Good evening, and welcome to the irregular AA meeting of Atheists, Agnostics and All Others. My name is _________, I am an alcoholic and I’ll be chairing tonight’s meeting.
This is an open speaker discussion meeting and all are welcome.
We start our meeting with a member sharing for 10 minutes or less, followed by a group discussion. Sometimes our speakers tell what they used to be like, what happened and what they are like now. They may also introduce a topic for a group discussion relevant to their personal sobriety, to the AA program, or to sobriety and serenity in general.
Out of respect for the group, we ask that you keep your mics muted unless you are sharing. The host of this meeting has adjusted the settings so that no one is able to record the meeting using the Zoom features. We also ask you to be mindful about the time you spend sharing so we can allow as many members to share as possible within the time limits of our meeting.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength, and hope with each other so that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and to help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.
This group of AA attempts to maintain a tradition of free expression, and conduct a meeting where alcoholics may express any doubts or disbelief they may have, and to share their own personal form of spiritual experience, their search for it, or rejection of it. We do not endorse or oppose any form of belief system. Our only wish is to assure suffering alcoholics that they can find sobriety in AA without having to accept anyone else’s beliefs or having to deny their own.
Do we have anyone with us tonight that is in their first 30 days of sobriety? If so, would you please unmute yourself and tell us your first name so that we can welcome you?
Although we are unable to give out medallions here in the virtual world, we would still like to recognize sobriety milestones. Is anyone celebrating a sobriety milestone today or in the last week?
(If there are any takers:) It’s our group’s tradition to ask those who do reach milestones how they did it. _________________, would you like to share?
Does anyone have any AA related announcements?
Tonight our speaker is ___________________________________.
(Once the topic has been introduced, say:) Thank you, ______________. Who would like to get us started? (Then wait and allow volunteers to come forward)
(Around 7:30, copy/paste the Venmo information below into the chat feature and say) If you would like to make a donation to the group to help cover administrative costs, such as Zoom membership, you can find our Venmo information in the chat feature.
Venmo username = AAAOgroup-Treasurer
Associated email address = aa.aogroup@gmail.com
If you are attending on Zoom and need proof of attendance, please send a direct message to the meeting host.
For those new to secular AA or our group, please visit our website for more information and resources at aa-ao.org.
Our group considers sponsorship to be an important element of recovery. If you are able to be a sponsor, please raise your hand now. If you are looking for a sponsor, please send a private message to anyone currently raising their hand, or stay after the meeting.
And now, ____________________ will be sharing a version of the alternative 12 Steps.
(Once they finish reading the alternative 12 steps, say:)
Before we continue sharing on tonight’s topic, is there anyone who has a desire to share with the group on another topic related to AA or sobriety?
(If there are any takers, wait for them to finish and then say:)
Thank you, ______________________. Let’s continue our sharing on any of the topics presented tonight. Who would like to go next?
(At approximately 7:55 PM say the following:)
It’s time to bring the meeting to a close. Who would like to volunteer to bring a topic to next week’s meeting?
(Thank them and make a note for yourself of who volunteered. If no one volunteers after a long pause, you can ask individuals of your choice whether they would be willing to bring a topic.)
Please remember to respect the anonymity of the people you saw here today and to keep what they said in confidence.
Thank you all for participating in the meeting! We hope to see you at our next meeting.
Atheists Agnostics and All Others 