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The A.A. Group - Definitions
In addition to the AA Service Manual, the pamphlet, The AA Group, has had several versions of the definition of an AA Group.
The following is a response from New York Central Office of the various edits…
Warm greetings from the General Service Office Archives! Your inquiry about the “A.A. Group” pamphlet was forwarded to me for response. Specifically, your question addressed a sentence in the pamphlet that says, “Nonalcoholics may attend and participate in the discussion.” You also referenced a “Box 4-5-9” article that quoted the sentence above. Your question is interesting and I attempted to provide a concise response based on primary source materials in our collection.
The quote extracted from the “Box 4-5-9” article read in its entirety:
“‘The A.A. Group’ pamphlet says open meetings are ‘for anyone interested.’ Among types of meetings, it also lists ‘open discussion,’ noting that ‘nonalcoholics may attend and participate in the discussion.” [Edition: August –September 1976]. In the First Printing of the “A.A. Group” pamphlet (Printing date: 8/65) and in the section titled, “What Kinds of Meeting Programs Can a Group Have?” only the following five (5) types of meeting formats were described:
1. Closed
2. Open
3. Public
4. Beginners
5. Business
In the “Open” sub-section, the sentence read, “Open. For anyone interested”; this is consistent with the 1976 “Box 4-5-9” article. The 1965 edition of the pamphlet did notinclude a description of an “Open discussion” meeting.
In a later printing of the pamphlet (Printing date: 7/72) a new meeting type named “Step Meetings,” along with a brief description was added to the sub-section. Therefore, there were now six (6) distinct types of meeting formats described. In a following printing dated 11/73, the “Open Discussion” meeting type was added to the pamphlet, increasing the number of distinct meeting formats to seven (7). The description of the “Open Discussion” meeting as it appeared in the pamphlet then (Printing date: 11/73) read:
“Open Discussion. Nonalcoholics may attend and participate in the discussion.”
In my search to provide you with background information that may elucidate the need for the meeting types later added, I scoured through Literature committee minutes, A.A.W.S. minutes and other relevant sources but to no avail! However, I am certain that the additions were approved by the Literature Committee as it has to before any additions or changes are made in A.A. literature.
It is interesting that the wording in the description of an “Open Discussion” meeting changed slightly to read,“Nonalcoholics may attend and may participate if the group approves.” This change appeared in a January 1977 printing of the pamphlet; I searched preceding printings to determine when the change occurred and it appears that the January 1977 printing first carried the revised text.
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As I continue to search through the various printings, I discovered that in 1979, the sub-section on “Open Discussion” meetings was once again revised, the wording expanded to read, “Open Discussion meetings are held in many places. At these, nonalcoholics are free to take part in the discussion with the approval of the group conscience.” [Printing date: 1/79]
As you know, the “A.A. Group” pamphlet was revised considerably in 1990 (The revised pamphlet was printed 8/90), reflecting actions of the 1989 Conference:
“The pamphlet “The A.A. Group” be thoroughly revised to address the many issues and concerns related to A.A. groups which come before the committee year after year such as:
a. The difference between a group and a meeting; b. Meeting formats; c. How to obtain a group conscience; d. The duties of trusted servants and their alternatives; And others, as described in an outline of contents submitted by the trustees’ Literature Committee.” [Advisory Actions relevant to the Conference Literature Committee: 1989] As such, the newly revised pamphlet included these changes and particularly, the section titled, “What kinds of meetings do groups hold?” was significantly revised. There was also a separate section describing the difference between an open and closed A.A. meeting. These were the various meeting types listed in the newly revised pamphlet:
1. Discussion
2. Speaker
3. Beginners
4. Step or Big Book
5. Business
6. Group Inventory
The description that followed “Discussion” read, “Whether closed or open, an A.A. member serving as ‘leader’ or ‘chair’ opens the meeting in the usual way and selects a topic for discussion.” And, in the segment titled, “The difference between open and closed meetings,”an excerpt from that piece read, “Whether open or closed, A.A. group meetings are conducted by A.A. members. At open meetings, non-A.A.s may be invited to share, depending upon the conscience of the group.”Though this specific text appears in another section, it seems that the language is somewhat similar to that used in earlier printings, particularly the 1/79 printing referenced above.
I hope this information is not too confusing; I thought a thorough report on my findings might be somewhat helpful. If you have any question, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Michelle Mirza
End of preserved source document.
