Arriving at Our Lady of Grace Catholic Church for Al-Anon meeting, I was lead to a conference room setup with tables and chairs in a circle. The chairman, secretary, and sponsors were going over what information needed to be discuss at the meeting. After a few minutes they ask people if this was their first meeting. The secretary provided the new people with a welcome newcomer packet. The group waited a few minutes for later comer. The meeting began at approximate 7:05pm and the chairman opens the meeting with stating her name and this is Al-Anon for the community of Maricopa.
The chairman states that this was the only Al-Anon in the city of Maricopa but people could go on the websites for Al-Anon and type east valley location to attend any meeting they like. The chairman process and read the serenity prayer. The person to the right of the chairman began reading the Twelve Steps of tradition and passed it around for everyone to read a couple of steps. At this time, the chairman asks is this any one for the first, second, three, fourth, are fifth time being at the meeting. If there new people, one of the sponsors reads understanding ourselves.
The chairman recommends that a person attends Al-Anon six times before they decide it’s not for them. She encourages them to attending other self-help groups. The chairman welcomes the new people. The members of the group are reminded that Al-Anon is a self-support group from its own contribution and doesn’t accept or ask for contribution from outside source. A collection basket is passed around. Once the collection baskets are collected, the chairman asks the secretary is there any information that needs to be share with the group.
The secretary shares information if any with the group. The chair states that anyone who’s going to share their experience, after the passages is read. Let’s keep it to a minimum of three to four minutes. Now the chairman reads the passage from Courage of Change. After she reads the passage, she shares with the group on how the passage relates to her life. Everyone goes around the room and states there name and how they can relate to the passage. No one is forces to speak. If a person does not want to share, when t gets to them they stated there name and say I’m here to listen and learn I will pass. At the end of the meeting, everyone stands in a circle and says the Lord’s Prayer. Al-Anon is a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength, and hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe alcoholism is a family illness and that changed attitudes can aid recovery. My personal observation with Al-Anon was it was not as diversity as I thought it would be. The group consists of all women.
When I think of family, I thought that at least one male would be there. I noticed that hey used a lot of positive affirmation and stress the importance of GOD. I was also surprised that they mention that sponsors apart of the group but after I thought about it, sometimes they need someone to talk with as well. I noticed that the people in Al-Anon just don’t get help on how to restructure their life on how to deal with a recovering alcoholic. They seek help on all aspects of the dependency they have in their life.
For a person that’s attending this meeting for the first time would fine comfort, support, and the tools on how to live a produce life. I would attend another Al-Anon because of the values, beliefs, and how they welcome you in there group. Alcoholic Anonymous Lutheran Church in Maricopa AZ September 18, 2012 Tuesday from 6:30pm to 7:30pm When you first arrive at Lutheran Church you see people arriving and greeting each other. You had some people going into a small room putting chairs in a circle and putting about six rows of chairs in the middle.
There’s a person putting out brochure, sign in sheet, the Twelve Step book, and all information relating to alcoholic anonymous. A person is making coffee for people to drink. The meeting began exactly at 6:30pm and the chairman opens the meeting with stating his name and this is AA for the community of Maricopa. We meet here every Tuesday from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. The chairman then reads the itinerary of the Twelve Steps from a notebook. The chairman tells the members who do not have the Big Book on how to purchase it and the person they need to see.
The members of the group are reminded that AA is a self-support group from its own contribution and doesn’t accept or ask for contribution from outside source. A collection basket is passed around. Once the collection baskets are collected, the chairman states that the last fifteen minutes of the meeting will be for whoever wants to share why they came to the meeting. The chairman reads a passage from the Big Book. After he reads the passage, he tells how the passage related to his life as a recovering alcoholic. Everyone goes around the room an states there name and how the passage relates to their recovery.
If someone chooses not to share, the person states there name and say pass or I’m just here listening. At the end of the meeting, everyone gets in a circle and say the Lord’s Prayer. Members greet new members and ask them about experience of their first meeting. For a person that’s attending this meeting for the first time would feel scare and trying to figure out what to expect. The person would think that the meeting was boring and how is this therapeutic. Depending on the reason of why the person is attending they may not come back.
The AA program is the single most effective treatment for alcoholism. Alcoholics join this worldwide fellowship to share their experience, strength, and hopes with each other in effort to stay with sobriety. A does not have to join if they don’t want to but many members greatly benefit from their involvement. My personal observation with my first AA meeting was that the people were sincere but I notice the lack of emotions in the group. There were times when people laughed and clapped but there was no one agreeing with each other.
The story that was most touching to me was about a young man becoming an alcoholic by the time he turned eighteen. In my mind I couldn’t fathom how could this be. I noticed that some people were not interesting in telling their stories. I know for sure there was this one man that care about hi sobriety because he stated that he went to three meeting that day. I also notice that some of the member had other addiction that they hadn’t dealt with. For the most part the meeting was very educational and I can say that majority of the member were taking their recover one day at a time.
