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 District 5 Al-Anon/Alateen

 

Groups’ and Members’ Corner!

This page has Al-Anon materials that may be of particular interest to Al-Anon groups and Al-Anon members.

 

Groups’ and Members’ Corner

Three Legacies

12 Steps

12 Traditions

12 Concepts

General Warranties

Serenity Prayer

Slogans

Structure/Organization

WSO Resources

WSO Guidelines

 

Groups’ Corner

Preamble

Opening/Closing

Al-Anon Declaration

Congressional Recognition

 

Members’ Corner 

Just For Today

Affirmations

Member Service

 History & Bios

For fun:  Al-Anon recovery calculator!

 

Please note: Some documents linked on this page are in PDF files that can only be viewed with Download Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Acrobat Reader installed. This software is free and downloadable from the Adobe Web Site.

 

The Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, Twelve Concepts, and General Warranties of Al-Anon

 

The Three Legacies: The Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts of Service together provide principles that guide the Al-Anon program. These are referred to as our “Three Legacies.” These Legacies were adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous. There is more information about the Three Legacies on our Al-Anon structure page.

 

The Twelve Steps of Al-Anon are a practical tool for change for Al-Anon members. The Twelve Steps help us find answers to our questions and solutions to our problems. They help us to make peace with the past and live productively in the present.

     Al-Anon’s Twelve Steps, copyright 1996 by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. 

Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.

 

The Twelve Traditions of Al-Anon is a set of guidelines for the Al-Anon program. The Traditions help us to maintain unity.

Al-Anon’s Twelve Traditions, copyright 1996 by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. 

Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.

 

The Twelve Concepts of Service Al-Anon are a guide for broad-scale service within the Al-Anon program. They provide guidelines for spreading Al-Anon’s message world-wide. 

Al-Anon’s Twelve Concepts of Service, copyright 1996 by Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc. 

Reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.

 

The General Warranties of Al-Anon provide guidelines for the proceedings of the World Service Conferences of Al-Anon.

The General Warranties of Al-Anon are reprinted with permission of ©Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc., Virginia Beach, VA.

 

The Serenity Prayer

The Serenity Prayer has been an integral part of A.A. since 1939, and was embraced as well by Al-Anon. There are many stories as to the origin of the Serenity Prayer; most credit Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, of the Union Theological Seminary in NYC, as composing it in 1932. Another story states that Dr. Niebuhr credited the roots of the Serenity Prayer to Friedrich Oetinger, an 18th century theologian. A.A.’s co-founder, Bill W., wrote in “A.A. Comes of Age” that a New York A.A. member noticed the prayer in an obituary in the New York Herald Tribune and brought the power and wisdom contained in the prayer's thoughts to other member’s attention. Bill W. wrote, “Never had we seen so much A.A. in so few words,” and the Serenity Prayer began appearing on printed cards and in A.A. printed materials. Over the years, the Serenity Prayer has been translated and used by thousands of A.A. and Al-Anon members worldwide. Many Al-Anon meetings begin and/or end with the Serenity Prayer. Al-Anon suggests the words of the Serenity prayer can help us gain perspective, sort out what we can and can not do, and know when to act and when to let go. 

 

The first verse is the most commonly recited; this “short version” of the Serenity Prayer states,

 

SERENITY PRAYER

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

 

There is a longer version of the Serenity Prayer that states,

 

SERENITY PRAYER

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time; Enjoying one moment at a time;

Accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it;
Trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will;
That I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next.  Amen

 

Click here for a PDF document of the short version of the Serenity prayer.

Click here for a PDF document of the long version of the Serenity prayer.

Click here for printable wallet-sized Serenity Prayer cards.

 

The Al-Anon Slogans

The Al-Anon “slogans” include: “Keep It Simple,” “But For The Grace Of God,” “Easy Does It,” “First Things First,” “Just For Today,” “Let It Begin With Me,” “How Important Is It?” “Think,” “One Day At A Time,” “Keep An Open Mind,” “Live And Let Live,” and “Let Go And Let God.” You can read more about these slogans here.

 

District 5 has made printable wallet-sized cards with the slogans and Serenity prayer. These can be used as reminders for your personal recovery, stuck onto business card-sized magnets to display, handed to newcomers (with your phone number on the back if you’d like to share your number) or any other purpose you can think of.  You can click on and print the PDF files of your favorite slogans/Serenity prayer, then cut them out; or you can click on the jpg files to make your own cards. 

 

PDF slogan card/Serenity prayer files

 

JPG slogan card/Serenity prayer files

Serenity prayer.

12 slogans.

 

Serenity prayer: one/two.

12 slogans: one/two.

Keep It Simple.

But For The Grace Of God.

 

Keep It Simple: one/two.

But For The Grace Of God: one/two.

Easy Does It.

First Things First.

 

Easy Does It: one/two.

First Things First: one/two.

Just For Today.

Let It Begin With Me.

 

Just For Today: one/two.

Let It Begin With Me: one/two.

How Important Is It.

Think.

 

How Important Is It: one/two.

Think: one/two.

One Day At A Time.

Keep An Open Mind.

 

One Day At A Time: one/two.

Keep An Open Mind: one/two.

Live And Let Live.

Let Go And Let God.

 

Live And Let Live: one/two.

Let Go And Let God: one/two.

 

Structure and Organization

Al-Anon/Alateen is structured to provide a chain of communication and input from the membership, to each group, to the district level, to the area level and area assembly, to the World Services Conference, and back through the same chain to the membership. Information about how Al-Anon is organized can be found on our structure page. Information about District 5 Al-Anon can be found on our business page. The Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual posted on the Al-Anon World Service web site provides detailed information.

