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Service In Alcoholics Anonymous

When I first came to AA, I was suffering the pangs of guilt and shame and just wanted to stay sober on a daily basis. I was told I needed to get to as many meetings as possible and get a sponsor and do service. Service? - what’s that? I went to many meetings and got myself a sponsor and started to work through the Twelve Steps. But service, still not sure. What was it? Did I need to do it? Someone else would do it, wouldn’t they? What if no-one did? Where would the Fellowship be? Any ideas?

After time in AA I took my first service position, tea person, for the Saturday morning women’s Living Sober meeting. These women wanted me as tea person - the most important position in the service of the group - who wanted me around before? I really enjoyed this position and felt that I was contributing to my fellow recovering alcoholics in a positive way. Having that service gave me the courage to keep going even when I did not want to - milk was needed, not me, milk for our tea and coffee. I gained confidence in myself and felt good enough to take on service which required a longer term of sobriety i.e. chair, literature, I’ve even been trusted as treasurer, what an honour, then it was suggested I be GSR for my group. I was not sure about this one, but with help and advice from those who have trod this road before me and being sponsored into the position I said ok, I will give it a go.

This is one service where I feel I have grown in my recovery. Through being willing to be a trusted servant for my group and attend intergroup on their behalf, I have learned such a lot about how the Fellowship works, I cannot begin to tell you, you will have to achieve this yourself.

From attending intergroup and being willing to give back to AA what has been so freely given to me, I became one of the Regional Representatives for intergroup and attending regional meetings on behalf of Notts/Leics Intergroup. I learnt more about this wonderful Fellowship of ours - I wanted to know more and so became a Conference Delegate and attended Conference in York, taking our Region’s answers to the Conference Questions published each year in AA News. This is an important part of the Fellowship and gives our views - things do change with our help and understanding of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, principles and concepts of Alcoholic Anonymous.

To have the honour and privilege of doing service in our Fellowship also gives me the humility I was so sadly lacking before in my life. Service has given me an acceptance of myself, a confidence that I am able to go where others have gone before and carry this amazing message of Alcoholics Anonymous. I hope all who follow in our footsteps get as much from doing service as we have, for without service being carried out where would our Fellowship be. As I grew in sobriety and recovery, so I grew into service and began to find the hidden treasures doing service brought to me. I began to see the bigger picture of how we all fit in and how the jigsaw comes together to make our Fellowship work. Putting my gratitude into action is the key to my sobriety today.

ANITA S, Nottingham