July in A.A. History (day unknown)

In 1908, exhausted and depressed after a budget dispute that led to his resignation, Rev. Frank Buchman [upper right], the future founder of the Oxford Group, arrived in England to attend the Keswick Convention of Evangelicals. He hoped to meet the renowned Quaker-influenced Baptist evangelist F. B. Meyer [center right] (1847–1929), whom he believed could offer him guidance. Although Meyer was not there, Buchman experienced a profound spiritual surrender after hearing a sermon titled “The Cross of Christ” delivered by evangelist Jessie Penn-Lewis [lower right, a descendant of William Penn’s]. As he later recalled:

    She pictured the dying Christ as I had never seen him pictured before. I saw the nails in the palms of His hands, I saw the bigger nail which held His feet. I saw the spear thrust in His side, and I saw the look of sorrow and infinite suffering in His face. I knew that I had wounded Him, that there was a great distance between myself and Him, and I knew that it was my sin of nursing ill-will.…
    I thought of those six men back in Philadelphia who I felt had wronged me. They probably had, but I'd got so mixed up in the wrong that I was the seventh wrong man. Right in my conviction, I was wrong in harbouring ill-will. I wanted my own way and my feelings were hurt.
    I began to see myself as God saw me, which was a very different picture than the one I had of myself. I don't know how you explain it, I can only tell you I sat there and realised how my sin, my pride, my selfishness and my ill-will, had eclipsed me from God in Christ.

    He later helped another participant in undergoing the same experience. These experiences became pivotal to the rest of his life’s work. Upon returning to the U.S., he entered his “laboratory years,” where he developed the principles he would later implement on a global scale.

In 1918, Bill W. [left, in uniform (1918)] sailed from Boston to New York Harbor aboard the H.M.T.^* Lancashire [below right].
    During the subsequent voyage to England, an officer shared brandy with him, which he immediately took to, of course.

    On the eve of their arrival, while Bill was on watch, a sudden crashing thud sent the soldiers into a panic. With his pistol drawn, Bill took control of the situation by barking orders, thus proving to himself, at least, that he was the coward he feared.
    After reaching shore, his unit was delayed by a minor epidemic near Winchester. During this time, Bill visited Winchester Cathedral, where he felt a “tremendous sense of presence,” partly inspired by an epitaph on the headstone of a Hampshire Grenadier, Thomas Thetcher. He later quoted this epitaph from memory in “Bill’s Story” in the book Alcoholics Anonymous.

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^*Hired Military Transport, i.e., non-commissioned

In 1921, without a job and no idea what he wanted to do, Bill W was “restless and his drinking increased,” according to his wife, Lois. She worked as an occupational therapy aide for the Red Cross at Brooklyn Naval Hospital [upper left: exterior, 1940s; lower left: a group of nurses at the hospital, 1920]. Using her vacation time, she and Bill embarked on a camping trip along the 300-mile Long Trail* [below right: map], along the peaks of Vermont’s Green Mountains—a trail that her father and brother had helped to clear. For Lois, these camping trips served as an opportunity to “think things over” and to encourage Bill to curb his drinking.

During this trip, Bill resolved to attend law school. His grandfather, who had raised him from the age of 11, had always wanted him to be a lawyer. Although bill was “not sure he wanted to be an attorney,” he believed that “knowledge of the law would always be useful.” Upon their return, Bill enrolled in night classes at Brooklyn Law School [left: Brooklyn Eagle Building, home of Brooklyn Law School, 1923], a division of St. Lawrence University, and kept at his studies for four years. Lois later wrote, “After paying the fifteen-dollar fee [~$270 in 2025] for his diploma, he was too drunk to leave the apartment the next day to pick it up. He never bothered to get it. It could still be there.”

    Lois was not quite correct. David G. Trager, who served as Dean of Brooklyn Law School from 1983 to 1993 and reviewed Bill’s records from the early 1920s, noted that Bill failed a course on Executors and Administrators (pertaining to wills, estates, and trusts) in his final term in 1924. He returned in the fall to retake the course but ultimately left the law school without completing the required examination, and so was ineligible for a diploma (although New York state allows anyone with at least one year law school to take the bar exam, after completing three years of law office study under the supervision of a practicing attorney or judge).

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[All quotes are from Lois Remembers.]
^*The Long Trail, constructed from 1910 to 1930, follows the main ridge of the Green Mountains from Massachusetts to Canada. It is the oldest long-distance trail in the United States, and later inspired the creation of the Appalachian Trail.

