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December 19th, 2025
401-438-8860
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Unity
TRADITON 1 – LONG FORM
Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. A.A. must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward
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GROUP ANNIVERSARIES
Sat. Jan. 3rd No. Kingstown/Wickford- FIRESIDE-First Baptist Church, 44 Main St. Continental Breakfast 9AM- Guest Speakers 10AM. 49th Anniversary
Sat. Jan. 17th Providence-BREAKFAST WITH BILL– Our Lady of the Rosary- 21 Traverse St.,18th Anniversary. Regular Meeting at 7AM followed by Food and Fellowship 8AM – 9:30AM . Bring a dish to share if you wish.
Fri. Jan.23rd East Greenwich- FRI. WOMEN STUDY THE STEPS-St. Lukes Church, 99 Peirce St., 34th Anniversary, 10AM Speakers -Potluck to follow
Mon. Jan. 26th South Kingstown/Wakefield- I CAN’T / WE CAN- Church Of the Ascension, 370 Main St., 7PM, 71st Anniversary
ONE DAY ONLY
Providence- MUSTARD SEED- First Unitarian Church, 1 Benevolent St., will not meet on Wednesday December 31st
Providence-AGAPE- First Unitarian Church, 1 Benevolent St., will not meet on Friday Dec 26th or Friday, January 2nd
CHANGES
Providence-YOUNG PEOPLE QUEER ANDTRANSGENDER(YPQT)-Open Discussion, has Temporarily moved to White Electric.,711 Westminster St, Providence, Wednesdays at 7:30PM for 12/24 & 12/31. Check back for updates
DISBANDED
Warwick-NEW WAY OF LIFE – Open Speaker. Kent County Hospital, 455 Toll Gate Rd. Mondays at 7PM. Last meeting Monday, January 26th
Middletown- SERENITY STEP-United Congregational Church, 24 Valley Rd., Thursdays at 7:15PM Effective Immediately
Middleboro, MA – ACCEPTANCE– Open Speaker St Vincent De Paul Center, 53 Oak St. Sat. at 7:30PM
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Christmas and New Years Alcathons
Woonsocket- District 1 will host a Christmas Day Alcathon, Holy Family Church, 414 South Main St., Thursday, December 25th 9AM to 9:15PM Meetings all day long Food & Literature Donations Welcomed
Attleboro MA- DESIRE TO STOP will host a Christmas Alcathon, Cameron Recovery Center, 68 Falmouth St., Christmas Day-9AM ending at 5PM.
Narragansett-Avice St. Groups – Anchor Church, 32 Avice St., Christmas Eve– 6PM-11PM,/Christmas Day-12PM-6PM, and New Years Eve-6PM-12AM. Bring A Dish If You Wish
Warwick- So RI Intergroup will host a Christmas Day Alcathon So. RI Intergroup Office, 2845 Post Rd., 9AM -6PM
Providence –DAY AT A TIME– Open Speaker, Butler Hospital, 345 Blackstone Blvd., will have a Meeting on Christmas Day and News Day at 10 AM
Middletown-District 5 will host a New Year’s Eve Alcathon YANA Club, 770 Aquidneck Ave, 6PM -TBA
East Providence- DISTRICT 2/4 EAST BAY groups are hosting a NEW YEAR’S ALCATHON Riverside Congregational Church, 15 Oak Ave., East Providence. Wednesday 12/31/, 6PM to 1AM and Thursday 1/1/26 7AM to 2PM with Breakfast. Dishes and Snacks accepted. Meeting Slots are Available for scheduling email Gary D. @ gdyson711@gmail.com
Westerly- AA IN THE AM will host a NEW YEAR’S EVE ALCATHON Wednesday, December 31st , 6PM to 1AM Westerly Senior Center, 39 State St. Speakers Food and Music ( Marathon meetings will be held every hour in another room)
More Information re: Alcathons to come Check Website often or Call Office for Updates
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Service
ATTENTION ALL GROUPS and INDIVIDUAL MEMBERS
FRIENDLY REMINDER NOVEMBER IS GRATITUDE MONTH
Many AA members express gratitude for their sobriety with an Anniversary Contribution to any/all the different AA Entities. Some members customarily contribute a dollar for each year or a penny for each day-some give more, some give less, all contributions are valuable. It is the still suffering alcoholic who benefits from your generous spirit.
