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Ottawa Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous April 2019
OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE
STORIES, NEWS AND INFORMATION FROM OUR FELLOWSHIP IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION
Spring Conference is just days away (April 13) – tickets still
available - more info inside
Taking a
look in
the
mirror
Ottawa Intergroup office hours are from 10 am to 4 pm Monday to Friday and from 1 pm to 4 pm on
Saturday. Please call first to confirm there is someone on duty. 613.237.6000
When purchasing literature, chips or medallions, please remember to bring a credit card or a cheque
payable to "Ottawa Area Intergroup of AA", cash not accepted.
Groups and individuals can now order literature, wallet cards, chips, medallions and other merchandise
from Intergroup online using our Online Credit Card Pay & Pick-Up Service.
OTTAWA INTERGROUP OFFICE
211 Bronson Avenue, Suite 108 Ottawa,
INSIDE
Ontario, K1R 6H5
Editorial 3
A Message from the Spring Conference
GENERAL INFORMATION Chair
4
Telephone: 613.237.6000 Why do Step 4? 5
10 am - 10 pm, 7 days a week
My First 12 Step Call 6
Email: info@ottawaaa.org
From the AA archives … 7
NEWSLETTER EDITOR A Message about Public Information &
Cooperation with the Professional 8
newsletter@ottawaaa.org Community
Article submission deadline is the 20th Telephone Answering Service 9
day of the previous month for the Our Literature 10
following month Concepts Workshop 11
Service Calendar 12
OTTAWA AREA INTERGROUP
LOCAL CONTACTS
Chair (Sandy K) chair@ottawaaa.org
Vice-Chair (Harry B) vice@ottawaaa.org
Secretary (Anne D) secretary@ottawaaa.org
Treasurer (Sandy C) treasurer@ottawaaa.org
Website & Email (Carolyn O) info@ottawaaa.org
Telephone Answering (Al L) tas@ottawaaa.org
Newsletter (Jeff F) newsletter@ottawaaa.org
Literature (Doris M) literature@ottawaaa.org
12Step Coordinator (Kerri D) 12step@ottawaaa.org
Spring Conference (Duane S) spring@ottawaaa.org
Fall Conference (Peggy F) fall@ottawaaa.org
OTTAWA GENERAL SERVICE DISTRICTS AND COMMITTEES
District 54 - Ottawa East (JoAnne D) district54@ottawaaa.org
District 58 - Ottawa Centre (Kim B ) district58@ottawaaa.org
District 62 - Ottawa West (Frank V) district62@ottawaaa.org
Cooperation with Professionals ( ) cpc@ottawaaa.org
Public Information / Media Contact ( ) pi@ottawaaa.org
Corrections Facilities and Treatment (Mike B) cft@ottawaaa.org
Archives (Sue B) archives@ottawaaa.org
Page 2 April 2019 | Our Primary Purpose | Ottawa, Canada
April editorial
- Taking a long look in the mirror
“….a searching and fearless moral inventory…”
Pretty daunting words for those of us in complete denial
about the unmanageability and powerlessness of our
self-centered lives.
Having hit a bottom, we finally realized our way wasn’t
working. Maybe, just maybe, a power greater than
ourselves might help us to see the world through a clearer
lens.
But we had to make a decision to go all in; half measures
were not going to work. The path was littered with those
who had tried, and failed, because they simply couldn’t
commit, couldn’t turn it over.
The truth would make us accountable. Accountable to,
Our next big challenge? Could we be completely
first and foremost, ourselves.
honest with ourselves???
Ripping off the band aid
When a company does an inventory, it takes a cold hard
look at everything in the warehouse. What’s selling? But can we go back all those years, and revisit the pain
What’s not? If it’s taking up space, gathering dust, it has we caused our loved ones? How about those daily lies
to go. and excuses?
The same is true for us. How much space in our “mental” “Sorry honey, got this big deadline to meet, gotta work
warehouse—our thoughts and minds—are we wasting? late, will be home by eight, I promise…”
It’s estimated the average person has somewhere “You weren’t there for me. I needed to talk to (sleep with)
between 25,000 and 50,000 thoughts per day. And that someone who really understands me.”
upwards of 70 percent of those thoughts are negative.