In 1922, Lois W. experienced her second ectopic pregnancy, where a fertilized egg develops outside the uterus—in her case, in a fallopian tube. The first had occurred just a month before in her other fallopian tube, and her father, Dr. Clark Burnham [left], had treated her at home.

    This time, he promptly sent her to the Skene Sanitarium [right], where he was on staff. A colleague performed the surgery, and Lois then went to her family's camp on Emerald Lake in Vermont to recover under her father's care. 

    Unfortunately, her condition worsened instead of improving. Despite feeling increasingly unwell, she missed home and pretended to be getting better until Dr. Burnham “let” her go home. Once home, her husband Bill kept her in bed for several weeks. Concerned about her deteriorating health, he consulted Dr. Leonard Strong [left], his brother-in-law, who realized that a cyst had formed on what remained of her ovary. Lois returned to the surgeon who had operated on her, but he only conducted a “cursory examination” and prescribed a laxative for what he assumed was constipation. Knowing better, Bill contacted Dr. Burnham, who quickly took a train back from Vermont and readmitted Lois to the Skene Sanitarium. There, the cyst was removed, and she began to recover rapidly.
    Lois would suffer a third and final ectopic pregnancy the following May.

July 8 in A.A. History

In 1980 [Some sources cite July 10] Helen Evans [right: at age 16, in 1931], Bill W.’s half-sister and the first paid employee of the A.A. Grapevine, died of cancer at the age of 64 in Tucson, Arizona.

July 7 in A.A. History

In 2023, Mongolian A.A. celebrated their 25th anniversary in a hybrid [in-person and online] meeting at Steppe Arena [right] in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia [left: inside the arena during the celebration]. During the event, one speaker highlighted their achievements:

    Today, Mongolian AA is a non-governmental organization registered in Mongolia that serves its members and has about 3,000 members and 172 registered groups. We are a society registered with the World AA General Service Office, and we have a General Service Board consisting of two Class A or Non-Alcoholic Trustees and seven Class B or A.A. Trustees as outlined in the New Service Manual, Annual Service Conferences, 2-yearly National Conferences, and 5-yearly International Conferences.

July 6 in A.A. History

In 1985, during A.A.’s 8h International Convention and 50th anniversary celebration in Montreal, Quebec, Ruth Crecelius (née Hock), the non-alcoholic typist of the first edition of the Big Book and A.A.’s first national secretary, was presented with the 5,000,000th copy that book, Alcoholics Anonymous [right: Ruth holding that copy of the Big Book].

July 5 in A.A. History

In 1946, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, an unusually large crowd of 50 to 60 people attended the weekly 7 p.m. Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, which was exclusively for alcoholics and which was ironically held in a pub that had lost its license. Among the attendees, six or seven were visibly drunk, but they went largely unnoticed. Recently, a group of men had been regularly attending the meetings—sometimes sober, sometimes intoxicated—moving from person to person in search of cigarettes and spare change. They made no effort to follow the 12 Steps and often disrupted the gathering. For the first time, those genuinely seeking sobriety followed the advice of the non-alcoholic founders of A.A. in Australia, opting not to give these men money or help them in any way. Consequently, none of the moochers returned for the following two weeks.

In 1970, at the 5th International Convention [right] in Miami, Florida, Bill W., despite struggling with soon-to-be fatal emphysema, wanted desperately to deliver two major talks and participate in several other meetings throughout the four-day event. However, he fell ill on the first night and was unable to attend until a surprise appearance at the closing session on Sunday morning, July 5, where he gave his very brief “Last Talk.”

In 1990, at A.A.’s 9th International Convention and 55th anniversary celebration in Seattle, Washington, the 10,000,000th copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to Nellie “Nell” Wing [left, later in life], who was Bill W.’s longtime non-alcoholic secretary and A.A.’s first archivist. 

    Nell [right, c. 1945] later described the event as a sort of homecoming for herself, stating,

I had spent 1944-46 in Seattle (the 13th Naval District) as a member of SPARS, the Women’s Coast Guard Reserve, in the basement of the Olympic Hotel. There was a large bar and dining room which we called the “snake pit” and where many of us, along with the Coast Guard and Navy guys, did a bit of off-duty drinking. One night I got involved in an all-night drinking spree and next morning, up before my Executive Officer, was “awarded” a captain’s mast^* and sentenced to a brief confinement in my quarters (the “brig” was full). I was allowed out once a day, accompanied by a shore patrol Now, 44 years later, here I was in Seattle again and the recipient of the 10 millionth copy of the Big Book. No words can adequately express my deep gratitude to this beloved Fellowship and my cherished friends therein.

