September in A.A. History—day unknown

In 1953, the first Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) group in Argentina was founded in Buenos Aires [right: location of Buenos Aires within Argentina].
    After reading the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous and getting sober in December 1952, Hector had spent nearly nine months unsuccessfully trying to start an A.A. group. He had maintained contact with the U.S. while he visited alcoholics in jails and hospitals. Through the Alcoholic Foundation's General Service Office (GSO) in New York City, he had met with A.A. members visiting Buenos Aires. He had also obtained unofficial A.A. publications from other countries and corresponded with many individuals. Gradually, Hector had educated himself about Alcoholics Anonymous and strengthened his own sobriety.
    In September 1953, another alcoholic, Arthur M., a British national and lifelong resident of Argentina, reached out to Hector. After traveling to the U.S. to visit family, Arthur had received treatment for alcoholism and subsequently joined A.A. in Dallas, Texas. Before returning to Buenos Aires, he obtained Hector’s name from GSO. Together, the two men worked with renewed vigor, aided by Arthur’s knowledge of A.A. in the U.S. As a result, they successfully founded the first A.A. group in Argentina.

In 1965, the A.A. Grapevine [left: cover] published a short article titled “Best of Bill.” It said, in part,

    About a year ago, we began to think of printing readers’ favorites of Bill’s articles in separate form so that they would be readily available now that some of our back issues containing them are sold out. We chose five articles on subjects which are no strangers to any of us—Fear, Faith, Honesty, Humility, and Love—and had them printed in small booklets (3½ by 5½ inches) all packaged in a little envelope. We hope to add others to the package from time to time, so we gave the group of articles the overall title, “The Best of Bill”.…

    We just returned from the Convention in Toronto, where the “Best of Bill” was introduced to the more than 10,000 people who attended this exciting, important and exhausting gathering of AAs around the world. The Grapevine had two booths on the Convention floors floors which were in continual danger of capsizing beneath the waves of AAs rushing back and forth to panel meetings. We’re pretty certain thousands never saw our booths, or our new “Best of Bill” packet. But we are also certain (because we counted) that thousands stopped to look and to buy. We hope you will like the “Best of Bill,” too. Turn the page to see about prices and ordering [right: order form].

In 1970, [early] Bill W. [left, at April 1970's General Service Conference] became completely bedridden.

In 1974, Bob P. [right] was hired as the General Manager (GM) of the General Service Office (GSO); he served in that role until October 1984.
    He got sober in New York City in 1961. His story, “A.A. Taught Him to Handle Sobriety,” has appeared in the 3rd and 4th editions of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Bob had served on the General Service Board as a Class B (alcoholic) Trustee from 1968 to 1974 and continued working at GSO until 1986.
    After retiring, he contributed to A.A. in many ways. For one, he would write a history of the Fellowship from the publication of Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age in 1957 through A.A.’s 50th [51st?] year in 1985, including some additional early history. Unfortunately, this manuscript would never be published, but it is available online.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

In 1950, [Early] Dr. Bob S. [right] underwent another operation. His live-in caretaker at the time, Emma K., recalled in 1977:

    Then the pain was getting really bad. Every day, he went down a little further. And he did so hate to go to the hospital. But there were things that had to be done to him, and they couldn’t be done at home. So we [she and her alcoholic husband Lavelle K.] would take him in, and may he would stay a day and a night. Then we’d bring him back home. We had good days, and we had bad days. I know one time he was in bed for six weeks. Sometimes, he had to have five or six shots. And he would always say, “Thank you kindly.”

In 1950, Bill W. [left] reported on the proceedings of the July 28–30 1st International Convention and A.A.’s 15th Anniversary Celebration in Cleveland, Ohio, in an A.A. Grapevine article titled “We Come of Age.” It began:

    On AA’s 15th Anniversary everybody knew that we had grown up. There couldn't be any doubt about it. Members, families and friends—seven thousand of them—spent three inspiring, almost awesome days with our good hosts at Cleveland.
    The theme song of our Conference was gratitude; its keynote was the sure realization that we are now welded as one, the world over. As never before, we dedicated ourselves to the single purpose of carrying good news of AA to those millions who still don't know. And, as we affirmed the Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous, we asked that we might remain in perfect unity under the Grace of God for so long as he may need us.

	In 1952, the A.A. Bulletin, a newsletter regularly sent to A.A. groups from the Alcoholic Foundation’s office in New York City, was renamed The Group Secretary. In 1955, it would be renamed again, to The General Service Bulletin. Then, in May 1956, it would be consolidated with several other A.A. bulletins to create the A.A. Exchange Bulletin [left: Vol. I, No. 1]. Finally, in December 1966, the A.A. Exchange Bulletin would be renamed Box 4-5-9 [right: first Box 4-5-9, “formerly the A.A. Exchange Bulletin”].

September 27 in A.A. History

In 1937, Dr. Bob S. [near right] responded to a letter that Bill W. [far right] had sent him a few days earlier. Bill mentioned his upcoming trip to Akron, stating that he and Lois planned to arrive on Sunday, 10 October, along with two other couples and a friend^* from New York City. Dr. Bob was enthusiastic about the visit and expressed his excitement in his reply:

We can easily find room for as many as you want to bring for as long as you wish. Between Paul [S——], T. Henry [Williams] and ourselves we will have no trouble housing and feeding you and your gang.

