[Businessmtg] Service in ASP & Al-Anon in general

[steve at serenitysys.com]

Hi folks,

 

It is difficult to overstate the importance of service in Al-Anon.  For
starters, without people willing to serve, meetings simply do not exist.
This is true for face-to-face meetings, and it's true for ASP.  

*	Face-to-face meetings need someone to take responsibility for the
key to open the facility for the meeting.  ASP needs a List Administrator to
take the overall responsibility for managing the server and related tasks.
*	Face-to-face meetings need someone to chair the day's meeting.  ASP
needs Daily Chairs to do the same.
*	Face-to-face meetings need someone to take responsibility for
managing group funds, pay the rent, pay for literature, reimburse the Group
Rep for their travel expenses, and donate excess funds to their district,
area and WSO.  ASP needs a Treasurer for all of the same reasons.
*	Face-to-face meetings need someone to serve as the Group
Representative who will attend local district meetings with other GRs, as
well as Area Assemblies.  After decades of forced limbo in the closet, ASP
and other electronic meetings are now represented with GRs, DRs and a
Delegate, just like the face-to-face meetings.  

 

Without these people giving to our group, our meetings would not exist.  It
is truly that simple.  

 

The flip side is that serving the group gives back much more than just
keeping the group alive.  Al-Anon service gives the member opportunities to
be responsible in ways that are clearly Al-Anon, without the outside
pressures and interferences that make life messy.  In other words, service
provides us with opportunities to practice our program in an environment
that is safe and productive.  

 

Just like the folks in AA, we don't graduate from Al-Anon.  My wife got
sober in AA in September 1982; she still goes to face-to-face AA meetings
most days of the week.  I got to Al-Anon six months later, and I still go to
two face-to-face meetings a week; the only meetings within spittin'
distance.  The next closest meeting is in Wyoming.  The point is that we
don't graduate from our programs.  

 

Likewise, we don't graduate from our need to serve the fellowship.  It is
common for members serving in the face-to-face fellowship to rotate through
the various chairs.  For example, a member may start out serving their
district or area as a coordinator, then as the Secretary, then Chair, then
Alternate Delegate, and then Delegate.  For reasons I do not understand,
members serving ASP tend to treat it as one and done.  WE do have a handful
of obvious exceptions, such as Anne, Jerry & myself.  

 

ASP's Founding Policy #7 states: "Dominance is a constant threat to any
Al-Anon meeting. No one person may hold more than one service job at a time
or hold consecutive terms at A Serenity Place."  When I look at the list of
members in this Business Meeting, I see at least 1/3 that are eligible to
serve on the Steering Committee, including several that have served before.


 

Lastly, I'd like to add that expertise and knowhow are not requirements for
service in Al-Anon.  In fact, expertise can sometimes get in the way.  

 

Whether you're new around here, or you've been around the block more than
once, we'd love to see you get involved in serving ASP.  For those that are
new, we have two paths to get you started; one is serving as a Greeter for
new members, the other is serving as a Daily Chair of our recovery meetings.
Send a note to the Steering Committee if you're interested.  For those that
have already done some service for ASP, we invite you to submit a resume to
the Steering Committee.  Resumes can be found at
https://asp-afg.org/members/resume/ and the Steering Committee address is
steering_committee at asp-afg.org <mailto:steering_committee at asp-afg.org> .  

 

Love and SERENITY,

Steve