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^*A captain's mast is a form of nonjudicial punishment used in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard to address minor offenses committed by service members. It is conducted by the commanding officer, who investigates the alleged misconduct, holds a hearing, and determines whether to impose disciplinary measures. It is less formal than a court-martial and does not result in a criminal conviction

Today in A.A. History—July 5–7

In 1985, approximately 50,000 people attended the 8th International Convention in Montreal, Quebec, celebrating A.A.’s 50th anniversary [left]. Planning had been for only 28,000 attendees. As a result, downtown hotel rooms quickly filled up, and previously unused motels at the airports and in surrounding communities were pressed into service. Attendees were also accommodated in university dormitories and Laurentian resorts, with some even placed as far away as Sherbrooke (90 miles [~145 km]) and Burlington, Vermont (75 miles [~121 km]). A Seagram distillery stood across from the Palais des Congrès, the large new convention center where many events took place, with its flag flying at half-staff throughout the Convention!

Today in A.A. History—July 5–8

In 1990, an estimated 48,000 people attended A.A.’s 9th International Convention in Seattle, Washington, celebrating the organization’s 55th anniversary [right]. The theme of the event was “55 Years—One Day At A Time.” Participants came from seventy-five countries, including, for the first time, nations from the former Soviet Union.

July 4 in A.A. History

In 1939, the first A.A. meeting in Flatbush, Brooklyn [right, with Ebbets Field above and to the left of center], was held at the home of Harold and Emily S. Harold had sobered up in June 1938, and his story, “Smile at Me, With Me,” later appeared in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

    This meeting complemented the only other A.A. gathering in New York City at the time, which had been started in a Manhattan apartment at 72nd Street and Riverside Drive, possibly the Chatsworth. That location had been lent to A.A. by Leonard and Helga Harrison after Bill and Lois W. lost their home at 182 Clinton Street in April. Leonard [left] would go on to become a Class A (non-alcoholic) Trustee of the Alcoholic Foundation in 1941.

In 1970, at the 5th International Convention in Miami, Florida, in an effort to emulate the Toronto experience of adopting the Responsibility Statement five years earlier, participants in the big Sunday evening meeting in the Convention Hall [right] closed with the Declaration of Unity, saying in unison:

This we owe to A.A.’s future: to place our common welfare first; to keep our fellowship united. For on A.A. unity depend our lives, and the lives of those to come.

    It was an emotional and moving moment, but without Bill W. there to lead the ceremony, this pledge had neither the impact nor the lasting quality of the “I Am Responsible” Statement. Like that Statement, this Declaration was written by Al S. [left].

Today in A.A. History—July 4–6

In 1975, the 6th International Convention celebrating A.A.’s 40th anniversary took place in Denver, Colorado [right].

July 3 in A.A. History

In 1955, at 4:00 PM in St. Louis, Missouri, during the 2nd International Convention, Bernard Smith [right], the non-alcoholic Chairman of the Alcoholics Anonymous Board of Trustees, called to order the only “open” session of the General Service Conference ever held, which was the final session of the 5th such conference. He said,

    We have completed in four days all of the tasks that have been allotted to us, save only one: that is the adoption of the resolution authorizing the General Service Conference to act for Alcoholics Anonymous and to become the successor to its co-founders. Only this Conference, in all humility, has the power, within the concepts of A.A., to adopt this resolution, and only after it has evidence of the acceptance by all of A.A., in this Convention assembled.

    He then introduced Bill W. [left: at podium in St. Louis], who spoke briefly and read the proposed resolution. The attendees responded with loud approval. Smith requested and received a motion for the Conference to formally adopt the resolution that had just been overwhelmingly approved by the Convention, which was seconded. The Conference Delegates voted unanimously in favor, marking what Bill described as the “Coming of Age” of Alcoholics Anonymous.

In 1965, at 10:25 PM during the 4th International Convention in Toronto, Ontario [right], A.A.’s “Responsibility Declaration” was adopted. Ninety delegates and members from around the world emerged from behind a large banner at the back of the stage, which depicted the A.A. triangle within a circle, symbolizing the globe. They joined the Trustees who were already seated. The audience of approximately 10,000 stood, joined hands, and, led by Bill and Lois W., thunderously recited the Responsibility Declaration in unison:

    I am responsible. When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help, I want the hand of A.A. always to be there. And for that: I am responsible.