“This time I mean it. I’m gonna quit. I’m gonna get to your
Resentments, fears, and harm to others. It’s not hard to next hockey game son. I love you so much.”
see what’s driving all that negativity.
No pain, no gain
We’ve been wronged; we’re afraid of something; or we’ve
The truth sucks. But it’s time to tell the real story. Just the
done something to someone else and feel ashamed or
facts—no excuses, no embellishments.
remorseful about it.
We don’t need to list out every single mistake we ever
Exhuming the past…taking an inventory…is not a
made. But we do need to tell the whole story. We need to
pleasant experience. But then neither is throwing up, or
pull back the curtain on what our role was. What did we
trying to calm the delirium tremens.
say, what did we do?
Getting real with ourselves
Let’s go back to that warehouse, with all those widgets
Step 4 offers us a chance to come “clean” with ourselves. gathering dust. It’s simple. If you don’t make way for
There’s a real opportunity for psychological relief. Plus, better products, you go out of business.
we’re building a foundation for the future of our recovery.
The same can be said for our Step 4. Without all the facts,
We might try thinking of it as a renewed surrender. Only without the truth, we don’t reveal the exact nature of our
this time, we’re surrendering to the truth. defects of character. If we can’t name them, we can’t
address them.
The truth can be a tricky proposition: we’d become
Let’s make sure that mirror is clean before we take a long
masters at lying to ourselves and to those around us.
look into it. The quality of our sobriety depends upon it.
Revealing our true secrets would bring us nose to nose
with that person in the mirror…warts and all. Jeff F Editor
Submit your Story for Upcoming Issues: Send a story of your Experience, Strength and Hope (about
500 +/-50 words) to newsletter@ottawaaa.org. For the upcoming May issue, we are looking for stories
about Step 5. Watch for important information about our professional community connection.
Ottawa Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous Page 3
Our Spring Conference is JUST days
away 2019
Words of gratitude from our conference chair
As the chair of the Spring Conference I feel a great
Ottawa Spring
sense of gratitude. I sometimes ask myself, how
did a guy like me get a second chance to have a Conference
real life that I could never imagine without alcohol?
I have learned that what I have been given so An Alcoholics Anonymous Event
freely I can now give back to the next suffering with Al-Anon Participation
alcoholic by stepping up and doing service.
When I finally got a sponsor, he told me if I wanted Rocketed Fourth
to stay sober, I would have to do more than just put
the plug in the jug. He suggested that I get a home into a Dimension
group, go to meetings, establish a higher power as
I understood it to be, and get active in service.
April 13th
When I finally raised the white flag, or surrender
flag, my life started to change for the better. I
began doing service work at my home group in Hellenic Meeting &
different areas. And I got further involved by
volunteering my time to support different Reception Centre
conference committees.
Doors open at 8:00 a.m.
I stepped up last year to put my name in for the
40th annual Spring Conference chair, and was
honoured and privileged to be picked. It was, and General Admission:
still is, a real gift being honest with myself. I know
that giving back is what I need to do to stay sober; $10 in advance or $15 at the door
that I’m not doing it for my personal gain. Banquet:
I encourage everybody to attend the Spring $55 (includes full program plus dinner)
Conference, April 13th at the Hellenic Centre, Evening Speaker & Dance Only:
whether it’s for just part of the day or the entire
program, including the banquet. I have every $5 at the door (admission after 7:30 PM)
confidence you will enjoy the fellowship, panelists,
great food, amazing speakers and, of course, the
Food donations for the Hospitality Suite such
dancing. I hope to see you all there.
as (uncut) sandwiches, vegetable, fruit &
cheese platters and desserts are appreciated.
Take Care and God Bless You!
Duane S Visit spring.ottawaaa.org for details
Spring Conference Chair
Page 4 April 2019 | Our Primary Purpose | Ottawa, Canada
Why do Step 4?
