[Businessmtg] Pittsburgh Convention

[Steve Rankin]

"Any two or more relatives or friends of alcoholics who meet to solve their
common problem may call themselves an Al-Anon group, provided they have no
other affiliation as a group."

So, are we an Al-Anon group or not?

My f2f home group is certainly an Al-Anon group.  My District is an Al-Anon
group.  The Literature Distribution Center is an Al-Anon group.  The Area is
an Al-Anon group.  All of them are registered as Al-Anon groups with WSO.

Every Al-Anon group has the right to send a GR to the Area Assembly to vote
for a Delegate to send to the World Service Conference.  OK.  Since the Area
is an Al-Anon group, I guess that means that the Area can elect a GR to send
to the Area Assembly . . . Do you see the crazy loop I see?  

How is it that is NOT a problem, yet calling an online meeting a "group" IS
a problem?  

IMHO, the online meetings meet ALL of the requirements to be an Al-Anon
group.  Our online meeting (ASP) is certainly as much of an Al-Anon group as
my f2f home group.  If not, I'd like someone to explain to me what we do not
do during our ASP meetings that my home group does.

So, the FACT is that ASP is an Al-Anon group in every way according to our
Traditions.  What is also a fact, is that WSO has created an exception to
the Traditions to use in the case of the online meetings.  In their
exception, THEY call us "online meetings" instead of Al-Anon Groups.

Isn't it interesting how WSO can make exceptions to the Traditions in the
name of Al-Anon and everyone thinks nothing of it, yet we frown on groups
that make exceptions to the Traditions?

ASP has a long practice of being as much like a f2f meeting as we possibly
can.  We have never set any limitations or boundaries to how well we could
do that.  So, it seems to me that when ASP finds another way to be more like
a f2f meeting that we should do that as best we can.  We can't expect
perfection, but we can continue to make progress.

In this case, the question is about having someone in ASP attend an Al-Anon
International Convention.  This is not a common occurrence.  It only happens
once every five years.  Well, it doesn't even happen that often.  This will
be the third time in my 25 years.  Who knows, there may not be a fourth
time.

The f2f meetings can send their GR's to District meetings & Area Assemblies
as well as Intergroup Reps to Intergroup meetings.  WSO eliminated those
with a bureaucratic stroke of the pen.  They said we're not a group, so poof
goes the GR.  They said there's no such thing as an online Intergroup (even
though WSO was VERY willing to accept their money), so poof goes the
Intergroup Rep.  What's left?  

If the idea that this is a FUN convention and not a conference where
business is done, then why are we paying for WSO staff to attend?  Why is
the fellowship underwriting the cost of a 'fun' convention?  Yes, if the
convention loses money, the fellowship will pay for that too.  If you don't
think that can happen, guess again.  As I recall the AA fellowship about $1
million in San Diego in 1990.  

The question is NOT about whether we have the money or not.  The question is
whether sending someone to the International is the right thing to do or
not.  If we were in a f2f meeting, would the amount of money in the treasury
be a determining factor in whether we should send the GR to the Assembly?
Of course not.  We might not have enough money to pay the GR's full expenses
as we'd like to, but the question of it being the right or wrong thing to do
would not be about the money.  

IMHO, there are two ways to look at this: 

1.  We are an Al-Anon group in every sense of the word, and as such we will
do the very best we can to participate as fully as we can in the Al-Anon
fellowship and service structure.  

2.  We are not an Al-Anon group and we have no right to participate in any
of the fellowship and service structure because we are merely a meeting.  

Thanks for listening.

Love and SERENITY,
Steve