Suggested Guidelines for Meetings

Hi! My name is _____________________

Ask that cell phones be turned off.

A moment of silence

The serenity prayer

God, Grant me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

The courage to change the things I can,

And the wisdom to know the difference.

Read the Al-Anon Welcome and the Preamble or the Alternate Welcome on Page 4.

Al-Anon Welcome

We welcome you to the Steamboat Springs ODAT Al-Anon Family Group and hope you will find in this

fellowship the help and friendship we have been privileged to enjoy.

We who live or have lived with the problem of alcoholism understand as perhaps few others can.

We, too, were lonely and frustrated, but in Al-Anon we discover that no situation is really hopeless

and that it is possible for us to find contentment, and even happiness, whether the alcoholic is still

drinking or not.

We urge you to try our program. It has helped many of us find solutions that lead to serenity. So

much depends on our own attitudes, and as we learn to place our problem in its true perspective, we

find it loses its power to dominate our thoughts and our lives.

The family situation is bound to improve as we apply the Al-Anon ideas. Without such spiritual help,

living with an alcoholic is too much for most of us. Our thinking becomes distorted by trying to force

solutions, and we become irritable and unreasonable without knowing it.

The Al-Anon program is based on the Twelve Steps (adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous), which we

try, little by little, one day at a time, to apply to our lives, along with our slogans and the Serenity

Prayer. The loving interchange of help among members and daily reading of Al-Anon literature thus

make us ready to receive the priceless gift of serenity.

Anonymity is an important principle of the Al-Anon program. Everything that is said here, in the

group meeting and member-to-member, must be held in confidence. Only in this way can we feel

free to say what is in our minds and hearts, for this is how we help one another in Al-Anon.

Preamble

The Al-Anon Family Groups are 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.

Al-Anon is not allied with any sect, denomination, political entity, organization, or institution; does not

engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any cause. There are no dues for

membership. Al-Anon is self-supporting through its own voluntary contributions.

Al-Anon has but one purpose: to help families of alcoholics. We do this by practicing the Twelve

Steps, by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics, and by giving understanding and

encouragement to the alcoholic.

Introduction to the Twelve Steps

Study of the Twelve Steps is essential to progress in the Al-Anon program.

Ask group members to read the Twelve Steps

Introduction to the Traditions

Unity depends on our adherence to the Traditions.

Ask someone to read the Tradition of the month

Introduction to the Concepts

The Twelve Concepts provide guidance in serving each other in our business matters.

Ask someone to read the Concept of the month.

Read the announcements (in the front flap of the notebook) and pass the clipboard.

Introduce ourselves.

Read the Thoughts for the Day from One Day at a Time, Courage to Change, and Hope for Today.

We avoid crosstalk in our meetings. Crosstalk means talking directly to another person or giving

advice and feedback to another person. Please be aware of this in your sharing today by keeping the

focus on yourself.

We ask that all present refrain from gossip, dominance, discussion of religion, treatment centers,

other Twelve Step or self-help programs, counseling, and the use or mention of material other than

our Al-Anon conference-approved literature.

Ask if there are any newcomers. If there is a newcomer, please allot at least part of the meeting to

sharing experience, strength and hope, with emphasis on the First Step and the tools of the program

(CAL literature, Steps, anonymity, phone list, sponsorship, spirituality, and meetings.)

Ask for a topic for discussion. (There is a list of suggested topics in the front flap of the notebook.)

End of Meeting:

Announcement

We are fully self-supporting through our own voluntary contributions. A basket is being passed for

your contribution. We ask that newcomers and visitors do not contribute.

On Sponsorship

Sponsorship is a confidential relationship between two Al-Anon members who offer each other

experience, support, and acceptance. Sponsorship is encouraged as a tool that can deepen our

understanding of the program.

Closing

In closing, I would like to say that the opinions expressed here were strictly those of the person who

gave them. Take what you liked and leave the rest.

The things you heard were spoken in confidence and should be treated as confidential. Keep them

within the walls of this room and the confines of your mind.

A few special words to those of you who haven’t been with us long: Whatever your problems, there

are those among us who have had them, too. If you try to keep an open mind, you will find help.

You will come to realize that there is no situation too difficult to be bettered and no unhappiness too

great to be lessened.

We aren’t perfect. The welcome we give you may not show the warmth we have in our hearts for

you. After a while, you’ll discover that though you may not like all of us, you’ll love us in a very

special way – the same way we already love you.

Talk to each other, reason things out with someone else, but let there be no gossip or criticism of

one another. Instead, let the understanding, love, and peace of the program grow in you one day at

a time.

Will all who care to, join me in closing with ________(your choice)________.

Collect the money from the donations basket and put it away in the Al-Anon slot of the locked

cabinet.

Thank you for your service.

Alternate Welcome

Welcome to the Steamboat Springs ODAT Al-Anon Family Group. Our group is primarily for you who

know or have known a feeling of desperation concerning the drinking problem of someone near to

you. We have traveled that unhappy road also, and have found the answer with serenity and peace

of mind.

When you come into our group, you are no longer alone but among true friends who understand

your problems as few others could. We will respect your confidence and anonymity, as we know you

will respect ours. We hope to give you the assurance that no situation is too difficult to be bettered

and no unhappiness too great to be overcome.

Our program, which is not a religion but a spiritual way of life, is based on the Twelve Steps of

Alcoholics Anonymous. We have found that the working of these Steps will bring the solution to any

problem. This program is as helpful to us as it is to the alcoholic.

We ask only for the wisdom to see ourselves as we really are, to do something about ourselves with

the help of a Higher Power, and for the grace to take our hands off others and cease trying to

change them.

Please keep an open mind and attend as many meetings as possible. Feel free to enter into the

discussion during the meeting and ask questions after the meeting. You will soon make new friends

and feel very much a part of the group. Our meetings last for approximately one hour. During this

hour, we come together for mutual aid. We ask that all present refrain from gossip, dominance,

discussion of religion, treatment centers, other Twelve Step or self-help programs, counseling, and

the use or mention of material other than our Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature.

With the understanding that alcoholism is a disease and the realization that we are powerless over it,

as well as over other people, we are ready to do something useful and constructive with our own

lives. Then, and only then, can we be of any help to others.