So, why did I do a Step 4 after all? I was desperate
enough to take a leap of faith, and do what was
suggested to me, if I wanted to stay sober. And staying
sober was something I badly wanted to do because I
was already starting to feel a whole lot better by the time
I did my Step 4, in my first year of sobriety. As it says in
the Big Book; I had hit my bottom.
I am very grateful that I had a sponsor who guided me
through the twelve steps. They have changed my life,
and Step 4 was key to that transformation. Doing my
Step 4 was a watershed event in my sobriety; it was
after doing it that I stopped being a victim. Indeed, it
We often hear in the rooms that people who fail to do a was when doing my Step 4 that I, for the very first time
Step 4 are more likely to go back drinking again or have ever, took an honest look at myself. And although I did
a less-than-satisfactory sobriety. I am not sure if that is not much like who I had become, I was no longer able
true, but I can say that it was a life-changer for me to tell myself, and everyone around me, how it was their
personally, for the better. fault that I had become an alcoholic.
I should tell you that doing a Step 4 was the last thing I realized when doing my personal inventory that I was
on my mind when I first came to AA. I could not see how the main cause of my problems, and that I had
dredging up the past would help me with the multitude precipitated my own undoing. It was quite a revelation,
of problems I was facing when I came in, aside from and it led me to stop blaming my parents,
trying to stay sober of course. Besides, I was not really psychologists, the police, judges, employers, ex-
interested in looking at my past life because it had been girlfriends, and “them” for my alcoholism.
such a mess. In fact, it was the opposite – I wanted to It was after doing a Step 4 that I realized I had to clean
forget about it. And what did something that happened my side of the street, accept my part, and take
5, 10 or 20 years ago have anything to do with my responsibility for my own life.
drinking anyhow?
I was also able to finally let go of the past. And this is
I simply could not see the connection between being an the psychology of this spiritual exercise. The guilt and
alcoholic, and having to do an inventory of my life, if I shame I carried with me all those years, and that always
wanted to get better. I wanted help for my drinking now! made me go back to the bottle, were out in the open.
Perhaps the members could show me a trick or two on And once I shared them with another person in Step 5,
how to avoid getting drunk, or drink “responsibly” or they were gone.
something. So any notion of doing a “searching and
fearless moral inventory” of myself… that was a foreign So, in the end, there was no burning bush, nor did the
concept. sky did open up to shine a light upon me, once I did my
Step 4. I did not feel a greater connection to some
I also dreaded the prospect of doing a Step 5, and Higher Power either. What I did experience was a
baring my soul to someone after having completed my sense of being one amongst others, I no longer felt
Step 4. The idea of admitting my faults to anyone went different than anybody else.
against everything I believed in when I drank – I simply
In gratitude,
could not share anything with anyone, even less admit
that I was wrong. It was not in my DNA. Michel D
Ottawa Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous Page 5
My first 12-Step call
I was sober less than a year when I received a call to And to think it all began with a phone call and a special
go and visit a woman who wanted help. My big mistake, lady named Laura those many years ago. Do I
though, was that I went alone. Don't do that if possible. recommend 12-Step work? Indeed, I do! If you haven't
Better that two go together. What one doesn't think of, tried it, say yes if given an opportunity to help the still
the other will. And usually, the individual who wants suffering alcoholic. You won't regret it. I never have.
help will be attracted to one of the two, personality-wise,
and will listen to that one more intently. This will give Shirley B
the other one a break in the conversation.
However, as I said, I was alone. I sat in the kitchen of
this beautiful four-bedroom home and talked to Laura
(not her real name) for two hours straight. I listened to
her complain about everything—her home, her
husband, her four boys and everything in general. I
was new in sobriety and determined that since I was
sober, this pretty, intelligent woman could get sober too.
I went home that day, thoroughly exhausted, and slept
for two hours. But I didn't give up working with Laura,
and I learned so much from carrying the message to
her. One very important thing I learned was that I had
to work on my Steps because I had to pass them on to
her.
