May 22nd, 2026
401-438-8860
Unity
Tradition 6 – Long Form
“Problems of money, property, and authority may easily divert us from our primary spiritual aim. We think, therefore, that any considerable property of genuine use to A.A. should be separately incorporated and managed, thus dividing the material from the spiritual. An A.A. group, as such, should never go into business. Secondary aids to A.A., such as clubs or hospitals which require much property or administration, ought to be incorporated and so set apart that, if necessary, they can be freely discarded by the groups. Hence such facilities ought not to use the A.A. name. Their management should be the sole responsibility of those people who financially support them. For clubs, A.A. managers are usually preferred. But hospitals, as well as other places of recuperation, ought to be well outside A.A. – and medically supervised. While an A.A. group may cooperate with anyone, such cooperation ought never go so far as affiliation or endorsement, actual or implied. An A.A. group can bind itself to no one.”
Group Anniversaries
Thur. May 28th Cumberland- NEW VIEW– Emmanual Episcopal Church, 120 Nate Whipple Hywy.41st Anniversary. Start Time 6:30PM Guest Speaker followed by Food and Fellowship
Thur. May 28th Providence- YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE IRISH– Providence Presbyterian Church, 500 Hope St., 37th Anniversary 7:30PM Guest Speakers & Buffet
Sun. Jun 7th Portsmouth-PORTSMOUTH SUNDAY MORNING– Common Fence Point Community Center, 933 Anthony Rd, 54th Anniversary. 11AM. Guest Speakers/ Buffet
Thu. June 11th MIddletown- CLEAN AND SOBER– St Columba’s Parish Hall, 55 Vaucluse Ave., 37th Anniversary.,7AM. Guest Speakers
Mon. June 22nd Coventry- STEPS TO THE SUMMIT– Summit Baptist Church, 1176 Victory Hywy. 28th Anniversary. Guest Speakers, Refreshments and Desserts
Fri June 26th Darthmouth, MA- Darthmouth Friday Night -St. Mary’s Church, 783 Darthmouth St., (62nd Anniversary) Guest Speaker and Buffet
NEW GROUPS
Pawcatuck, CT. – STONINGTON SERENITY– Open Speaker Discussion, Little Man’s Dinner (Behind Bldg.), 98 West Broad St., Mondays at 6PM
Warwick-GET TO THE POINT– Open ESM. Rocky Point State Park, 1 Rocky Point Avenue, (Across from the Arch on Beach). Fridays at 7AM. NON SMOKING, BRING A CHAIR
MEETINGS RE-OPENING
Charlestown- CHARLESTOWN BEACH MEETING- Open Discussion, Charlestown Beach, 557 Charlestown Beach Rd., 6PM. (from Parking lot turn left look for Rainbow Windsock)
GROUP CHANGES
Warwick- WARWICK MALL AT 6PM– Is moving outside for the summer. They will meet at Warwick Mall (Firestone Parking lot), 400 Bald Hill Ave., Sunday through Friday at 6PM. Please bring a chair
Taunton, MA- SILVER CITY – Open Speaker Meeting . Will temporarily move to Holy Family Parish, 372 Middleboro Ave., Sundays at 7:30 PM . Effective Sunday June 28th
NEEDS SUPPORT
Somerset, MA –SERENITY-Open Discussion. Church Of Our Saviour, 2112 County St. Thursdays at 7PM
Cranston- CRANSTON TUESDAY NIGHT– Open Discussion. Phillps Memorial Baptist Church, 565 Pontiac Ave, Tuesdays at 7PM
Pawtucket- PAWTUCKET #1-Open Speaker/Discussion. Epworth Methodist Church, 915 Newport Ave., Thursday at 7PM
Disbanded Groups
Providence-LIVING SOBER FOR BEGINNERS-Crossroads of RI, 160 Broad St., Sundays at 6PM
On-Line– SOBER SISTERS- Thursdays at 7PM
Service
R.I.C.S PI/DUI Committee is recruiting a pool of Volunteer Speakers willing to occasionally share at State Driver Retraining Classes. We will be answering requests from all CCRI Campuses (Lincoln, Warwick, Newport and Providence). If you would like to volunteer for this vital service or would like more information please contact Gordon E. at Gordone1256@gmail.com or call the Central Service Office
RI CENTRAL SERVICE Treatment & ACCESSIBILITIES Committee will once again provide AA meetings for both the Detox Unit and the Dual Diagnosis Unit at Roger Willams Hospital. Any Groups or Individual member willing to provide AA Speakers for a monthly commitment please contact RI Central Service
RI Central Service is always in the process of up-dating our 12-STEP LIST. Anyone willing to be added to the list should contact their Group Secretary or call Central Service. “When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there and for that I am responsible
The next regular meeting for Central Service Delegates will be held Via Zoom on Wednesday, June 17th, 2026, at 7:00 PM. Zoom Meeting ID: 312 255 2726 – Password Meeting ID and links will be sent to all registered Central Service Delegates
We need volunteers to help with our monthly mailing – takes less than one hour. The next mailing will take place at Central Service, 1005 Waterman Ave, E. Providence Wednesday, June 24th , 2026, at 9AM
AREA 61’s next Area Assembly will be held Saturday June 13th at 9AM. St Kevin’s Church, 333 Sandy Lane., Warwick. The Area 61 Delegate will give her report back from the 75th Annual General Service Assembly at that time
District 5 has changed it’s monthly meeting. They will now meet the 3rd Tuesday of each month at 6PM. This will be a Hy-brid Meeting. They will meet in person at the Y.A.N.A Club, 770 Aquidneck Ave in Middletown or online via Zoom. Meeting Id # 838 8774 5717 Password: District5. Next meeting will be Tuesday, May 19th
The Area 61 Treatment and Accessibilities Committee (TAC) is looking for groups to share their experience, strength and hope across RI in various treatment and detox facilities. Please visit the “Treatment and Accessibilities“ sub-committee page on AAinRI.com (found under the “Area 61 Subcommittees” button in the main navigation bar) and click the “Submit Group Interest in Facility Commitment” button to see facilities in need of commitments. Please complete the required fields in the form and submit. A TAC member will respond within 72 hours with available day/time openings for the facilities