---

^*The Sterling P.s, the William R.s, and Fitz M.

September in A.A. History—day unknown

	In 1940, in Pennsylvania, the Philadelphia Group of A.A. made its first prison commitment at the House of Correction     [left, c. 1940]. This commitment continued until the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns began in 2020. (Note that this occurred before the first A.A. meetings at San Quentin Prison, initiated by Warden Duffy [right, c. 1943?] in California, which would start two years later.)

In 1941, Ernie G. married Sue [right], the adopted daughter of Anne and Dr. Bob Smith. He was nearly twice her age. Sue later said,

    I think my dad got the bright idea that if he could get Ernie to take me out, and he’d pay the way, he might be able to get me away from Ray [Windows, her then-boyfriend]. We’d go down and get hamburgers, and Dad would buy them. I knew all that, but I didn’t realize it was in connection with Ray at the time. Now I think it was. I think Dad was using Ernie, and it backfired on him.

    Both her parents strongly objected to the idea of Sue's marriage, and she never informed them of it, assuming they would learn about it from the local papers. Ernie was drunk at the wedding and would not be able to stay sober. The marriage turned out to be a disaster, and Sue eventually divorced Ernie to marry Ray.

In 1947, the A.A. Grapevine published “Records Carefully Kept” by B.H.G., presumably Bud G., the founder of the Central Group in Little Rock, Arkansas [left: looking north down Main Street, 1940]:

    More than five hundred men and women have been initiated into A.A. through the Little Rock Approach Plan…
    It is interesting to note that of these men, the founders of the movement here, all are alive and only one ever had a relapse. They are living, walking proof of the statement that “it works.”
    The Little Rock Plan was, we believe, the first of its kind in the country.… and because this group has kept accurate records and statistics, we can report that our success is better than the national average of 75%…
    When a person has expressed a desire to achieve sobriety and has had a sponsor appointed for him, he must leave his work or position for at least two weeks. Usually the prospect is required to spend that entire time within the confines of the club rooms, studying, preparing a case history, meeting and filling assignments laid out by the sponsor.
    If, after two weeks, he has discharged his assignments to the satisfaction of his sponsor, he is brought before the executive committee and there his request for membership is presented by his sponsor in his presence. In some instances, because of the peculiarity of the case, he may not be admitted for varying periods as high as six months in some cases. However, if he is deemed eligible by the committee, he is brought before the next meeting, receives a warm welcome, is handed a copy of the “Approach Program” and the 12 Steps.…
    We give him a small diary and ask that each day thereafter for 28 days, he record his impressions of the day, any event, whether a happy one or a sad one, and enter therein, “I have not taken a drink this day,” and sign his name.
    At the end of this period he returns the diary to the club, is again welcomed and is admitted to full membership, the privilege of the ballot and an unrestricted part in the activities of the fellowship. He is then assigned to a squad, given some definite task, and encouraged to work, guided by some older member, with new prospects.

September 25 in A.A. History

In 1897, with just $1.87 [~$73 in 2025] and boundless faith in God, Australian William Raws [right] founded the Keswick Colony of Mercy in Whiting, New Jersey, as a spiritual restoration center for men addicted to alcohol. After experiencing a miraculous salvation and liberation from his own addiction, Raws dedicated his life to helping other men who had lost everything to the bondage of alcohol. Now known as America’s Keswick [left], it describes itself as…

    a ministry that teaches and models biblical Christian living through Addiction Recovery for men and women, training and resources, Christian conferences, concerts, and events, and by providing group retreat rental facilities and service to other like-minded organizations.

In 1962, Warren C. [A.A. #12?] spoke to “some 50 men” about Alcoholics Anonymous at the Canton, Ohio, Lion’s Club, as reported [right] two days later in Dover, Ohio’s The Daily Reporter.

September 24 in A.A. History

In 1940, Bill W. [near right] is said to have 12th-stepped Margaret “Bobbie” B. [far right] on this day, although she claimed a sobriety date of March 1940.     A brilliant woman and exceptional communicator, Bobbie had been an aspiring dancer, appearing in supporting roles on Broadway, as well as in Paris and London, before discovering Alcoholics Anonymous and securing employment at its headquarters (as it was then called).

    In February 1942, Bobbie would become the second—and last—national secretary for the Alcoholic Foundation office in New York City, following the departure of the first national secretary, Ruth Hock, who left to get married.

    She would take the lead in responding to over 6,000 letters and telegrams from people with drinking problems and their families seeking help from around the world. She wrote, edited, and mailed thousands of letters. She befriended over 300 A.A. members who fought in World War II. She wrote more than 20 letters to Dr. Sylvester Minogue in Australia to help start A.A. there. Many Australians consider her more of a founder than Bill W. Bobbie worked closely with Bill until her resignation in June 1949. She was so important to the early work of A.A. that Bill regularly included her name along with those of the Trustees, his wife Lois, and co-founder Dr. Bob S. and his wife Anne, in the annual Christmas letter he sent to A.A. members [below: 1944 Christmas letter].

