What Happens At Meetings

If you decide you are an alcoholic and have a desire to stop drinking then you are eligible to be a member of the world-wide fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.

• There are no fees, no forms to fill in, no questions to answer - just turn up at ANY meeting where you will be warmly welcomed and that's it.
• You will probably find that for the first time in your life you are in the company of people who REALLY understand you.
• Because all of us were beaten by drink until we came to the rooms of AA. And all of us were newcomers once.
• Most meetings in the East Midlands have between 10 - 25 men and women of all ages and from all walks of life attending. Each meeting is chaired by a member voted by the rest of the group, usually for 3 months at a time.
• Most meetings start with a brief reading known as the preamble and a welcome to any newcomers or visitors. Any AA business is then raised. Some groups then take a theme for the meeting from a reading from one of our books.
• The meeting is then open to "sharing". Anybody in the room is free to share their experiences in recovering from alcoholism. Sharing then either moves around the room or people " jump in" with their own shares.
• We do not talk or comment when someone is sharing and it is considered bad manners to comment negatively on an earlier share when it is your turn. (We call that "cross-sharing").
• And if you do not want to share then that is fine and quite usual.
• Meetings finish on time and we usually stand in a circle, join hands and say a short prayer known as the serenity prayer. "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."
• We are not a religious organisation but we are spiritual and many of us (even the atheists among us) find this short prayer helpful.
• Each meeting is financially self-supporting and a cup is passed around for contributions to running costs. No one knows what each person puts in and new members get their first meeting free.

If you have a problem with alcohol then you will feel at home in AA. We look forward to seeing you. Together we can do things that are impossible on our own.