Supporting Grapevine "our meeting in print".

May is Support Grapevine Month, following is some really interesting information on the Grapevine. Did you know that the traditions were first introduced in the Grapevine, so were other items that have become standard materials in our fellowship. The following information was kindly supplied by Jim S, our Area 83 Grapevine Chairperson


OUR GRAPEVINE

The Grapevine has been continuously published since 1944, and it preceded all AA literature except for the Big Book. Because of a problem with anonymity and a conflict with the FBI’s in-house magazine called “The Grapevine”, we changed our name to “The AA Grapevine.” The legal name is Box 1980 which appears on the shipping label as the return address. So you can see how it does protect a member’s anonymity.

Bill W used it to communicate with the Fellowship of AA. He used it to get new ideas out to the membership as a whole. For example the Twelve Traditions were first seen in The Grapevine in an article called “Twelve Suggested Points for AA Tradition.” A number of the stories in the back of the Big Book appeared in The Grapevine first. It is now considered “The Voice of the AA Fellowship.” The articles are written by the membership for the membership. In 1986 the General Service Conference issued a blanket approval for the magazine since each issue could not be approved in advance. So it is Conference approved.

The Grapevine has a history of dealing with many controversial issues within the Fellowship of AA. There have been articles covering the God thing, AA and other substances, Singleness of Purpose, Character Defects, Working with Others and many more. It also has books such as Language of the Heart, Best of Bill and the new one Emotional Sobriety. CD’s, pictures and other items concerning AA, such as the picture The Man on the Bed and the Serenity Prayer are also available from the Grapevine.

It is called the Meeting in Print because it has in it, The Preamble,( this is where The Preamble was first seen), The Steps, The Traditions and, it always has a meeting topic for Discussion Meetings.

It is a wonderful 12th Step Tool. It can be used both within and outside the Fellowship. Inside the Fellowship it can be used for members who cannot attend meetings regularly because of illness or location. Also it is a good tool for the hearing impaired Alcoholic. Gift subscriptions can be given to a sponsee, or given to the newcomer at his or her fist meeting, or even before. Gift subscriptions can be given to Treatment and Correctional Facilities. They can be loaned out for members to read.

Outside the Fellowship Older issues can be used in Correctional and Treatment Facilities, to be left there for the people to read. They can be left in Doctors and Hospital waiting rooms and in Police Stations. Of course approval should be received before leaving magazines in these places.

On The Grapevine Website www.aagrapevine.org you can do anything that can be done by phone or postal mail. You can subscribe to the Magazine, renew a subscription, purchase other Grapevine books or materials or submit an article. The Digital Archive lets you look at more than 60 years of experience, strength and hope. Also the audio version of the Magazine can be downloaded from here.
The Grapevine does not receive any funding or financial support from the GSO. It is totally self supporting through the sale of literature and the magazine. This is why we should try and support it in any way we can. Things like, having a personal subscription to the magazine, possibly purchasing items for gifts at medallions, gift subscriptions for sponsee’s , Correctional or Treatment Institutions. One of the ways we all can support it is in the purchase of a Pocket Planner and or Calendars. The ordering process is starting now.

In the DCM’s mail slots at the Area Committee Meeting in June will be an order form for each respective District. The price here will reflect the latest price from the Grapevine, the current exchange rate, GST and any discounts we may be entitled to. The Districts will compile their order over the summer months and the completed order forms along with the payment will be given back to the Area Grapevine Chair at the Area Committee Meeting in Sept. He or she will compile these into one order and send it off to the Grapevine. The DCM’s will pick up their Districts order at the Fall Assembly at Kingston in October. Most of us do buy a pocket calendar of some sort so why not support the Grapevine in this.