    This Declaration was written for the occasion by Class B Trustee Howard Alfred “Al” S. [left]. It has since been printed, quoted, and recited countless times. Attempts to modify the wording at General Service Conferences to make it more specific to alcoholics and less inclusive have been made at least twice, but all have failed—largely due to the absurdity of trying to retroactively alter the historical event that took place that day in Toronto.

Today in A.A. History—July 3–5

In 1970, nearly 11,000 attendees from every state and province, along with participants from 28 foreign countries, gathered in Miami, Florida, for the 5th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous to celebrate its 35th anniversary [right].

Today in A.A. History—July 3–6

In 1980, approximately 22,500 people attended the 7th International Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, celebrating A.A.’s 45th anniversary [left]. The planning had anticipated 25,000 attendees, resulting in a loss of $208,000 [~$811,500 in 2025]. The keynote theme was “The Joy of Living.” This event featured the first screening of the film Markings on the Journey, the inaugural Archives Workshop, the first “genuine” marathon meeting, and the first events specifically for gays and lesbians. Marty M. [right, 1980] was one of the featured speakers.

    During the main meeting on Sunday, July 6, a candle from the Marathon Meeting was brought to the stage and blown out by Pete, who had been sober for only two days. He had been drinking and approached a conventioneer to ask about the meaning of his badge. He was immediately 12th-stepped and taken to the Marathon Meeting. The Superdome crowd erupted in deafening applause. Reportedly, Pete stayed sober. 

    Then, a speaker not on the program went the microphone: “My name is Bob S., and I’m in Al-Anon.” The audience was puzzled. Bob [left] continued, “I am probably the only person here today who was present when Bill met Dr. Bob.” The crowd gasped. “I am Dr. Bob’s only son!” The audience erupted into tears and wild applause.

July 2 in A.A. History

In 1936, Paul S. [right], who had met Dr. Bob S. in January, became A.A. #5^* in Akron, Ohio. Paul’s story, “Truth Freed Me!” appeared in the first edition of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. The following February, he would introduce his brother, Dick, to the program.

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^* Note: Other sources say he was #11; different lists provide differing numberings.

In 2000, the 20 millionth copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to the Al-Anon Family Groups during the 2000 International Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which celebrated A.A.’s 65th anniversary.

Today in A.A. History—July 2–4

In 1965, an estimated 10,400 people from 32 countries attended the 4th International Convention, celebrating A.A.’s 30th anniversary in Toronto, Ontario [left: big meeting in Maple Leaf Gardens]. Local hotels and motels were fully booked, leading to the first-ever provision of free busing for attendees.

    Among the speakers was non-alcoholic Trustee Bernard Smith [right], who remarked:

You have something great and awesome going for you. Treat it tenderly, respect what it has done for you and what it can do for others… As long as one man dwells in the darkness you once knew, you cannot rest; you must try to find him and help him become one of you… By the grace of God, may A.A. last for all time!

At the Convention, a packet of pamphlets titled The Best of Bill was introduced. Each packet included five A.A. Grapevine essays by Bill W. on “Faith,” “Fear,” “Honesty,” “Humility,” and “Love.”

Additionally, a pocket-sized gift edition of Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions was introduced [left]. Finally, the film Bill’s Own Story [right] premiered to overflowing audiences throughout the weekend.

    A historic moment occurred when Bill suggested that the crowd join hands to recite the Lord’s Prayer, closing the big meeting at Maple Leaf Gardens (the first International Convention to do so).
    Non-alcoholic Trustee Harrison Trice requested a beer at the Royal York bar, only to be sternly told by the bartender, “No slips in here, brother.”

Today in A.A. History—July 2–5

In 2015, the 14th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous took place in Atlanta, Georgia, celebrating A.A.’s 80th anniversary [right: big meeting in Georgia Dome]. During the event, the 35 millionth copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was presented to Sister Judith Ann Karam of the Sisters of Charity of St. Augustine, the same religious order as Sister Ignatia.

In 2020, the 15th International Convention of Alcoholics Anonymous, which was set to celebrate A.A.’s 85th anniversary in Detroit, Michigan, had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic [left: Ford Field, proposed site of big meetings at the 2020 International Convention].

Supporting A.A. in Ukraine

[Note that this post was written in March 2022, shortly after the full-scale invasion of the Ukraine by the Russian Federation.]

