The following was written by H.M. of Germany and is reprinted here from the ninth issue of the German SA Newsletter. Thanks to Ruth P. again for the translation.

The following thoughts came to me recently when I had to observe how newly elected members left the Service Committee after a short period of time because they could not maintain their sobriety. Four members of the old Service Committee did not stand for reelection at this present term of office. The Fellowship elected five new SA friends to take their place. Out of these new Service Committee members, four lost their sobriety and all of them left the Service Committee before the term was over. For these members, this probably meant a painful defeat; for the remaining members it meant a lot more work, and for the Fellowship, it meant less necessary advice.

Based on the experiences of the past, I want to suggest that we only elect SA friends who have one year sobriety or more into the Service Committee in the future.

We are still a very small fellowship and we need every sober member, especially those who have been sober continuously for a longer period of time, to handle the work that comes up. I would like to encourage especially those friends who think they are making themselves too important—because of personal reasons—if they take on a service position, or think they are too much of a workaholic or want to organize everything or…. I would like to ask these very people to become conscious of their defects and to see that these abilities are gifts of God which they can use positively in service to the Fellowship.

Now I also would like to refer to the excerpt from “Twelve Concepts for World Service”—“Leadership in AA: Ever a Vital Need” which we have again included in this SA-Letter. When I read this excerpt two years ago, I realized that God made me just as I am and that I myself have the responsibility for what I do with my talents. Since then, at least I do not have the bad thoughts that came over me in the past, when I open up a meeting unasked or when I do something for the group as a whole. God gave me the ability to do this. That does not exclude the fact that since I am a workaholic and also an egocentric, I have to take special care of myself that I do not take on too much or be the center of attention too often. It is the Grace of God that showed me the way to sobriety, and it is His Love that gives me the strength every day, which I need to do His Will.