It took some convincing, but we worked together and
went to many meetings. And we became familiar with
the Big Book. Laura was my first sponsee, and we
developed a special bond of trust that was never broken
between us. Even when she moved away a few years
later we continued our friendship by phone. There was You can help!
no email in those days, or computers.
Do you have one year of sobriety?
She moved on, and with my encouragement, got
another sponsor in the city she moved to. It was then Do you want to improve the quality of
her turn to carry the message contained in our 12 your recovery?
Steps, and I know that she did.
Become a “12-Step” volunteer.
One of the best ways to stay sober is to help another
alcoholic find her way to a new life. "Working with Be there for someone who is
others" tells us that, in the Big Book. And, it is as suffering, and who is reaching out for
relevant today as it was fifty years ago when I first help.
encountered the doors (and the Steps!) of this
wonderful way of life. My gratitude knows no bounds, Interested in learning more? Email
and the joy is in the journey, each and every day that I Kerri: 12step@ottawaaa.org
am given in this sober life.
Page 6 April 2019 | Our Primary Purpose | Ottawa, Canada
From the AA archives …
Lunch with Bill
an open speaker format and the readings are “The
Serenity Prayer”, How it Works”, “The 12 Steps”, “the
12 Traditions”, The Promises”, “the Responsibility
Prayer’ and ‘The Lord’s Prayer”. The Group maintains
a supply of AA meeting lists, brochures and sells AA
books at cost. Membership representation is 60 percent
male, 40 percent female and half are under 40 years of
age.
Lunch with Bill is a spin off meeting from The Medallion
Noon Group. Founding members Gus K, Eric B, Ewald
H, Derek R, along with six other AA members, started
Lunch with Bill on April 16, 1998. Meetings were
originally held at Westboro Baptist Church on
Richmond Road, then briefly, meetings moved to the
Masonic Temple on Churchill Ave. In July 2006, Lunch
with Bill settled into the Westminster Presbyterian
Church on Roosevelt Ave where it remains today.
Lunch with Bill was the first group in Ottawa to have a
Barrhaven Tuesday and Thursday Night
speaker address the group via Skype. Groups
Meetings are held at noon Monday to Friday. The Founding members Barb T and Marilyn M started the
format is three closed discussion groups – Beginners, Group on April 1, 1989. When they decided to start an
As Bill Sees It (alternating on Wednesdays as a AA meeting, they were told repeatedly that there were
Promises Group), and The Solutions Group – a Big “no alcoholics” in Barrhaven!” The first meeting was
Book Discussion. The last Friday of the month is an held at The Larkin House Community Centre and in
open speaker format when birthdays are celebrated. 1996, moved to the Barrhaven United Church. In June
2007, Dave MacD, and Dennis S founded a second
meeting; The Barrhaven Big Book Study which
Hand in Hand Group was incorporated into The Barrhaven Tuesday Night
Group in 2009. The Tuesday Meeting is closed
Founding members John W, John H, and Bob E, discussion with the last Tuesday open speaker format
started the Group in April 1977. They felt that an early to celebrate AA Birthdays. The Thursday Meeting is
morning meeting on Sundays in the East End of the city closed Big Book Study format. The readings used are
would complement the existing Sunday morning “The Serenity Prayer” and “the Seventh Step Prayer”.
meetings such as McNabb, Turning Point and Billings. The Group maintains a supply of AA literature. Starting
Initially meetings were held at various locations in the with just four members, the Group now has
east end with over 30 people in attendance. The Group approximately 100 listed members with 25 of those
settled into the Overbrook Community Centre in Vanier, active. Representation is 80 percent male, 20 percent
with attendance increasing over time. The meeting is female and half are under 40 years of age.