An A.A. friend sent me a very well-done flyer for an online A.A. meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. It's shown to the left, but I've removed the Meeting ID and Passcode; I don't want to make it that  easy to attend. When I first saw it, I thought, "I only wish that we could do something similar for all the Russian alcoholics, who must also be terribly distressed at this time" (especially those in the Russian military).

This flyer was immediately followed by a less well-done message, shown below, purporting to be from "Ukrainian AA Service Center and the Ukrainian AA Service Board" to "the AA World Community." I was skeptical. This looked so much like a myth that I expected to find it debunked at Snopes ("the internet’s definitive fact-checking resource"). I did not. But I did find an article titled, "UKRAINE: New Crisis, Grimly Familiar Disinformation Trends", which said, in part, 

It is a grim measure of the frequency of crisis events in recent years, and the ubiquity of online disinformation, that when a major story breaks — a terrorist attack, a mass shooting, or an act of war — the writers and editors at Snopes can typically predict what comes next. Recycled videos and photographs, stripped from their proper context, and the same old tropes, all designed to inflame or confuse, or even amuse, the reader.

This is followed by a "grim overview of the familiar disinformation trends and recurring memes… in the opening days of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine."

But, as I said, I only later looked on Snopes. First I searched the Internet. To my surprise, I immediately got a hit that looked very promising. It was on the aa.lviv.ua website and looked like this:

Since I don't know what I presumed was Ukrainian, and not having much patience, I immediately had the page automatically translated into English. It is indeed Ukrainian, and here's the English translation I got:

It was only later that I noticed that an English translation of the message follows the Ukrainian on the original, one click further down. I felt stupid and impatient for not looking.

Ultimately, I decided I'd check into the Kyiv online meeting and see if there was some way I could be helpful. I tried to log in a few minutes before it was to start. Due to the meeting having reached capacity, it was impossible to get in. It then occurred to me, If I'm having this much trouble getting in, there are probably Ukrainians who are also unable to get in. It horrified me to think that I could have had a part in disrupting their meeting. If, by some miracle, I had been able to get in, I sure hope I would have realized that the meeting was at capacity and left. But even if I had, my spot would have been filled by a non-Ukrainian.

I tried joining after the meeting was over. It was bedlam. It appeared that most people were unmuted and there were multiple conversations going on at the same time. I saw one man, who appeared to be that single Ukrainian member. He appeared to be quite stressed out. I also saw some A.A.friends of mine, which was disappointing. I only stayed a minute. The last thing they needed at that point was yet one more non-Ukrainian A.A. to join the fray.

Tonight, I learned from a reliable source that only one of the seven or eight regular Ukrainian group members was able to get into the meeting (presumably, the Zoom host). No doubt, many of the attendees had good intentions, although I'm also pretty sure some did not. Clearly, many also didn't think through the consequences of their actions.

And then, very late last night, My friend said that another friend of hers had found a Facebook post about the A.A. meeting in Kyiv earlier, shown at the left. It was so disheartening to read. Yes, many non-Ukrainians—maybe hundreds of them—got to feel good for a minute. Meanwhile, seven or eight locals never got to their meeting.

God As We Understand Him?

 I recently read Bill W.'s essay, “God As We Understand Him: The Dilemma of No Faith”, in The Language of the Heart (originally published as “The Dilemma of No Faith” in the April 1961 issue of the A.A. Grapevine). He begins this essay by saying, “The phrase ‛God As We Understand Him’ is perhaps the most important expression to be found in our whole AA vocabulary.”

For a long time, I've been vaguely uncomfortable with this wording, even though I knew what it meant the first time I heard it. In the last few years, but not in my early sobriety, I've sometimes heard newcomers asking about this expression, “How can anyone understand God?”  in a way that led me to think that perhaps this was an impediment for them. I realized my discomfort is just that. Perhaps understanding is not the best word. I think “God As We Conceive of God” is closer to the intended meaning. It will be interesting to see how the proposed plain language Big Book^* (i.e., Alcoholics Anonymous) will deal with this phrase. If at all.

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^* If you don't know what this is or what it means, check out Advisory Action #28 (on p 7) in this document: Conference Advisory Actions of the 71st General Service Conference, a list of all such actions adopted at the 71st General Service Conference last April.

19,560 days

Yes, I am still sober, still above ground. My posts slowed down drastically and then stopped altogether because I feared it would become too easy to identify who I was from my posts, due to circumstances of my life. Already, my brother had figured out this was me. For those who don't realize it, I was doing my best to respect Tradition 12. My brother already knew I was a deeply involved member of A.A.

