Our Group History, as presented at our 2017 anniversary:
The Love and Service Group was started in May 2006. There were four original home group members: Mike S., Joe S., Matt P., and Shannon B. These men had been talking about starting a group for 2 main reasons. One, two of the members worked B shifts and went to noon meetings during the week. They were looking for a strong group on a Saturday night that they could have as their home group. There were no meetings in the North Winton area on Saturday nights at the time. The Love and Service Group was first held at 1000 N. Winton Avenue in Rochester, approximately 2 miles away from where we are now located.
The Love and Service Group started with the name the Rochester Group. Joe was the first meeting secretary and Mike was the first treasurer. The group registered right away with our General Service Office in New York City. The first business meeting was primarily focused on what positions we felt needed to be filled. The founding member felt it was very important to have a GSR in place to ensure AA’s voice was heard, regardless of the size of the group. We all shared the basic chores until the group blossomed and we were able to share the load. It took a few months for more members to join and Alex L. was the group’s first GSR.
The group let the area know they had started by word of mouth. It was an exciting time for quite a few folks around the Rochester area. People were excited to come be part of the new energy forming down on Winton. Group members would hang out by the front door to see if any cars were pulling in the driveway. They had their “box of Joe” and 6-8 chairs set up in the small front room. One member would yell to the other 3 or 4 people in the room “2 more cars just pulled in!!!!” Within a few short weeks the group had to go back to the pastor and ask if they could start utilizing the larger room because the small room had run its course.
Today, the Love and Service Group meets each Saturday for an hour and a half. Many people ask the reason for this. When the meeting was brand new, the idea was everyone should be able to share. The meeting ended when everyone got a chance to speak. Sometimes this meant the meeting was shorter than an hour, some nights it was 2 hours long! Eventually group members decided to make the meeting a set 90 minutes.
The group always felt it was important to participate in service outside the group level. A GSR and intergroup rep were two of the first positions filled in this manner. Treatment, corrections and Public Information/Cooperation with the Professional Community followed after. Our group still has these positions today, along with alternates for all 5 of those commitments. Most recently, we have created group service positions for the accessibility committee and night watch. In 2008 the group started discussing the General Service Conference Agenda Items, so we would all be informed of what is happening in AA world-wide. And in 2012 the group hosted an all day workshop on the 12 Concepts of World Service.
Due to the small size of the church at the first location, the church would, on occasion, not allow the group to use their facilities some nights. This meant that the meeting was canceled. Over a lot of time and much, much, much discussion, the group came to the conclusion that is was important to never cancel an AA meeting. An ad-hoc committee was put together to look for a new location and we moved to this church in February of 2012.
The group has grown in size and membership over its 11 years of life. The membership consisted of men for a long time, but has grown to include females too! As female membership grew we were able to take on a women's treatment meeting commitment. We currently have about 50 home group members.
One of the results of a growing group was that we have had more ad-hoc committees open to all group members to review all sides of an issue and to report back to the whole group at our business meeting. One was we work to keep our group growing and healthy is to have periodic group inventories to look at our group’s strengths and weaknesses.
A big change for the group came when we decided to change our name from the Rochester Group. Some group members felt that there was an implied affiliation with other AA meetings of similar names. Again, there was a lot of discussion and it took months to come to a decision. The group agreed to change the name and then more time went into finding the right name for the group. Love and Service was agreed upon and became our new name in 2013. In February of 2015 after a lot of discussion, the group decided to start offering coins to celebrate anniversaries. Other developments in the last year include moving over to using mugs for coffee instead of Styrofoam, adding an electronic payment option for 7th tradition contributions and literature, starting a Came to Believe-based meeting and putting all our speakers on our website, which is theloveanservicegroup.com.
We thank you all for coming and celebrating tonight with us. I’d like to close with a quote from Bill W.:
“Is sobriety all that we are to expect of a spiritual awakening? No, sobriety is only a bare beginning; it is only the first gift of the first awakening. If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on. As it does go on, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life – the one that did not work – for a new life that can and does work under and conditions whatever.”
The guiding principles of our group:
We strive to be a group that:
Inclusive – Do we help all newcomers, members and visitors to feel at home?
1. An attitude of love, tolerance and acceptance toward those struggling and those
with different ideas.
