Circle and Triangle Question

Recently, the use of the circle and triangle symbol on our flyers was brought into question. We talked about this at our last business meeting. Here is what we decided to do:

1. Our monthly speaker meeting is a meeting as defined by Tradition 3 “Any 2 or 3 alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an AA group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation.” Since we are a group, we will register with GSO.

2. Having named entertainment on our flyers could be interpreted as “affiliation”. In the future, we will not name entertainment on our flyers. For example – for our January event we are having the Redding Improve Players provide entertainment. Our flyer calls out the Redding Improv Players as being our January entertainment. This could be “affiliation”. Instead, the group decided it would be better to say that “improv comedy” will follow our speaker meeting. This same ideal will apply to DJs and all other entertainment.

Here is the history of the circle and triange symbol to the best of my knowledge:

AA did have that it as their legal symbol from 1955 to 1994. After 1994 they let their rights to the symbol go and the logo is now free for anyone to use.

Here is an excerpt from the AA web site:

"Q: What is the story behind the Circle and Triangle logo?

A: The Circle and Triangle symbol has long been connected to the A.A. Fellowship. It was adopted as an official A.A. symbol at the International Convention in St. Louis in 1955, and from that point on was widely used in the Fellowship. For the Fellowship, the three legs of the triangle represented the Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity and Service, and the circle symbolized the world of A.A. In Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, Bill W.’s 1955 speech, in which he describes the adoption of the symbol, is printed:

'Above us floats a banner on which is inscribed the new symbol for A.A., a circle enclosing a triangle. The circle stands for the whole world of A.A., and the triangle stands for A.A.’s Three Legacies of Recovery, Unity, and Service. Within our wonderful new world, we have found freedom from our fatal obsession. That we have chose this particular symbol is perhaps no accident. The priests and seers of antiquity regarded the circle enclosing the triangle as a means of warding off the spirits of evil, and A.A.’s circle and triangle of Recovery, Unity, and Service has certainly meant all of that to us and much more.' (p. 139)

Nevertheless, in the early 1990s, A.A.W.S. decided to phase out the use of the Circle and Triangle symbol on its literature, letterhead and other material. It was decided to phase out the “official” or “legal” use of the Circle and Triangle symbol, and in 1994 the General Service Conference resolved that the logo be discontinued on all Conference-approved literature. However, the symbol is still associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (and other kinds of 12-Step recovery fellowships) and has a special meaning for AA members all over the world."

Taken from: http://www.aa.org/subpage.cfm?page=287

Improv in January

Bingo was great! Folks came together, as always. Thanks to our speakers and to all those who contributed.

We took inventory at our last business meeting. We will review our inventory throughout the year so that we can better serve the alcoholic who still suffers.

We will have an improv group after our speaker meeting in January. Come out and be a part of. Flyer is at the bottom of the page.

ACYPAA is right around the corner. Time to start planning for the trip and our bid to get the conference to Redding.

I am grateful to be a part of this group!
-Ed

Good Inventory, on to Bingo

We had a great turn out for you group inventory on Sunday. We are doing a great job carrying the message! We still have room to grow and learn. Each of us is a roll model of the principals in action.

Our next speaker meeting is coming up - December 13 at the Alano Club! With Bingo to follow. $5 suggested donation will get you bingo cards. Winners will get prizes that were donated by members or purchased by REDYPAA. If you would like to donate, please contact Julie T.

January we will have a speaker (hopefully from SOCYPAA) followed by an Improv Comedy show.

Our numbers are growing. I'm grateful to be part of such a great fellowship. We are an amazing group; an excellent example of what God can create!
Tanks for the opportunity to be of service.
Have a great Thanksgiving,
-Ed

December Event (will be on the 13th, 8:00, Alano)

REDYPAA- you rock! The November event -Football- was a blast. It was great to see so many alcoholics come together for fun and fellowship.

THANK YOU ACYPAA, CHICYPAA, SOCYPAA, and Red Bluff! You are truly inspiring. Excellent demonstration of going to any lengths to carry the message. This event would not have been successful without you. Please come back next year to get your trophy back.

And thanks to Shannon and Paul for sharing your stories. They moved me...I love getting goosebumps at a meeting. The connection and identification keep me coming back. We continue to attract new members and I am grateful that they can come in and hear stories like yours.

On to DECEMBER and BINGO! There is a flyer for the event at the bottom of the page. It will be on December 13th at the Alano club. 1050 State Street. Meeting is at 8:00, bingo will start at 10:00. $5 suggested donation will get you 3 bingo cards. Extra cards are $1 each. Prizes purchased by REDYPAA or donated by our members will be given out to the winners. And for the real winners - another day of sobriety will be granted by your higher power.
In Love and Service,
-Ed

P.S. It took the group to make this event work. Having said that....special thanks to Jason who was instramental and put a lot of work into this one. He got the field, and the REDYPAA team, ready to play.

Flag Football Tomorrow

Flag Football is almost here!

The game is at 56 Quartz Hill Rd. 3:00.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=56+quartz+hill+rd.+Redding,+CA&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.66491,78.75&ie=UTF8&ll=40.596309,-122.394755&spn=0.007641,0.019226&z=16&g=56+quartz+hill+rd.+Redding,+CA&iwloc=addr

The meeting will be at 8:00 at the Alano club - 1050 State St.

Thanks to everyone who worked hard to put this event together. You guys did a great job!
-Ed

Flag Football practice

Flag Football practice
Sundays
Oct. 19, Oct. 26 & Nov. 2

2:00 - 4:00 pm
Softball fields
Caldwell Park
REDDING, CA

Gettin' ready to kick some ACYPAA bootie
one day at a time

Come out and play
and/or cheer form the sidelines
ALL are welcome

REDYPAA Trudging along!

