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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
Groups’ Corner
Members’ Corner
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For fun: Al-Anon recovery calculator! |
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Please note: Some documents linked
on this page are in PDF files that can only be viewed with |
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.,
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” 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.
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PDF slogan card/Serenity prayer files |
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JPG slogan card/Serenity prayer files |
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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.
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Suggestions for members who are
invited to speak at Al-Anon meetings and functions. |
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Suggestions for sharing experience,
strength and hope at a beginner’s meeting. |
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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.) |
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Tips
for members interested in starting an Alateen meeting at a school. |
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Functions
of area literature coordinators. |
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Al-Anon/Alateen participation in an
area Alcoholics Anonymous convention (G-7) |
Suggestions
for Al-Anon participation in A.A. functions. |
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Taking Group Inventory (G-8) |
Suggestions
and a checklist for taking a group inventory. |
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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.) |
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Outreach to the public (G-10) |
Guidelines
for bringing Al-Anon information to the public through media and other means.
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Group Representative (G-11) |
Guidelines
for representing your group at the district and area assembly levels. |
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Starting an Al-Anon Group (G-12) |
Guidelines
for starting a new Al-Anon group, and how the World Service Office can help. |
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Describes
different types of meetings and resources available for meeting topics. |
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Guidelines
and resources for working with incarcerated individuals affected by another
person’s alcoholism. |
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District meetings (G-15) |
Describes
district meetings and offers suggestions for successful district meetings. |
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Alateen conferences (G-16) |
Describes
Alateen conference structure and offers suggestions for Alateen conferences. |
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How
Literature Distribution Centers work. |
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Starting an Alateen Group (G-19) |
Guidelines
for starting a new Alateen group. |
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Guidelines
for planning a convention. |
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Suggestions
for editing Al-Anon newsletters. |
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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. |
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Area Alateen coordinators (G-24) |
Coordinating
communication and fostering cooperation among district Alateen meetings. |