2. Having an open mind to look at our group’s “blind spots” (areas where we need to improve)
3. Welcoming newcomers into our small group conversations after the meeting and offering them help.
4. Introducing newcomers to other home group members to get them around the
room.
5. Stretching ourselves socially to reach out to people we don’t normally talk with.
6. Encouraging all home group members to participate in group activities outside the meeting.
7. Helping visitors, spouses, and those who are unsure if they are alcoholic to feel welcome.
Diverse – Do we encourage and invite a wide variety of people into our AA
home?
1. A group that is one small part of a whole fellowship.
2. Being tolerant to different approaches to the program. for example, different
ways of talking about the steps.)
3. A group that seeks diversity in ages, race, lifestyles, backgrounds, children, relationship status.
4. A group that gets a good cross-section of AA as speakers, members and visitors
by bringing speakers from different areas to our meeting to carry the AA message.
Safe – Is this a safe place for all home group members and visitors to seek
healthy recovery?
1. No 13th stepping - when this is noticed, individuals are respectfully approached.
2. Discouraging swearing in our meeting.
3. Discouraging gossip in the group.
4. Suspending judgment & ridicule - not looking down on people for being sick
within the group.
5. Where we ask for and respect the minority opinion and give it time to be heard.
6. We are all equals and encourage growth in each other.
Active in the 3 Legacies: Recovery, Unity, Service – Do we encourage activity
on all sides of the AA Triangle?
1. Incorporate & teach all 3 legacies to group members and use them in our lives.
2. Service positions are clearly defined and service sponsorship (passing the torch)
is effectively used.
3. Collaborate with other groups to offer events for the AA community.
4. Take a group inventory regularly, possibly every 6 months.
5. Transparency on how the 7th tradition money is used.
6. Encourage involvement and donate funds
7. Sponsorship and service positions are available to all.
8. All group members will take responsibility for the group – service positions (get substitute if not here), church space, outside service commitments (IR, GSR), noticing what needs improvement and helping.
9. Clear and organized communication with all members.
Carries the AA Message – Do we carry the message of recovery from alcoholism through a spiritual awakening by practicing the 12 steps as a way of life?
1. The primary purpose (5th tradition) and creating hope for new people is the
priority of every meeting.
2. Group that incorporates the literature into the meeting & is rooted in the
Big Book of AA.
3. Where God is at the center of everything we do as a group & shared about freely
in our meetings.
4. Atmosphere of excitement, enthusiasm about the 12 steps, 12 traditions, and
12 concepts while being serious about the progressive and deadly disease of
alcoholism.
5. A meeting that is built around God’s flow in it, and principles not personalities.
6. A group that makes it clear how important service work is for recovery & that
walks the talk.
The Love and Service Group was started in May 2006. There were four original home group members: Mike S., Joe S., Matt P., and Shannon B. These men had been talking about starting a group for 2 main reasons. One, two of the members worked B shifts and went to noon meetings during the week. They were looking for a strong group on a Saturday night that they could have as their home group. There were no meetings in the North Winton area on Saturday nights at the time. The Love and Service Group was first held at 1000 N. Winton Avenue in Rochester, approximately 2 miles away from where we are now located.
The Love and Service Group started with the name the Rochester Group. Joe was the first meeting secretary and Mike was the first treasurer. The group registered right away with our General Service Office in New York City. The first business meeting was primarily focused on what positions we felt needed to be filled. The founding member felt it was very important to have a GSR in place to ensure AA’s voice was heard, regardless of the size of the group. We all shared the basic chores until the group blossomed and we were able to share the load. It took a few months for more members to join and Alex L. was the group’s first GSR.
The group let the area know they had started by word of mouth. It was an exciting time for quite a few folks around the Rochester area. People were excited to come be part of the new energy forming down on Winton. Group members would hang out by the front door to see if any cars were pulling in the driveway. They had their “box of Joe” and 6-8 chairs set up in the small front room. One member would yell to the other 3 or 4 people in the room “2 more cars just pulled in!!!!” Within a few short weeks the group had to go back to the pastor and ask if they could start utilizing the larger room because the small room had run its course.