Future posts will probably be less personal, on the whole. I hope this is, at least in part, because I have less interest in myself and more interest in others [v. Alcoholics Anonymous, p 84].

A.A. in these times of pandemic has been a great experience for me personally. Since mid-March 2020, I've attended online meetings on every continent that has them (Antarctica does not, due to insufficient bandwidth). I've been regularly attending meetings all over the US and Canada, as well as in Australia and South Africa. It has also become much easier to find workshops, conventions, conferences, and meetings that focus on topics like Traditions, Concepts, The A.A. Service Manual, and A.A. history. These are topics that I love learning about. I've been sober almost 29 years, been involved in General Service for 25½ of those years, but I sometimes think I've learned more about General Service in the last 16 months than in all the time before. Maybe not. Maybe it just feels that way.

Eighteen years

Still here, still sober, even if I'm not posting. Yesterday I celebrated 18 years of continuous sobriety.

Seventeen years

Yesterday was the 17th anniversary of my first A.A. meeting, which marked the beginning of my current spell of continuous sobriety. I can't say I celebrated, because I was too busy doing things that are little more than the blessings of a sober life:

• Took my car in to have the oil changed and the engine light checked—I not only have a driver's license, I also have a car
• Worked—I am employable today
• Chaired a meeting of the local chapter of a professional organization—not only employed, but on the Board of Directors and also Program Chair
• Attended a funeral

The funeral, ironically enough, was for Bumblebee, someone I sponsored for a while. I suspect I was his last sponsor. I hadn't seem him in at least a year, and sometimes wondered if he named me when asked if he had a sponsor. Then I would wonder if he was even making meetings.

Apparently not. He was definitely out there. He committed suicide by stabbing himself to death in the parking lot of the apartment complex where he lived. In the femoral artery. Thank you, Bumblebee, for keeping it green for me on my anniversary.

Tonight I will celebrate with dinner and a meeting! Praise HP, from whom all blessings flow!

Is A.A. a religion?

On 17 March 2009, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued an opinion in an appeal of the case of Glenside Center, Inc. [a clubhouse hosting meetings of various twelve-step programs] v. Abington Township. A lower court had found that the Glenside Center violated local zoning laws, after the Township received numerous complaints regarding an "adverse parking situation" that "made driving difficult and dangerous and prevented emergency traffic from getting through." There were also complaints about "urinating in public, using obscene language and trash which had been left by members attending meetings." Excessive noise and loitering are also mentioned in the opinion. (Clearly demonstrating the danger of these kinds of totally inappropriate, inconsiderate and non-sober behavior at any A.A. meeting.)

The appeal was on the basis of four issues, namely that the Zoning Board:

1. had incorrectly found that the use of the building did not meet the requirement of being primarily used as an "office,"
2. had denied the clubhouse its rights under RLUIPA¹,
3. had violated the clubhouse's right to free exercise of religion by determining that the clubhouse was a "Community Center," and
   
4. had failed to prove a compelling governmental interest and had failed to use the least restrictive means to further that interest.
   

My interest is only in the 2^nd and 3^rd issues insofar as they relate to whether or not A.A. can legally be considered a religion. In its opinion, the Court essentially determined that Alcoholics Anonymous is not a religion:

Glenside argues... it is a protected entity under RLUIPA because its activities are a religious exercise.... Glenside argues that AA is not a religion, but its activities and programs constitute a free exercise of religion under RLUIPA. It contends that the 12-step program that AA follows is certainly based upon a belief in a higher power, and various AA members testified that they found a connection with God by attending AA meetings. Glenside directs our attention to a New York Court of Appeals case, Griffin v. Coughlin,... which held that an AA meeting constituted an exercise of religion.

The Board, however, argues and we agree that Glenside presents no binding authority for its proposition that an AA meeting is a religious exercise as that term is used in RLUIPA.² Glenside failed to prove that any of the meetings are administered by a religious leader, i.e., a minister, priest, rabbi or other spiritual leader. Glenside does not hold any religious services or have any religious affiliations. Its Articles of Incorporation state nothing about being incorporated for a religious purpose, but only to assist people in recovering from addiction. Similarly, Glenside’s printed materials state that Glenside is not a religious organization and do not require that members possess any religious belief to participate. While Glenside argues that members have found a connection with God at its meetings, clearly, the primary purpose of the group meetings, whether they be for AA, NA or DA, is to support individuals who are recovering from alcohol, drug, gambling and debtor addictions, not to advance religion. Particularly where AA and NA meetings are concerned, the primary concern of those meetings is to treat substance abuse. Moreover, Glenside and others on its behalf testified that members come from all religious walks of life whether they be Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or non-believers in a higher power. The fact that the 12-step program is used and it contains references to “God” and a “Higher Power” does not mean that all members believe that they are partaking in a religious experience when they are attending an AA or NA meeting.

