A long history of A.A. experience has shown that attending meetings regularly is critical. One of the more “slippery” places in the journey to sobriety is between the door of a treatment facility or institution and the nearest A.A. group or meeting.
In order to bridge the gap, A.A. members have volunteered to be temporary contacts and introduce newcomers to Alcoholics Anonymous.
It is suggested that the temporary contact take the newcomer to a variety of A.A. meetings, introduce the newcomer to other members of A.A., insure that he or she has the phone numbers of several A.A. members, and share the experience of sponsorship and a home group.
Bridge Street Drunks Only in Visalia is a large group which now has 19 meetings. Their newest addition is 6:00 PM on Sundays, as they add a Joe and Charlie Big Book study. Joe McQuany and Charlie Parmley used to travel all over presenting workshops on the Big Book. They met in 1973 and spent the next three decades spreading their interpretation of the Big Book, until Joe died in 2007 (Charlie died in 2011). Their workshops were funny and insightful. Check out Bridge Street Drunks Only on Sundays at 6:00 PM to learn more.
Did you know that the NCCAA Conference has been around longer than the General Service Conference held in New York? Bill Wilson was inspired to create the General Service Conference after seeing the NCCAA conference. The Northern California Council of Alcoholics Anonymous (NCCAA) is holding their Autumn2023 Conference in Fresno this year. Pre-registration gets you discounts on costs and helps the organizers know how many people will attend.
The discount for the hotel ends September 28 – ten days from now, and the discount for the conference registration ends October 1st, thirteen days from now.
Please see the link above for all the activites at the conference.
The 19th Annual Men’s Spiritual Retreat will be held in Three Rivers at Saint Anthony’s Retreat on December 1st through 3rd. It’s practically in our backyard!
The 36th Annual Serenity In The Sierras conference will be in Oakhurst (east of Fresno) October 20, 21, and 22. There will be seven speakers, dinner and breakfast, dancing, karaoke and a raffle. Registration costs vary from $20 for only the conference, up to $94 including all meals, ice cream, a tee-shirt and a mug.
Are you a young person, or young at heart? Would you like to join other like-minded people? Join us! Starting this Wednesday, August 9th, 2023 at 5:30 PM, a new meeting for young people and people young at heart begins. It’s a candlelight meeting, in the basement at St. Paul Episcopal Church in Visalia.