Ottawa Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous Page 7
What goes around, comes around
One never knows what impact our words and actions I did. And crying, told him about my mother. He said if I
will have on someone’s life, even decades later. could ever convince her to listen to him, he would come
and talk to her. He said he didn’t care if it was 3 a.m.,
I was recently asked to go to a meeting for: Public that he would come. All I had to do was call him. I was
Information & Cooperation with the Professional filled with hope. Because I had read about DTs and
Community (PI/CPC). knew my mother would not live long if she continued to
I attended really without a second thought. Within a drink the way she did. I was 17 years old.
short while I was reading the PI workbook to better
understand what is involved in carrying our message of Now, 37 years later, having become an alcoholic
recovery to those who are not familiar with the way our myself, as I read the PI workbook, I realized this was
program can help the still suffering alcoholic. exactly what this man was doing decades earlier. My
mother continued to drink and died of cirrhosis at the
As I read how members: age of 57 when I was 19. She would not agree to let me
* bring literature to various professionals and call him. Regardless of this outcome, the strong
institutions, memory of the hope that member was able to provide
a desperate teenager is something I will never forget.
* make presentations at public community events,
* share their stories of how AA has helped them, in The PI/CPC committee would like your help. We will
schools, colleges and universities soon hold elections for committee members, and we
are building a team of volunteers the committee can
All of a sudden, I had a flashback. I realized that my
call, from time to time, for help on specific projects.
very first exposure to AA had happened as a result of
Everyone is welcome. No experience necessary!
PI/CPC.
I was in grade 12, at high school, when an AA member Some ways the PI/CPC committee could use your help:
stood at a podium addressing our entire high school speaking at non-AA meetings, literature distribution,
assembly, telling us about how AA had helped him. I special projects.
sat in the audience with tears streaming down my face.
I cried because at that very moment my mother was in Anyone can attend committee meetings which are held
the hospital with delirium tremens (DTs). on the third Monday of each month at 6:30 at the
Bronson Centre. Alternatively, you can email the
My friends asked if I was ok, but they had no idea what committee with your expression of interest at:
I was living. All I remember from this AA member’s talk pi@ottawaaa.org, or, you can speak to your Group’s
was at the end he said: “if you or anyone you know has GSR for more information.
a problem with alcohol please come see me at the rear
of the auditorium.” Lori S
Are you ready to carry the message
outside of AA?
Public Information & Cooperation with the
Professional Community
This committee, within our AA fellowship,
helps to bring the story of AA to the world
outside, and to those who don’t understand
the power of our program.
Share your story, share the power of AA!! For
more information, email: pi@ottawaaa.org
Page 8 April 2019 | Our Primary Purpose | Ottawa, Canada
Ottawa AA Telephone Answering
You can see the available shifts below:
https://interactive.ottawaaa.org/tas/
If you can take an open shift please email
tas@ottawaaa.org Telephone Answering Service
Legend Red = Open, Yellow = Daytime Office Shifts, Green = Shifts outside regular Business
Day Hours answered in the office or remotely
TELEPHONES: Our answering service operates from 10:00 am until 10:00 pm daily. Shifts are 3
hours and after 4:00 PM and weekends may be covered from home, Monday-Friday daytime hours
are best covered in the office. TAS Schedule To volunteer for a shift, or to join the 12-Step call list,
please email the TAS Coordinator.
Ottawa Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous Page 9
From the Literature Coordinator
This issue of Our Primary Purpose speaks of our fourth step: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of
ourselves. It takes courage to work the steps, and the fourth step seems to have a high requirement for courage.
The stories members submit to the AA Grapevine are their accounts of experiences with recovery. At heart, AA is
one alcoholic talking to another. Stories from recovering alcoholics around the globe extends the range of
experience we have to draw on when pursuing our recovery using the steps. Two of the AA Grapevine publications
that may help you in pursuing your recovery work are:
Step by Step Real AAs, Real Recovery
The stories in this book show how AA members of all ages, from all lifestyles and from around
the world, followers of mainstream religions and atheists, newcomers and old-timers, have
recovered and found a new way of life by working the Twelve Steps. Here is a variety of
experiences that AAs have written about the Steps and sent to the Grapevine over the course
of its existence, from the 1940’s to the present.
One on One AA Sponsorship in Action
In this collection, AA members write about their experience with sponsorship; including: how
to choose one; getting the courage to ask someone to be a sponsor; sharing their past and
present with them; working with those having trouble staying sober; dealing with the loss of
a beloved sponsor and more. From the early days of the program, this special one-on-one
bond of sponsorship has been considered vital to getting sober, staying connected, and living
a full, happy life.