Good for the Court, bad for Glenside Center, Inc. Bad, not because they lost their appeal, but for (1) encouraging the courts to consider A.A. a religion, (2) giving the appearance of violating A.A. tradition of having no opinion on outside issues, and (3) for providing a forum for a number of members of A.A. to violate A.A.'s tradition of anonymity at the level of press, radio and film (not to mention on television and on the Internet).

Glenside Center is not in any sense A.A. or part of A.A. It is a separately organized enterprise with the [presumable] purpose of providing meeting space for various twelve-step organizations. From the point of view of A.A. groups, it is in no respect different from a church, municipal building or community center providing space for meetings—all these entities are nothing more than landlords.

However, I suspect that all the principals of the Glenside Center are members of A.A. As stated in the opinion, many of those who testified on behalf of the Glenside Center are also members of A.A. One was identified by full name as a member of A.A. for 53 years (you'd think he'd know better after that long). The Center's argument included the following:

While AA or its related organizations do not claim to be an established religion, the constituent groups can and have been viewed as engaging in an exercise of religion. The Act broadly defines religious exercise to include "any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious beliefs."

I became aware of this ruling when a friend in A.A. sent me a link to an entry about it in a Washington Post blog named "Under God." In it, David Waters argues that the Court made a mistake on the basis of four objections. After each objection, I'll give my objections to Mr Waters' objections.

Objection 1: Any person of faith can be a spiritual leader.

Actually, I would go even further than Mr Waters. Lack of "a religious leader, i.e., a minister, priest, rabbi or other spiritual leader" should not preclude a gathering from being religious. A prime example would be an unprogrammed meeting for worship of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as Quakers.

Objection 2: Assisting people in recovering from any addiction is a religious (and spiritual) purpose.

Accepting this argument would make every rehab and detox in the U.S. a religious organization. It would also make seeing any health-care practitioner for help with an addiction into a religious activity.

Objection 3: Any group that advances the healing of bodies and souls (and the forgiveness of debts and debtors) also advances religion.

By this argument, entering into any course of psychiatric or psychological therapy, participating in any of numerous self-help organizations or classes, going to see the doctor, going to the gym to work out, or seeking credit counseling would be considered a religious activity. This is patently absurd.

Objection 4: Clearly the court is unaware of the history and purpose of AA.

Clearly Mr Waters is not fully aware of the history and purpose of A.A. Let me address each of the facts he cites in support of his objection.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded as a spiritual program, direct outgrowth of the Oxford Group at Calvary Episcopal Church in New York.

True. But it's also true that the Oxford Group (known since 2001 as Initiatives of Change) considered itself non-religious. Furthermore A.A. separated from the Oxford Group at least in part due to the latter's belief that alcoholism was a sin rather than a disease, and to sever what might appear as ties to a Christian organization.

AA meetings include recitations of The Lord's Prayer and the Serenity Prayer.

Actually, this seems to me to be a reasonably good argument. It's one reason I do not participate in saying the Lord's Prayer at meetings. Not all meetings use the Lord's Prayer, though I'd have to say that most in the U.S.³ do. As for the Serenity Prayer, so far as I know, it is not perceived to be associated with Christianity, despite its purported author being a Christian theologian. As insightful as it may be to us drunks, the idea would seem to be quite universal in thought and application among those who consider and practice such things. Indeed, the essential idea can be found in a Mother Goose rhyme:

For every ailment under the sun

There is a remedy, or there is none;

If there be one, try to find it;

If there be none, never mind it.

Back to Mr Waters' argument:

"AA indirectly derived much of its inspiration from the Church," Rev. Samuel M. Shoemaker, Rector of Calvary Church, said in 1955.

