SINGLENESS OF PURPOSE

Our first duty, as a society, is to insure our own survival. Therefore, we have to avoid distractions and multipurpose activity. An AA group, as such, cannot take on all the personal problems of its members, let alone the problems of the whole world.

Sobriety – freedom from alcohol – through the teaching and practice of the Twelve Steps is the sole purpose of an AA group. Groups have repeatedly tried other activities, and they have always failed. It has also been learned that there is no possible way to make nonalcoholics into AA members. We have to confine our membership to alcoholics, and we have to confine our AA groups to a single purpose. If we don’t stick to these principles, we shall almost surely collapse. And if we collapse, we cannot help anyone.

Reprinted from P-35 Problems Other Than Alcohol with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc

closed meeting

This is a closed meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. In support of AA’s singleness of purpose, attendance at closed meetings is limited to persons who have a desireto stop drinking. If you think you have a problem with alcohol, you are welcome to attend this meeting. We ask that when discussing our problems, we confine ourselves to those problems as they relate to alcoholism.

OPEN meeting

This is an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. We are glad you are all here – especially newcomers. In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that “The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking,” we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol.