Handbook and Service Guidelines for Alcoholics - Aa-munich.org

227 Pages·2008·0.7 MB·English

THE A.A. SERVICE HANDBOOK
FOR GREAT BRITAIN
This seventh edition of the Handbook was approved by the General Service Conference
of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain held in York on the 4th of April 1998.
Future alterations or additions to this Handbook require a two-thirds majority of
Conference.
First Edition 1974
Second Edition 1977
Third Edition 1981
Fourth Edition 1984
Fifth Edition 1986
Sixth Edition 1989
Seventh Edition 1998
Revised and reprinted 2000
2001
2002
2005
2006
2007
2008
© General Service Board of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Limited 2000
Registered Charity Nos. 226745, SCO38023
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a
retrievable system, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior
permission of the publisher.
PO Box 1,
10 Toft Green, York YO1 7NJ
Telephone: [phone]
National Telephone: [phone]
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS – THE PREAMBLE
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience,
strength and hope with each other 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 A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
A.A. 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 help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
© 1947 by the A.A. Grapevine, Inc., reprinted with permission
ADeclaration of Unity I am Responsible….
This we owe to A.A.’s future; When anyone, anywhere,
to place our common welfare first; reaches out for help,
to keep our Fellowship united. I want the hand of A.A.
For on A.A. unity depend our lives, always to be there.
and the lives of those to come. And for that: I am responsible.

CONTENTS
1) Introduction Section 1 (1)
2) ABrief History of A.A. in Great Britain Section 2 (1-5)
3) A.A.’s Legacy of Service, by Bill W. (1951) Section 3 (1-2)
4) Leadership in A.A.: Ever a Vital Need, by Bill W. Section 4 (1-4)
5) The Twelve Traditions (Long Form) Section 5 (1-2)
6) Introduction to “Twelve Concepts for World Service”, by Bill W. Section 6 (1-3)
7) The Twelve Concepts for World Service Section 7 (1-2)
8) Twelve Concepts for Service in Great Britain Section 8 (1-3)
9) The Conference Charter – Great Britain Section 9 (1-4)
10) General Service Conference of A.A. in Great Britain Section 10 (1-6)
11) The General Service Board Section 11 (1-5)
12) Governance Section 12 (1-2)
13) The General Service Office Section 13 (1)
14) European Service Meeting Section 14 (1)
15) World Service Meeting Section 15 (1)
16) Growing into Service Section 16 (1-4)
17) Public Information Section 17 (1-23)
18) Bill W’s Essays “Twelve Concepts for World Service Section 18 (1-58)
19) Guidelines for A.A. in Great Britain
INDEX
COPYRIGHT/LOGO Revised April 1998
GROUPMEETINGS Revised January 2000 No. 1
Group Officers Revised November 2006 No. 2
SERVICE REPRESENTATIVES Revised January 2000 No. 3
INTERGROUPS Revised November 2006 No 4
REGIONS including Regional Maps Revised November 2006 No. 5
A.A. TELEPHONE SERVICES Revised April 2002 No. 6
PUBLIC INFORMATION Revised April 2005 No. 7
A.A. AND EMPLOYMENT Revised December 2002 No. 8
A.A. AND HEALTHCARE IN THE
COMMUNITY Revised April 2008 No. 9
FOR A.A. MEMBERS EMPLOYED IN THE
ALCOHOLISM FIELD Revised April 2006 No. 10
A.A. IN PRISONS Revised April 2008 No. 11
FINANCE Revised November 2006 No. 12
PROBATION/SOCIALSERVICES Revised April 1998 No. 13
THE RELATIONSHIPBETWEEN A.A.
AND AL-ANON Revised April 2002 No. 14
CONVENTIONS Revised April 2002 No. 15
VIOLENCE Approved April 2002 No. 16
PERSONALCONDUCTMATTERS Approved April 2002 No. 17
REGIONALFORUMS Approved April 2005 No. 18
AAAND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATIONS Approved April 2005 No. 19
ARCHIVES Approved April 2007 No. 20

SECTION 1
INTRODUCTION
This is a Handbook for members of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain who are
interested in any of the services provided by the Fellowship. As the article by our Co-
Founder, Bill W., reproduced in Section 3, suggests, an A.A. service is anything whatever
that helps us to reach a fellow-sufferer.
If the emphasis in later Sections is on the central services of A.A., through which help is
made available to ever-increasing numbers of alcoholics, this in no way diminishes the
cardinal importance of the Group and its members. The servants of the Fellowship are
ultimately responsible to their fellow-members for what is done in their name; and it is
from the Groups, through the Intergroups, Regions and the General Service Conference,
that A.A. as a whole gains the inspiration and drive to carry out the services that are vital
to our existence.
The General Service Conference of A.A. in Great Britain and its related services in York
are the means by which A.A. in this country functions nationally, and they are, therefore,
at the heart of A.A.’s Third Legacy of service. If Conference is to do its work effectively,
it must operate according to acceptable and orderly procedures, the aim of which is to
involve the Fellowship as widely as possible. In the first eight years of its existence, those
who guided the deliberations of Conference relied heavily on “The A.A. Service Manual”
published by the General Service Conference of A.A. in the United States. A.A. in Great
Britain continues to adhere firmly to the principles that underlie that Manual, the Twelve
Concepts for World Service, the Twelve Traditions and Twelve Steps and to the Big Book,
“Alcoholics Anonymous”. These are the yardsticks by which the activities of A.A. in
Great Britain must be measured.
There are however some differences between Great Britain and the United States which
made it desirable that we should have our own Service Handbook. A.A. started later in
this country, and our national institutions are not always comparable with those of the
United States. Over the years since the first Conference we have developed procedures
for Conference that are more appropriate to the needs of the Fellowship in this country.
Additionally there have been legal requirements to ensure that the Fellowship of A.A. in
Great Britain fully complies with the Regulations of the Charities Act (1960, 1992 and
consolidated in 1993) and the Companies Act (1985 as amended in 1989). Appropriate
changes and additions reflecting these requirements are included in this Seventh Edition
of the Service Handbook. These are mainly contained in the sections “Twelve Concepts
for Service in Great Britain” and “Conference Charter - Great Britain” as adopted at
Conference 1995.
Section 1–1