Key word: indirectly. I'd say that a huge number of institutions of Western civilization were indirectly derived from Christianity, not the least of which is the United States of America. Furthermore, citing a single person—a non-A.A. member at that—saying this in a single speech is not much of an argument. Bill W., co-founder of A.A. and a much better source to cite, said of the phrase God as we understood him that it was "tremendously important," "a ten-strike," enabling "thousands to join AA who would have otherwise gone away," opening the door to "those of fine religious training and those of none at all," making "one’s religion the business of the AA member himself and not that of his society."⁴

AA's Twelve Traditions includes No. 2: "For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority -- a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience." Seven of AA's famous Twelve Steps reference God, including:

• 2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
• 3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
• 11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
• 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Newcomers to A.A. are commonly encourage to find a power greater than themselves even if that power is nothing more than a doorknob or an ashtray. Many A.A. members attain long-term sobriety using A.A. itself as a higher power (God is sometimes identified as an acronym, standing for "Group of Drunks"). Even casual acquaintance with A.A.'s program makes it clear that this higher power can be of whatever conception one so chooses. See also the quote of Bill W.'s referred to above.

"Would that the Church were like this," Shoemaker said in 1955, "ordinary men and women with great need who have found a great Answer, and do not hesitate to make it known wherever they can - a trained army of enthusiastic, humble, human workers whose efforts make life a different thing for other people!"

Is Mr Waters saying that a non-religious group of people cannot exhibit these same characteristics? I suspect that any number of political activists would be happy with such a description.

If a group that meets under spiritual precepts, performs rituals, and seeks to heal its members isn't religious, what else is it?

Rituals? To what rituals does Mr Waters refer? He hasn't mentioned any up to this point in the article and doesn't mention any after this either. And without rituals, all that's left is a group that uses spiritual precepts and seeks to heal its members. In at least one sense of the word spiritual, a vast number of groups satisfy this description.

Indeed, much of the argument comes down to whether or not there is a difference between spirituality and religion, and what that difference might be. From the American Heritage Dictionary:

spir·i·tu·al
ADJECTIVE:1. Of, relating to, consisting of, or having the nature of spirit; not tangible or material. See synonyms at immaterial. 2. Of, concerned with, or affecting the soul. 3. Of, from, or relating to God; deific. 4. Of or belonging to a church or religion; sacred. 5. Relating to or having the nature of spirits or a spirit; supernatural.

As will be clear to anyone who is familiar with A.A. and its program of recovery, A.A. itself would not accept any definition other than one with the broadest possible meaning. The meaning of A.A. being a spiritual program could be that it is religious to the member who is herself religious. That meaning could be only that it is intangible or immaterial to the member who is himself not religious. A.A. itself doesn't care. A.A. is areligious.

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¹Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act—a federal statute passed in 2000 to provide stronger protection for religious freedom in the land-use and prison contexts.

²The opinion footnotes this sentence with the following:

RLUIPA defines “Religious exercise” as follows:

(A) In general. The term “religious exercise” includes any exercise of religion, whether or not compelled by, or central to, a system of religious belief.

(B) Rule. The use, building, or conversion of real property for the purpose of religious exercise shall be considered to be religious exercise of the person or entity that uses or intends to use the property for that purpose.

³I know from personal experience that the Lord's Prayer is rarely used in Australia, and that because of this Australian members of A.A. pride themselves on being more consistent with A.A. principles than A.A. in the U.S. is.

⁴Full quote, from A Conversation with Bill W., A Synopsis of the Question-Answer Period following Bill W.'s talk at the NCCA Syposium in New York in 1960:

When these Steps were shown to my friends, their reactions were mixed indeed. Some argued that six steps had worked fine, so why twelve? From our agnostic contingent there were loud cries of too much “God.” Others objected to an expression which I had included which suggested getting on one’s knees while in prayer. I heavily resisted these objections for months. But I finally did my statement about a suitable prayerful posture and finally went along with that now tremendously important expression, “God as we understand Him” — this expression having been coined, I think, by one of our former atheist members. This was indeed a ten-strike. That one has since enabled thousands to join AA who would have otherwise gone away. It enabled people of fine religious training and those of none at all to associate freely and to work together. It made one’s religion the business of the AA member himself and not that of his society.

Still above ground and sober

For anyone who's wondering, I'm doing okay. I got elected to another Area office and expect to continue in General Service for another two years. Nimue is divorcing me after nearly three years of separation. Despite that, I feel as good as I have in a long time. Despite some heavy bouts of depression over the last nine months, I recently thought to myself, "Ah, so this is what it feels like not to be depressed! I had forgotten."

Despite the fact that I haven't posted for over nine months, every now and then, someone adds a comment to an old post. This, if nothing else, sporadically reminds me that I'd like to taking up at least semi-regular posting again. Absolutely no promises, we'll see.