District 42 Newsletter

Transcription

1 District Newsletter Submissions AA Events (Round-Ups, Workshops, Anniversary Potlucks Etc.) Cakes, AA Humor, Poems Meeting Changes, Meetings that need support Announcements, Suggestions District 42 Newsletter September 2014 Surrey & North Delta PLEASE SEND ALL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE OCT NEWSLET- TER NO LATER THAN NOON ON SEPT 21 TO: Carrie freespirit6673@gmail.com OR CALL: DISTRICT 42 GSR MEETING Sept 28 Easy Does it Club 7277 King George Blvd. District Meeting 9:30am District 42 s Website: PI COMMITTEE MEETING 3rd Sunday of the month 9:30am Freedom House Ave ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS VANCOUVER INTERGROUP Phone: Kingsway Vancouver

2 Kennedy Heights - Larry N. 2 yrs - Sept 30 Tools for Sobriety - 7:30pm Fraser Glen - 8:00pm Heart to Heart - 8:00pm Trudgers - 12:00pm

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4 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? I have always thought that if I had one chance to talk with God, getting more money for me might not be the best topic to choose. But nevertheless, the guy in the crowd was ticked that he hadn t gotten his full share; and instead of taking the opportunity to go deep with God, he could only think of how deep his pockets would be if God would put the hammer to his brother. As usual, God took the opportunity to teach about the real essence of life and true riches. He replied, Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions. Which reminds me of one of my all-time favorite stories. A young investor stood looking out into the cool Gulf waters on the end of pier in a small coastal Mexican village. Having spent the last several months working hard toward gaining his securities license, he left for a few days of sun-soaked pleasure in Western Mexico. As the sun sank into the pale horizon,he a single fisherman docked his boat along the far side of the pier. The young Wall Street banker walked over to the boat and saw several large yellow fin tuna gasping for air. The young executive complimented the tanned fisherman, a wise-eyed, weathered man, on the quality of his fish and asked how long it had taken to bring in the catch. Not long at all, the fisherman replied. Well, why not stay out longer and catch more fish? the young New Yorker asked smiling. I have enough for today, said the fisherman, this is what I need to feed my family. What do you do with the rest of your time? the young man asked curiously. I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a siesta with my wife, Maria, and stroll into the village each evening where I enjoy some wine and laughter with friends. It s a full and happy life, the fisherman replied. Well, I m a Harvard MBA and have just completed my investment securities training. I could help you. You could spend more time fishing and with the proceeds from the larger catch, buy a bigger boat. Then you could catch even more fish. With those profits you could buy several more boats and hire captains to fish for you, and eventually you could open your own cannery. Then you would control the product, processing, and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal village and move to Mexico City or LA or even New York where you could run your expanding enterprise. How long would that all take? asked the somewhat bewildered fisherman. Fifteen, maybe twenty years, max. But then what?

5 Well, when the time was right, you could announce your IPO, sell your company stock to the public, and become very rich. You could be worth millions, retorted the proud young investor. Millions? Then what? Then you could retire and move to a small coastal village like this one where you could sleep late, fish a little in the morning, play with your grandkids, take a siesta, and enjoy wine and music with your friends in the evening. The fisherman grinned, tipped his hat at the young advisor, and shook his head as he walked off the pier without a reply. When God finished warning about the emptiness of a life that is driven by greed, God told the story of a rich man who built bigger barns to hold all his stuff. To the surprise of the audience, God called him a fool, not because he had lots of stuff but because he had lots of stuff and was not rich toward God! Which makes me wonder, if you had one shot at talking to God, would you want God to make you rich, or would you want God to lead you in the prosperous pursuit of becoming rich toward God? Your attitude is vitally important, far more important than you realise. Therefore if you cannot do something with the right attitude, don't do it at all until you can change your attitude. Really enjoy doing it, and realise that, whatever it is, it is important to the smooth running of the whole. Never be afraid to shoulder your responsibilities, but grow in wisdom and stature as you do so. Know that you are never given more than you are able to stand. It is important that each responsibility helps you to stretch and expand that little bit more. The object of responsibilities is not to weigh you down and overburden you, but to help you to grow. Do not resent the responsibilities you are given, but be grateful for them. Know that you would not be given them if God did not feel you were capable of shouldering them. Seek God's help at all times. God is your everready help and guide. Call upon God. - Anonymous

6 Good Morning True Truth Remember the days of the multivolume encyclopedia? Not long ago nearly every home had a set gathering dust on the bookcase. Not anymore! Research materials are now easily found on the Internet. The unprecedented growth of the web gives us a staggering amount of information, literally at our fingertips. One of the most interesting variants is Wikipedia a completely online, free encyclopedia compiled by contributions from its users. It can be a helpful, fascinating source of information, but somehow the idea of everyone contributing their two cents to an article makes me a little uneasy about using that information as a primary source of authority and reliability. Hopefully you are not among them, but some skeptics view the Big Book as if it were compiled like a Wikipedia article. With more than contributing authors spanning several years, they say, it cannot be completely accurate. Prophecy never had its origin in the will of man. In other words, we are not reading the mere thoughts. Rather, the words of the Big Book come directly from God, put to paper by men and women as they were carried along by the Spirit. Which means that we find incredible unity, clarity, and commonality flowing through. The truths expressed in writing are mirrored in words years later. The themes of God s character, of man s rebellion, and of God s glorious plan of redemption wind their way through each page. Further additions, revisions, or retractions are unthinkable and unnecessary because God is confidently complete. But, if you re looking for meaning and purpose and the answers to life s deepest questions, a multiplicity of conflicting opinions won t help. Thank God that God has given us what we need for every challenge and crossroad of life as God's clear and trustworthy voice speaks to us through God's Will! If what you need is a quick glance at the history of jazz music, the opinions and perspectives offered in Wikipedia might be helpful.