So RI Intergroup is always looking for members willing to volunteer to do 12 Step Work. Manning the Office, Answering Phones, Rides, as well as people wanting to become involved in Committee Work. There are several Opportunities for Service Available Contact So RI Intergroup at 401-739-8777 for more information
***Please note the deadline for submitting any information for the next today is Thursday, June 18th , 2026
***Please Note: Office will be Closed on Friday June 19th to observe Junete
Recovery
Central Service will sponsor our annual RICS Golf Scramble on Monday, June 29th.at the Swansea Country Club299 Market St., Swansea, $145 per person includes Greens fees, Carts, Golf balls, Prizes, Continental Breakfast, Snacks and great BBQ Chicken and Ribs Lunch Registrations have been sent to all registered group secretaries or are available at the office
S.E.M.R.U Committee will host a SUMMER BBQ – Saturday June 27th with a rain date of Sunday June 28th Colt State Park, Site 33 & 34, Rte. 114, Bristol AA Meeting 3PM- Fun In The Sun. Suggested donation $20 For more information, go to SEMRU.org
RI Central Service will host a “FELLOWSHIP PICNIC” Saturday, July 18, 2025- 12Noon to 5PM with a rain date of Sunday, July 19th At Colt State Park, 114 Hope St, Bristol. Sites 33 & 34 AA Speaker Meeting at 5PM, Tickets will be a $10.00 Donation. We will supply the Hot Dogs, Hamburgers, and condiments. Bring your own drinks, your own chair, and a dish to share! Please sign up in advance so we can estimate the food needed.
RI Central Service will host our 9th Annual “Sailing to Serenity” Block Island Day Trip Saturday August 8th, 2026. Tickets are $75 per person. Tickets include Round Trip Ferry ride, and “ Homestyle New Englander” Buffet Lunch at Ballards, AA Meeting at 5PM Hosted by the OFF SHORE GROUP. Restaurant Seats are limited to 80 People- Reserve your spot, they will go fast.NO TICKETS WILL BE SOLD AFTER July 29th. ABSOLUTELY NO REFUNDS
Happily, AA’s expenses per capita are very low. To fail to meet them would be to evade a responsibility beneficial to us.
Bill W.
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Tradition Six
TRADITION SIX
ENTHUSIASM UNBOUNDED
I was a little over a year sober when I began answering phones with my sponsor at our local intergroup. During one shift, he overheard a conversation in which I waxed poetic about the virtues of AA and then tried to help the caller with other problems. After the call, he calmly asked, “Have you ever read the Traditions in the ‘Twelve and Twelve?'”
My only exposure to the Traditions had been grumbling attendance at a few Traditions meetings.
“No,” I answered.
“Well, if you are going to do more service,” he said, “you might want to read about them. They’re kind of . . . important.”
Although I was insulted and defensive–my first reaction to many of his suggestions–I realized that he had about twenty more years of experience than I, so I’d better take the suggestion
I’m so glad I did. I loved reading about the trials, errors, and misadventures that the early AAs had while developing the Traditions that guide our Fellowship today. I realized that early AAs were just as fallible and, occasionally, as misguided as anyone else. But, by returning to a primary purpose, obstacles could be overcome, and the Fellowship would survive.
As I’ve continued to do service at the group level and beyond, I’ve witnessed how our Traditions help the Fellowship navigate through all sorts of situations. It’s not always pretty, either, so I really started to appreciate the wisdom that came from the experience of those in the early days.
One Tradition that I’ve grown grateful for is the Sixth Tradition. At first, it took me a while to see how a Tradition that deals with specific issues–money, endorsement, lending out the AA name–could apply to my own recovery. But the more service I’ve done over the years, the more I’ve come to realize how this Tradition really helps our Fellowship to keep it simple.
For a number of years, I took an AA meeting into a detox every other Friday night. The detox is part of a hospital and is run, like many hospital detoxes, by a trained, professional staff.
Early on in my commitment, a patient showed up after the meeting started. She apologized profusely and began telling me why she was late. I realized that because I was leading the meeting, some detox patients might assume that I work for the hospital.
I told her that I appreciated the apology, but it wasn’t necessary. From that point on, I made sure I explained, at the beginning of each meeting, that I was neither a member of the hospital staff, nor a professional in the field of alcoholism treatment. I told them that I was simply a drunk, just like them, who found a solution in Alcoholics Anonymous. The speaker and I were there to share our experience in the hopes that it might help another alcoholic–we wanted to give back what had been so freely given to us. We had nothing to do with the hospital, we weren’t there to enforce any rules, make money, or sell anything. I found it helpful to make this clear from the beginning, both for the patients and for myself. It helped define the meeting’s primary purpose, and it also, perhaps, made it easier for the patients in the detox to see me as a peer, not as a counselor or a doctor.
In my own recovery, Tradition Six reminds me not to overstep my bounds. As my sponsor witnessed that day at intergroup, there are times I get excited and try to fix things I have no business fixing. Whether I’m answering phones, talking to a newcomer at a meeting, or working with a sponsee, my only purpose is to share my experience, strength, and hope, and to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. There are plenty of competent professionals, more qualified than I, who can handle everything else
John G.
Reprinted from Grapevine June 2006