REDYPAA is trudging right along! Much has happened since my last post.

Thanks to CHICYPAA for their help with the camping trip. We had great speakers and good fellowship. There were some personalities that came out but the people involved found a principled way to deal with the problems that came up. God just provided us an opportunity to practice those principals in our group. We had some comments about the date we selected. We do watch for other AA related events and will do what we can not to conflict. The weekend of our campout was the only weekend we could get a reservation. We would have moved it to a different weekend if that was an option! Our campout was self supporting and put us on a solid path to financial security. Thank you to our speakers for coming out. I had a great time, with great people. Thanks to everyone who worked hard to put on the camping trip.

We just had a speaker meeting and Karaoke. So many people got up to the mic! The performances totally blew my expectations away. And out speaker gave a great talk on the fundamentals of AA. I learned a lot and I am grateful I was there. Thanks for coming out to share your experience, strength and hope. You were a good example of principals in action. And, again, it took a group to make the event successful. So congratulations to everyone involved in putting on a great event.

October is coming up. We are having a speaker meeting and 80s costume party. So dress up in your favorite 80s costume. There will be prizes for the best costumes. The speaker will be our own Lisa D. The event will be on October 11th at 8:00 at the Alano Club.

In November we will be Co-hosting with this years ACYPAA Host committee – AOCYPAA. We will be taking them on in a game of Flag Football out at Caldwell park. We hope to have some teams out for Chico and Sac so we can get a little play-off going. Then we will have a speaker meeting at 8:00 at the Alano with a speaker from Orange County.

So much progress! I’m so grateful to be a part of this experience. Seeing the fellowhip that is building here is very inspiring. God has put the right people together at the right time!

To be clear- REDYPAA is part of AA. We are a service committee directly responsible to those we serve. Our committee functions within the 12 traditions and uses the 12 concepts. Our monthly speaker meeting (on the 2nd Saturday of each month) is a meeting as discussed in the 12 and 12. It is a group of 2 or more gathered together for sobriety and, as a group, we have no other affiliation. Our membership is open to anyone who has a desire to stop drinking. If you have any comments, questions, or suggestions – our monthly business meeting is open to anyone. It is on the 4th Sunday of each month, 4:00 pm, Room 12, Methodist church, corner of South and East st. Come join us – you can scoff or pray, your choice!
Yours in Service,
Ed

Great July Event! On to Camping in August!

You guys rock! The July speaker meeting and dance was a success. We are growing – we had over 100 people at the meeting and more then 430 years of sobriety! There was great fellowship and the best dance in a long time. We carried the message, making this event a success. Thanks to Truck and the whole contingent from SACYPAA. We are still learning…we spent a little more than we should have on this event. As we all know, we have to be self-supporting to thrive. I am confident that our group will learn from this event and budget better in the future. That will make us stronger in the long run.

We are starting to gear up for an ACYPAA bid. Chris L. will be holding a bid committee meeting in September. We will start meeting with hotels to prepare a bid package. There is much to do, it is time to start doing it – one small task at a time.

The next event is camping at Fawn Group camp at Trinity Lake August 22-24. Registration is $15. That includes dinner on Saturday that will be put on by CHICYPAA. It will be great to get to know our friends from Chico better. I’ve been to their Friday night YP meeting and really enjoyed it. The camping trip is limited to 100 people, so get your registration in early. If you are in Redding, give your registration to John or Connie. Registration needs to be in the mail by August 16th.

More info on the camp site is here http://www.campersonline.com/fawn.html.

Thank you for the opportunity to be of service.
-Ed

July 12th Speaker Meeting and Dance

Saturday, July 12th Speaker Meeting and Dance,

8:00, Alano Club

On to our next event - July 12th! Speaker meeting with Truck then a dance featuring DJ Chippy. Fliers are out now - see Amanda or Dave to get more. Outreach is everyone's responsibility. I'm getting excited, this one should be good....then on to camping. With the help of God and each other, we can not fail!

Much love - Ed

PS....Chicypaa BBQ, potluck and Speaker meeting is 4th of July! Starts at 2, meeting at 3:30. Time to remember what you did in Chico!

Great May Event!

Thanks to everyone for making our first event such a great success. Thanks to Krysten for sharing your story. The folks from SACYPAA were fantastic as they always are! And to the REDYPAA committee members - way to suit up, show up, and get on with having fun in sobriety, you guys rock! I was grateful to see so many young newcomers at the meeting; they are the ones we are here to help and serve. Next time we need to drag more of them out for dinner, haven't had that much fun at Denny's in years.

Much love - Ed

Speaker Meeting May 31st

Speaker Meeting

May 31st at 8pm

Alano Club, 1050 State Street

I'm personally really excited about our first speaker meeting. I think its great that so many "young people" are getting involved and making things happen.

A few people have asked me questions about traditions, attraction versus promotion, etc. I found this great clip and thought this would be a great place to share it.

Speaker Meeting May 31st

The first ever REDYPAA speaker meeting will be held at the Alano Club on May 31, 2008 at 8pm.

The Redding Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous committee, known as REDYPAA, is a service committee actively carrying the message of AA to the alcoholic, of any age, who still suffers.

The aim of young people's groups is to help newcomers understand that they need not experience years of drinking, loss of family, friends, and finances to be ready for sobriety. They help bring the newcomers into the mainstream of AA Recovery, Unity, and Service through the 12 Steps, 12 Traditions, and the 12 Concepts for World Service.

Newcomers are shown by people their own age that using AA principles in their daily lives and getting involved in AA Service can lead to a lasting and comfortable sobriety.