7 Do you want to do something to help the world situation? Then look within, for never forget that it all starts in the individual. As you change your consciousness to love, peace, harmony and unity, the consciousness of the whole world will change. But it is not always very pleasant when you start doing it. You will find dark spots which need to be cleared within yourself. You will find that your motives are not always of the highest and that your likes and dislikes are far more pronounced than you imagined. You will find that you are very inclined to discriminate when there should be no discrimination, for all are one in God's sight. You will find that your love for one another is not all it should be. Start putting all your cards on the table, and be determined to do something about it, and start doing it now. There is no better time. God is here to help you. Call upon God, and let God guide your every step. - Anonymous

8 Hello friends, I am an alcoholic and my name is Michael. I am honoured to serve AA as the DCM for District 42 Surrey, and North Delta. As our fabulous summer 2014, begins it s turn to autumn, our activity schedule ramps up dramatically in September, and there should be something to interest or attract everyone. We try very hard to keep you, the members of Alcoholics Anonymous in this District informed, up to date and sometimes entertained and fed in hopes of building unity, strengthening groups and carrying the message of experience strength and hope to not just the newcomer but everyone. I am saddened to report that a very long established group in Surrey, the Scott Road group has had to close it s doors last month due to lack of support both in membership and 7 th tradition. We know they are looking hard to find a place to relocate and retrench and we at District wish them much luck, and hope they are successful. Several other groups are struggling with similar issues so please remember to support your home groups with attendance, performing the necessary service duties, and making sure the 7 th tradition is sufficient to cover the ever increasing costs of keeping our doors open! An empty room has no message to carry. Although not in trouble, our Language of the Heart (Surrey) group is looking for a new landlord as they must leave their current (past?) location, so if you know of a church or other facility that could host a thriving AA meeting on Tuesday nights at 7:30 please contact me ASAP. OK on to the hectic fall schedule which kicks off on September 13 in Langley but has the support, endorsement and participation of this District 42. Five Districts, (37,39,42,43 & 44) are presenting a workshop/sharing session on the roles and responsibilities of District service positions from DCM, to Alt. DCM, treasurer, secretary, Committee Chairs and even GSRs as many of us are rotating on after our 2 year term in our current jobs. Many elections are taking place in September, including District 42 and many of it s groups so lots of positions will need to be filled to take effect January 1 st, That s right you are finally getting rid of me in the new year (please hold your applause) so I would ask that if you have any desire, interest or even just curiosity about getting involved with general service in AA, please consider attending this event at 1:00-3:00 at the West Langley hall on Saturday Sept. 13/2014. Please see the flyer elsewhere in this newsletter for the exact address and details and I look forward to seeing you there! The following Saturday on September 20 th, our District is hosting a Family, Fellowship and Fun picnic in Bear Creek Park for AA members in Surrey/N. Delta. It is from noon until 5:00 or until the food runs out (LOL) and we will provide hamburgers and hot dogs and beverages and ask only that you bring a side dish to share with others, and a lawn chair or something else to sit on as picnic table space may be scarce. Again please find additional details in the flyer in this newsletter or at your home group or you can call Jas D if you would like to help out. Again...see you there! And if that s not enough to get your sobriety motor running, how about coming out to our District elections on September 28 th at the EDI club at 9:30 and see who your new District steering committee will be as of January 1 st, Our term is coming to a close after 2 years (as all AA service positions are intended to!) so we cannot stay on even if we want to. Bill and Bob, when they put this service structure in place, felt that a 2 year term for all service jobs was enough, as they did not want to encourage anyone taking ownership of a service spot or becoming an expert or an official or a boss. It also encourages those new to sobriety to start giving back in their own service journey and there has been nothing more valuable, rewarding and truly inspiring than my own path through my home group and District work and onward God willing. Please consider putting your name forward for a District position if you are a GSR, or perhaps stand for GSR at your home group. Bill W. wrote the GSR may be the most important job in AA. and that continues to be the case in my opinion as it is the GSRs who ARE District 42 representing all members of AA...we (the table officers) just show up to turn on the lights and make the coffee every month! Again all of our meetings are open to all AA members so even if you are not sure what is in store for you, come to the workshop in Langley or visit us at the EDI at 9:30 on the 28 th and start to see how things work in AA. After all, we are celebrating 80 years in existence next year in Atlanta, so somehow, someway this program continues to work... thanks to all of you who participate! As always call me if you wish any more information about anything in District 42. I can be reached by through the BC Yukon website at bcyukonaa.org or you are welcome to call me at at anytime. Thank you for this opportunity to be of service to Alcoholics Anonymous, Michael H. DCM