Birthday Meeting Guidelines  

updated May 10, 2017 

1. Welcome to our monthly Birthday Celebration of the Lake Highlands Group of Alcoholics Anonymous. We are glad that all of you are here. I want to encourage everyone to get comfortable and stay until the end of the meeting so that you might hear the miracles of sobriety from all of our celebrants.

 

2. My name is ________your name here _________and I am an alcoholic. 

 

3. Be courteous and silence your cell phones.   

 

4. No photos are allowed during this meeting to protect our members' anonymity.

 

5. Read 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 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 help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

 

6. Have “asked” persons to read “How It Works” and “The Twelve Traditions”. Thank them respectively.  

 

7. Ask for a moment of silence followed by the Serenity Prayer.

 

8. Practice the ‘7th Tradition’  Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.  Read announcements while baskets are being passed

 

9. “We have a custom of offering a Desire Chip to anyone who would like to try our way of life to those coming to their first meeting or any person returning to the fellowship.”   

 

10. Offer monthly chips.

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announce:

Out of RESPECT for all and to honor our 12th Tradition we ask all who go to the podium that you limit your comments to 2 minutes”.

 

11. Offer yearly chips in mixed order—long-term sobriety, new sobriety.

 

12. Offer a desire chip once more at the end.    Close with the Lord’s Prayer.

 

13. Chairperson stays to clean up food, wash dishes, turn off coffee pots, turn down thermostat, turn off lights, and lock door.