There’s something new in the Intergroup office. A literature display rack in the Intergroup
office on Bronson helps members browse through copies of available books. Basics, such as
the Big Book and the 12&12 in multiple formats, some of which you may not have seen, as
well as different formats of As Bill Sees It, Daily Reflections and Living Sober. There are
histories of AA, biographies of our co-founders as well as collections of their writings. The AA
Grapevine publications are here too. Please come, have a seat, and browse through their
pages. Do you know the one about the rabbit walking into the bar…?
Ouch! About prices … A local bookstore stocks some AA publications. Here’s the store’s prices compared with
those at the intergroup office: their price for the soft-cover, regular size Big Book is $25.99 pre-tax; our price $14.00,
tax included. Their price for the hard cover 12&12 pre-tax is $24.99; our price is $15.00, tax included. Their price
for the regular size Living Sober is $19.50 pre-tax; our price $8.00, tax included.
Page 10 April 2019 | Our Primary Purpose | Ottawa, CanadaOttawa Area Intergroup of
Alcoholics Anonymous
is pleased to present
an evening workshop hosted by
Debbie D
Concord, CA
on the
Thursday, May 16th, 2019
7:00 PM
Auditorium
Royal Ottawa Hospital
1145 Carling Avenue, Ottawa
7th Tradition
Ottawa Area Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous Page 11SERVICE CALENDAR
No matter how much sobriety you have, find out how you can help and be a part of the greater whole. All AA
members are welcome to attend any of the following committees:
OTTAWA INTERGROUP MONTHLY MEETING………………………..…………………………………………Second Wednesday (7:00 pm)
(Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue - Mac Hall)
DISTRICT 54 MEETING……………………………………………………….…………………………………………………..First Thursday (7:30 pm)
(Overbrook Community Centre, 33 Quill Street)
DISTRICT 58 MEETING……………………………………………………….……………………………………………….Second Monday (7:00 pm)
(Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue - Room 106)
DISTRICT 62 MEETING………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Second Monday (7:30 pm)
(All Saints Church, 347 Richmond Road - rear entrance)
CORRECTIONS FACILITIES AND TREATMENT……………………………………………………………….Fourth Tuesday (6:30 pm)
(Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue - Intergroup Office)
PUBLIC INFORMATION…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Third Monday (6:30 pm)
(Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue - Room 108)
COOPERATION WITH PROFESSIONALS………………………………………..…………………………………Third Monday (6:30 pm)
(Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue - Room 108)
OTTAWA ARCHIVES…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..Third Wednesday (7:00 pm)
(Bronson Centre, 211 Bronson Avenue - Room 108)
Is your AA Group's meeting information correct on ottawaaa.org?
Please send all updates as well as temporary closures to Ottawa Intergroup at info@ottawaaa.org.
Do you have a question for the board? Please email us with your question and you can also request an
invitation to meet with us at our monthly board meeting. Send your email to chair@ottawaaa.org.
If your group needs insurance, please contact Ottawa Intergroup at info@ottawaaa.org to discuss.
"Our Primary Purpose" publishes articles reflecting the full diversity of experience and opinion found within the
Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. In determining content, the editor relies on the principles of the Twelve
Traditions. "Our Primary Purpose" values the shared experience of individual AA members working the AA program
and applying the principles of the Twelve Steps. Seeking neither to gloss over difficult issues, nor to present such
issues in a harmful or contentious manner, "Our Primary Purpose" tries to embody the widest possible view of the
AA Fellowship.
The editor of "Our Primary Purpose" reserves the right to accept or reject material for publication, based on the AA
traditions. Note: this policy is consistent with that of the AA Grapevine.
Articles are not intended to be statements of AA policy, nor does publication of any article constitute endorsement
by either Alcoholics Anonymous or Ottawa Area Intergroup. Submissions are always welcome.
Page 12 April 2019 | Our Primary Purpose | Ottawa, CanadaYou can also read