 

Al-Anon/Alateen World Service Office Resources for Members and Groups

The Al-Anon World Service Office web site has a special section for members. This area includes useful information and publications that may not be accessible from other sources. Newsletters published by the WSO are accessible from the member’s area (click on “publications” then on “newsletters.”) Members can reach the Al-Anon/Alateen member site at http://www.al-anon.org/members/. You need to know the name of your registered “home group” or your district to enter a password to access the member’s area. Follow the directions to enter a password.  This area has a wealth of information about group services, publications related to Al-Anon service and organization, public outreach, and World Service Office structure and function, and forms for group functions.

 

The Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual for 2006 – 2009 can be accessed and downloaded (in PDF form) from the Al-Anon/Alateen member section of the Al-Anon web site (please see the information above to access the member’s area.) To access the Service Manual, enter the member’s area, then click on publications, then click on service manual. The Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual is available for sale from the Al-Anon District 5 literature distribution center and from the Al-Anon World Services publications area (item number P-24/27.)  It can also be accessed on line at the Al-Anon/Alateen member site at http://www.al-anon.org/members/ - follow the directions above to access the member’s area, then click on “publications” and then on “service manual.”  The Service Manual provides a wealth of information about Al-Anon/Alateen’s history, structure, and operations; plus meeting ideas, suggested group policies, and more.

 

The Al-Anon/Alateen “Groups At Work” booklet includes a revised section of the Al-Anon/Alateen Service Manual that includes the suggested Meeting Format, Group Tips and Topics, how to register a group, the Preamble, the Suggested Opening, the Suggested Closing, and additional information about groups. It’s a handy booklet that every member should find valuable, available at low cost. A “Groups At Work” booklet will be mailed to each registered Al-Anon and Alateen group, and is available for order from the World Service Office. The publication number is P-24. Please see our literature page for information on obtaining this and other Al-Anon literature.

 

The World Service Office provides a complimentary copy of the Al-Anon Family Group Binder to each newly registered group. These Group Binders contain a wealth of information focused on group needs. The binder was revised and reformatted in 2005. Three of the documents have major changes, and can be downloaded from the Al-Anon/Alateen member site (please see the information above to access this area; click on group services, then on group binder.) A customized binder (item number M-59) can be purchased from the Al-Anon World Services publications area.

 

Al-Anon/Alateen Guidelines for Members and Groups

The Al-Anon World Service Office pooled shared experiences of Al-Anon and Alateen members to developed guidelines for Al-Anon members and Al-Anon groups.  The guidelines can be accessed from the table below or from the Al-Anon/Alateen member’s site. (Please note: updates are often made to the Guidelines. While we do our best to keep our site current, the most up-to-date guidelines can always be found on the Al-Anon/Alateen member’s site.)

The following guidelines are all reprinted with permission of Al-Anon Family Group Headquarters, Inc.

                            

Guidelines for members interested in speaking (G-1)

Suggestions for members who are invited to speak at Al-Anon meetings and functions.

Guidelines for beginner’s meetings (G-2)

Suggestions for sharing experience, strength and hope at a beginner’s meeting.

Guidelines for Al-Anon Information Services (AIS) (G-4)

Al-Anon Information Services (A.I.A.) are local service centers established by one or more groups or districts that help their member groups to carry the Al-Anon message to others.  (Please see our contact us page to contact our District 5 A.I.S.)

Alateen Meetings in Schools (G-5)

Tips for members interested in starting an Alateen meeting at a school.

Area Literature Coordinators (G-6)

Functions of area literature coordinators.

Al-Anon/Alateen participation in an area Alcoholics Anonymous convention (G-7)

Suggestions for Al-Anon participation in A.A. functions.

Taking Group Inventory (G-8)

Suggestions and a checklist for taking a group inventory.

Outreach to Institutions (G-9)

Guidelines for bringing Al-Anon’s message to institutions (including but not limited to treatment centers, hospitals, correctional facilities, group homes, halfway houses, shelters, juvenile centers.)

Outreach to the public (G-10)

Guidelines for bringing Al-Anon information to the public through media and other means.

Group Representative (G-11)

Guidelines for representing your group at the district and area assembly levels.

Starting an Al-Anon Group (G-12)

Guidelines for starting a new Al-Anon group, and how the World Service Office can help.

Suggested programs for meetings (G-13)

Describes different types of meetings and resources available for meeting topics.

Services in correctional facilities (G-14)

Guidelines and resources for working with incarcerated individuals affected by another person’s alcoholism.

District meetings (G-15)

Describes district meetings and offers suggestions for successful district meetings.

Alateen conferences (G-16)

Describes Alateen conference structure and offers suggestions for Alateen conferences.

Literature Distribution Centers (G-18)

How Literature Distribution Centers work.

Starting an Alateen Group (G-19)

Guidelines for starting a new Alateen group.

Al-Anon/Alateen area conventions (G-20)

Guidelines for planning a convention.

Guidelines for newsletter editors (G-21)

Suggestions for editing Al-Anon newsletters.

A meeting on wheels (G-22)

Suggestions for holding one-time “demonstration” meetings to introduce others at the site to the Al-Anon program. Includes the Preamble and suggested opening and closing.

Area Alateen coordinators (G-24)

Coordinating communication and fostering cooperation among district Alateen meetings.