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, January 21st, 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, January 28th , 2026 at 9AM
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 Friday, January 23rd, 2026
**Please note the RI Central Service Office will be closed on, Thursday, December 25th to Observe Christmas Thursday, January 1st to Observe New Years Day & Monday, Jan. 19th to Observe Martin Luther King Day
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RECOVERY
So RI Intergroup/RISCPAA will host a NEW YEAR’S EVE DINNER/DANCE St. Lukes Church, 99 Peirce St, East Greenwich Tickets $20.00 each, Limited to 125 People Call So RI Intergroup for more information 739-8777
REGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN
Come one, Come all! Our 50th Annual RI State Convention will take place at the Newport Marriott -Feb 6th-thru Feb 8th, 2026. A wonderful weekend of Unity, Recovery and Service with great speakers from around the country, entertainment, marathon meetings and so much more. Don’t miss out! Register today at aainri.com – you can also buy meals and book rooms through the registration page
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Honesty with ourselves and others is what gets us sober, but it is tolerance that keeps us that way.
Bill W.-
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Tradition One
Each member of Alcoholics Anonymous is but a small part of a great whole. AA must continue to live or most of us will surely die. Hence our common welfare comes first. But individual welfare follows close afterward.–Long form of Tradition One,
The Tremendous Fact
Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
This Tradition plays a significant role in my life as a member of Alcoholics Anonymous. My personal recovery is dependent upon the group itself. Notice how the word “depends” here implies a healthy reliance.
I relied on drinking, alcoholic thinking, and my own bad behavior throughout my drinking career and it brought a great deal of pain and misery to my life. Loneliness sucked me into the deepest sea. I felt my alcoholism was a unique case, because at the age of eighteen I was introduced to this wonderful Fellowship and couldn’t get it. But why couldn’t I grasp what the people in
AA had? Because I didn’t have a desire to stop, nor did I ever want the people in AA to get to know me. I suffered from that terminal uniqueness that separates me from others and from the God of my understanding.
I saw the gleam in your eyes. I heard the deep-rooted laughter which came from your gut and your hearts. became resentful.“This can never work for me,” I thought, committing the sin of pride in reverse. I wanted what you had but did not want to do the work to get it. For instance, I didn’t want to be “a part of,” get a sponsor, find a home group, and work the Steps to the
best of my ability. It was only through desperation that I became willing to try a few things. Alcohol had whipped me. It was time to do something different in my life. I couldn’t imagine growing old, if I survived, and practicing my alcoholism. This Tradition reminds me that I am a small part of a great whole. Therefore, I believe the living principle is humility. However, this Tradition does not imply that the individual does not count. Here at my particular home group, I have learned how important individuals are to me. I have seen sponsors approach newcomers and immediately get them started in service.
This is absolutely vital in my recovery because if I do not have you people I cannot stay sober. I say this out of personal experience. How often I have tried to do this thing on my own. How often I have relied on my own twisted thinking. This is where the group and people like you remind me that if I want to recover, I should start following directions–however grudgingly.
I’ve used the principles behind this Tradition when I go to other meetings. Out of experience I know that each group is run a little differently. At a meeting the other day I sat for a couple of minutes, waiting for someone to lead the table. I finally asked, “Who is going to lead?” An elderly lady said she was waiting for the two women at the end of the table to finish their conversation. I replied, “Why don’t you tell them to finish?” She told me to be nice. This taught me that I am to be considerate
of each group, even for what I think is not important. As my sponsor once reminded me, I am a guest at other meetings. As Bill Sees It states: “The AA Traditions are neither rules, regulations, or law.” However, I know if I don’t follow these spiritual principles, I will turn to the bottle again. That is why AA needs no rules. People like me know they will ultimately destroy themselves if they don’t follow the Steps or the Traditions. The “Twelve and Twelve” states: “The unity of Alcoholics Anonymous is the most cherished quality our Society has. Our lives, the lives of all to come, depend squarely upon it. We stay
whole, or AA dies. Without unity, the heart of AA would cease to beat; our world arteries would no longer carry the life-giving grace of God; his gift would be spent aimlessly.” Let us also consider exactly how to protect our common welfare. What exactly does welfare mean? My opinion is that our common welfare represents our primary purpose–to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. The best way to preserve our common welfare is by our group conscience. Our collective group conscience votes on specific issues and the majority rules. It is essential that our common welfare not be threatened by our misdirected instincts–instincts that are often demonstrated at our business meetings. We must be careful not to let our desire for prestige and our ambitions interfere with the welfare of AA as a whole.
I am going to close with a passage from the Big Book that beautifully describes the sources of unity: “We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful. We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness,
and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to Captain’s table. Unlike the feelings of the ship’s passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having shared a common peril is one
element in the powerful cement which binds us. But that in itself would never have held us together as we are now joined. The tremendous fact is that we have found a common solution.”
SARAH C. | SOUTHGATE, MICHIGAN
Reprinted by Grapevine January 2002
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