Princeton Recovery Circle 

Meeting Script 

Welcome

Hello, Everyone! My name is ______, and I am an alcoholic. Welcome to the Princeton Recovery Circle group of Alcoholics Anonymous. We meet every Monday through Friday at 7:30 A.M. Eastern time. Please join me in a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer.

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.


Suggested Readings

[Invite volunteers to read 3 or 4 of the following selections.]

PREAMBLE

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people 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.

HOW IT WORKS

(from the Big Book, pp. 58-60)

Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average. There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.

Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it — then you are ready to take certain steps.

At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.

Remember that we deal with alcohol — cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power — that One is God. May you find Him now!

Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.

Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:

Many of us exclaimed, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.’’ Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection. Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventures before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:

(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.

(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.

(c) That God could and would if He were sought.

THE PROMISES

(from the Big Book, pp. 83-84)

If we are painstaking about this phase of our development, we will be amazed before we are halfway through. We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness. We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self-seeking will slip away. Our whole attitude and outlook upon life will change. Fear of people and of economic insecurity will leave us. We will intuitively know how to handle situations which used to baffle us. We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

Are these extravagant promises? We think not. They are being fulfilled among us—sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. They will always materialize if we work for them.

ELEVENTH STEP PRAYER

(from the 12 and 12, p. 99)

Lord, make me a channel of Thy peace;

that where there is hatred, I may bring love;

that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness;

that where there is discord, I may bring harmony;

that where there is error, I may bring truth;

that where there is doubt, I may bring faith;

that where there is despair, I may bring hope;

that where there are shadows, I may bring light;

that where there is sadness, I may bring joy.

Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort, than to be comforted;

to understand, than to be understood;

to love, than to be loved.

For it is by self forgetting, that one finds.

It is by forgiving, that one is forgiven.

It is by dying, that one awakens to Eternal Life.

Amen.

ACCEPTANCE

(from the Big Book, p. 417)

Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing or situation—some fact of my life—unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s world by mistake. Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; unless I accept life completely on life’s terms, I cannot be happy. I need to concentrate not so much on what needs to be changed in the world as on what needs to be changed in me and my attitudes.

THE TWELVE TRADITIONS

(from the Big Book, p. 562)

ANONYMITY STATEMENT

Our Anonymity, like our sobriety, is a treasured possession. We of the Princeton Recovery Circle respectfully request that: What you hear here and who you see here, when you leave here, let it stay here. Hear, hear!

Thank you to all the readers.


Announcements

Is there anyone new to this meeting, counting days, or celebrating an anniversary who wishes to introduce themself by first name?

Are there any announcements?

[Read a few of the most relevant announcements...]

Suggested Rotating Format

[Please limit the reading selection to no more than a couple pages.]

Today is...

[Then, the leader speaks on the topic until no later than 8:00 A.M.]

Open Discussion

[Attendees are invited to share.]

Closing

We have a nice way of closing, with the “We” version of the Serenity Prayer...

God, grant us the Serenity to accept the things we cannot change, Courage to change the things we can, and Wisdom to know the difference.

Last updated on 11 October 2024. Alcoholics Anonymous® is a registered trademark of Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. This page is maintained by trustedservant@princetonrecoverycircle.org.