Gratitude for Service Work
I had always heard, “Service work helps you work your program,” but never believed it until I did service work! Now I say that slogan to others. I try to keep two jobs of service work going to help my own program.
Serving on Intergroup
It’s 11:15 a.m. on the second Saturday morning of the month in Silver Spring, MD, a suburb of Washington, DC. The regular Saturday morning SA meeting has let out and the Maryland/Washington DC/Virginia Intergroup meeting is about to begin. I drove 35 minutes to be here; others came from as far away as the Maryland-Pennsylvania border or Fredericksburg, VA, both well over an hour’s drive away.
Commitment to Service
Service is important, for a number of reasons. First and foremost, it is usually more difficult to relapse when giving service than when not. However, “service” is not a sure fire “cure” for relapse, but it certainly helps.
Service Not an Option
When I first got sober in AA, service was not an option; it came with the package. When we work through the Steps, we eventually get to Step Twelve, which states that “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry the message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” When I came to SA I was told that AA’s Twelve Steps were SA’s Twelve Steps.
The Genie Tree — Experiences with Service in SA
I served as treasurer/literature person for my home group for 17 months — too long.
How SA Service is Done in Germany
Ever since our first German semiannual SA Convention in May 1986, we have basically applied the same methods and guidelines in our Service Committee. At the business meeting during the Convention all SA members with more than 30 days sobriety join in electing those who volunteer to be on the Service Committee.
