision for You from the Big Book on page 164: “Our book is meant to be suggestive only. We realize we know only a little. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come, if your own house is in order. But obviously 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. This is the Great Fact for us. Abandon yourself to God as you understand God. Admit your faults to Him and to your fellows. Clear away the wreckage of your past. Give freely of what you find and join us. We shall be with you in the Fellowship of the Spirit, and you will surely meet some of us as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny. May God bless you and keep you until then.”