MBAIAA Newsletter – June 2018

Published on June 21, 2018

Step 6 – “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character”

“ So Step Six – “ Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character” – is A.A.’s way of stating the best possible attitude one can take in order to make a beginning on this lifetime job. This does not mean that we expect all our character defects to be lifted out of us as the drive to drink was. A few of them may be, but with most of them we shall have to be content with patient improvement. The key words “entirely ready” underline the fact that we want to aim at the very best we know or can learn.”

Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 65

Alcoholics Anonymous Events To Plan For

Monterey Intergroup Birthday / Speaker Meeting
Saturday, June 30th @ 7:30 PM

Hosted this month by The Spirit Women. A women’s group that meets at 5:30 on Tuesdays @ St James Church at Franklin and High in Monterey. The speaker is Melanie G.
This is a monthly birthday meeting held on the last Saturday of each month (except for December when the meeting is held along with a holiday banquet ). The first part of the meeting includes a presentation of birthday medallions for those celebrating annual A.A. anniversaries and all are invited to participate. Birthdays are followed by an A.A. speaker who shares for 40 to 45 minutes and the meeting ends about 9pm. Coffee is typically ready no later than 7pm. Arrive early for good parking, fellowship and a great seat!

Monterey High School Cafeteria
Herman Drive at Larkin, Monterey CA 93940

50th Anniversary of MBAIAA
Saturday, July 21st @ 4:00 pm to 8:00 pm

If ever there was a reason to celebrate, this is it! The charter that our fellowship was officially designated as it’s own Intergroup is dated August 1st, 1968. While there were certainly meetings held prior to that, they were first listed in the greater San Francisco area schedule, then later, along with meetings in Salinas, and the Santa Cruz area. Come celebrate with us. We will have dinner together, and a meeting panel with speakers from several decades of sobriety to share what it was like getting sober here on the peninsula. There will be plenty of time for fellowship and reminiscing.
While contributions will be gladly accepted, this event will be free!

Hidden Valley Music Seminars
104 W. Carmel Valley Rd.

Hawaii Raffle

The annual summer fundraiser! The winner will receive roundtrip airfare for two, accommodations for 4 nights and registration to the AA conference on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii November 1-4 2018.
Tickets are just $10.00 each and only 450 tickets will be sold. The IGR from your home group will have tickets for sale and they are also available at Central Office.
The winner will be drawn at either the July or August Birthday meeting at Monterey High School.

Be sure to check out our website Events Calendar as there are many festivities ahead this spring and summer!

News From General Service

In response to the 2018 General Service Conference Advisory Action requesting the development of a pamphlet for Spanish-speaking women in A.A., the trustees’ literature committee is seeking a wide range of A.A. recovery experience from Spanish-speaking women in A.A. Please encourage Spanish-speaking women members in your area to write their personal stories for possible inclusion in this new pamphlet. Manuscripts should be 500-800 words, double spaced, in 12-point font. The author’s complete name, address and email/phone information should be included with the submission. Submissions can be emailed to Literature@aa.org with “Spanish-speaking women in A.A.” in the subject line of the message. Alternatively, submissions can be mailed to: Literature Coordinator, General Service Office, Box 459, Grand Central Station, New York, NY 10163. The deadline for submissions is November 19, 2018. The anonymity of all authors will be observed, whether or not their story is selected for publication. Thank you for your participation in this process.

To see current IGR minutes and financial reports CLICK HERE

A Note From Jana

This Newsletter is a little tardy this month because I have been focused on the planning that goes into our annual Unity Day event. We celebrate the founding of our program in June of 1935 in Akron Ohio. We join the Salinas fellowship for a barbeque and meeting in Toro Park. We have been doing that for 35 years! Aside from the fact that it is also a fundraiser for the two groups, there is always such a lovely sense of celebration of all that we are able to do TOGETHER.
Many thanks to the members of the Unity Day Committee for making this beautiful day possible again this year. It was a complete success!
Our next big celebration is on July 21st out in Carmel Valley at the Hidden Valley Music Center.
Your Steering Committee is hosting a barbeque and meeting to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Monterey Bay Area of Alcoholics Anonymous. The meeting will be a panel of folks who got sober here over the decades and there will be archival information and much time for reminiscing. We will honor those who have come before us. This is a free event, but contributions will be gratefully accepted.
As always, you can keep track of any events that are coming up on our website calendar page found here: https://www.aamonterey.org/events/
In closing, let me say that gratitude has always been the foundation of my sobriety. The demonstration of fellowship that was displayed at the Unity Day picnic made me so grateful to be part of the sober community here. We are so fortunate to live in such a beautiful place and to have each other. See you on the road…

We Are Always In Need Of People To Be Of Service

If you are interested in being a part of what we do here at Central Office, I am always looking for office volunteers . People to be on the other end of the phone when someone reaches out for help. It is generally a four hour commitment (either 9:30 – 1:30 or 1:30 – 5:30) 1 day per week. Currently, I need a few people to keep on a list of those that are willing to fill in for these positions once in a while. Call or come by and let’s talk!
In closing, please feel free to stop by Central Office. If you are one of the ‘Trusted Servants’ at a meeting (Secretary, Treasurer,etc,) and you have any questions about the responsibilities of that position, don’t hesitate to ask what those responsibilities might be.
I am in the office Monday, Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30 -5:00.