September A.A. History—day unknown

In 1939, Your Faith magazine [right: cover with red arrows pointing to the relevant article] published D. J. Defoe’s interview with Dr. Bob Smith (who is not named), which was titled “I Saw Religion Remake a Drunkard.”

	In 1939, prior to the September 30 publication of an article about A.A. in Liberty magazine, which would be A.A.’s first national publicity, Bill W. [left] wrote to Dr. Bob S. [right], “We are growing at an alarming rate, although I have no further fear of large numbers.”

    Bill’s concern arose from the recent sudden expansion to thirty groups and several hundred members in Cleveland, Ohio. This rapid growth demonstrated that the Fellowship could reach a significant size. A few weeks later, Bill wrote to Dr. Bob again:

    The press of newcomers and inquiries was so great that we have to swing more to the take-it-or-leave-it attitude, which curiously enough, produces better results than trying to be all things at all times at all places to all men.

In 1939, Mort J. [left], a resident of Denver, Colorado, bought a copy of the Big Book, Alcoholics Anonymous. Without even looking at it, he packed it in his suitcase and forgot about it. In November, after coming to in Palm Springs, California, following a weeks-long international spree, still shaking violently, he would find and begin to read it. He would never drink again and would eventually help reestablish A.A. in Los Angeles, California. 

September in A.A. History—day unknown

In 1935, Bill W. began working with Hank P. [right] who was from Teaneck, New Jersey. Hank would become Bill’s first or second 12th-step success in New York City, the other being Fitz M. This event also marks the roots of A.A. in New Jersey.

In 1936, James Dellie “J.D.” H. [left] got sober and became A.A. #10 [though other sources cite him as #8 or #17]. A native of Graves County, Kentucky, J.D. was a newspaper writer from Akron, Ohio, and was nicknamed “Abercombie” by Dr. Bob Smith for reasons that J.D. never understood. He later recalled being taken care of by “nine or ten who preceded me.” He remembers meeting Dr. Bob and hearing his…

    … screwball idea about the drink problem. He was a Vermonter and I was a Southerner, and to me, he had the professional Northern type of attitude—gruff and blunt. But later, after he told me his story, I knew it was just his manner of speaking.

    There is evidence that J.D. slipped after a few months but returned after approximately four months. He would go on to establish Indiana’s first A.A. group in Evansville on 23 April 1940, which became known as the Tri-State Group. Subsequently, with Doherty “Dohr” S. [right], he would help spread A.A. throughout the state.

	In 1938 , Frank Amos [left] arranged a meeting between Bill W. [near right] and Eugene Exman [far right] , a friend of Amos and the religious editor of Harper Brothers Publishers. Exman offered Bill a $1,500 advance [~$34,400 in 2025] on the royalties from the sales of the book that would become Alcoholics Anonymous.

    Upon hearing this, the Alcoholic Foundation Board of Trustees would urge acceptance, but Bill and Hank P. [left] wanted book ownership to remain within the Fellowship. At Exman's suggestion, Hank would persuade Bill that they should form “One Hundred Men Corp.,” which, when women began seeking sobriety in A.A., became “Works Publishing, Inc.,” later “Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing,” and eventually “Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.” (AAWS), the name that remains today. They planned to sell stock at a par value of $25 [~$570 in 2025]. Six hundred shares would be issued; Hank and Bill would each receive 200 shares, and the remaining 200 shares would be sold to others. Later, 30 shares of preferred stock with a par value of $100 [~$2,300 in 2025] would also be sold.

    Eventually, all of these shares would be bought back by the Alcoholic Foundation, with a loan from John D. Rockefeller [right]—except for Bill’s and Hank’s, which would essentially^* be relinquished without compensation. To appease the board, the author’s royalties, which would initially go to Bill, would instead go to the Alcoholic Foundation.

---

^*Hank insisted on getting back the Alcoholic Foundation furniture he believed had come from Honors Dealers, but for which Bill claimed they had already compensated him. They eventually gave Hank another $200 [~$4,600 in 2025].

September 21 in A.A. History

	In 1902, six-year-old Bill W. [left, c. 1902] wrote to his mother, Emily [right, c. 1905], who was away with his sister, Dorothy: Dear Mama,     School has begun and we are in the second reader. I have a brand new arithmetic. We have the same teacher that was here before. I have two new under teeth. They look just like little saws. Granpa and I went to Captain Thomases show. The Cap is a slick one. When are you and Dorothy coming home? I want to see you ever so much. I try to be a good boy. Grandpa says I am. I am learning to read and do numbers very fast.     From your little son Willie.     P.S. Kiss sister for me.

September 20 in A.A. History

	In 1939, the first A.A. meeting in the Chicago area took place at the home of Sylvia K. [left] on Central Street in Evanston, Illinois*. Eight people attended—four men and four women, including two non-alcoholics. This was also the first A.A. meeting in Illinois. *According to the 1940 U.S. Census, Sylvia was living in the Evanshire Hotel [right] at 860 Hinman Avenue, Evanston, Illinois.

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.

---

^* 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.