Today, the Love and Service Group meets each Saturday for an hour and a half. Many people ask the reason for this. When the meeting was brand new, the idea was everyone should be able to share. The meeting ended when everyone got a chance to speak. Sometimes this meant the meeting was shorter than an hour, some nights it was 2 hours long! Eventually group members decided to make the meeting a set 90 minutes.
The group always felt it was important to participate in service outside the group level. A GSR and intergroup rep were two of the first positions filled in this manner. Treatment, corrections and Public Information/Cooperation with the Professional Community followed after. Our group still has these positions today, along with alternates for all 5 of those commitments. Most recently, we have created group service positions for the accessibility committee and night watch. In 2008 the group started discussing the General Service Conference Agenda Items, so we would all be informed of what is happening in AA world-wide. And in 2012 the group hosted an all day workshop on the 12 Concepts of World Service.
Due to the small size of the church at the first location, the church would, on occasion, not allow the group to use their facilities some nights. This meant that the meeting was canceled. Over a lot of time and much, much, much discussion, the group came to the conclusion that is was important to never cancel an AA meeting. An ad-hoc committee was put together to look for a new location and we moved to this church in February of 2012.
The group has grown in size and membership over its 11 years of life. The membership consisted of men for a long time, but has grown to include females too! As female membership grew we were able to take on a women's treatment meeting commitment. We currently have about 50 home group members.
One of the results of a growing group was that we have had more ad-hoc committees open to all group members to review all sides of an issue and to report back to the whole group at our business meeting. One was we work to keep our group growing and healthy is to have periodic group inventories to look at our group’s strengths and weaknesses.
A big change for the group came when we decided to change our name from the Rochester Group. Some group members felt that there was an implied affiliation with other AA meetings of similar names. Again, there was a lot of discussion and it took months to come to a decision. The group agreed to change the name and then more time went into finding the right name for the group. Love and Service was agreed upon and became our new name in 2013. In February of 2015 after a lot of discussion, the group decided to start offering coins to celebrate anniversaries. Other developments in the last year include moving over to using mugs for coffee instead of Styrofoam, adding an electronic payment option for 7th tradition contributions and literature, starting a Came to Believe-based meeting and putting all our speakers on our website, which is theloveanservicegroup.com.
We thank you all for coming and celebrating tonight with us. I’d like to close with a quote from Bill W.:
“Is sobriety all that we are to expect of a spiritual awakening? No, sobriety is only a bare beginning; it is only the first gift of the first awakening. If more gifts are to be received, our awakening has to go on. As it does go on, we find that bit by bit we can discard the old life – the one that did not work – for a new life that can and does work under and conditions whatever.”
The guiding principles of our group:
We strive to be a group that:
- is inclusive
- is diverse
- is safe
- is active in the 3 Legacies: recovery, unity and service
- carries the AA message
Inclusive – Do we help all newcomers, members and visitors to feel at home?
1. An attitude of love, tolerance and acceptance toward those struggling and those
with different ideas.
2. Having an open mind to look at our group’s “blind spots” (areas where we need to improve)
3. Welcoming newcomers into our small group conversations after the meeting and offering them help.
4. Introducing newcomers to other home group members to get them around the
room.
5. Stretching ourselves socially to reach out to people we don’t normally talk with.
6. Encouraging all home group members to participate in group activities outside the meeting.
7. Helping visitors, spouses, and those who are unsure if they are alcoholic to feel welcome.
Diverse – Do we encourage and invite a wide variety of people into our AA
home?
1. A group that is one small part of a whole fellowship.
2. Being tolerant to different approaches to the program. for example, different
ways of talking about the steps.)
3. A group that seeks diversity in ages, race, lifestyles, backgrounds, children, relationship status.
4. A group that gets a good cross-section of AA as speakers, members and visitors
by bringing speakers from different areas to our meeting to carry the AA message.
Safe – Is this a safe place for all home group members and visitors to seek
healthy recovery?
1. No 13th stepping - when this is noticed, individuals are respectfully approached.
2. Discouraging swearing in our meeting.
3. Discouraging gossip in the group.
4. Suspending judgment & ridicule - not looking down on people for being sick
within the group.
5. Where we ask for and respect the minority opinion and give it time to be heard.
6. We are all equals and encourage growth in each other.
Active in the 3 Legacies: Recovery, Unity, Service – Do we encourage activity
on all sides of the AA Triangle?
1. Incorporate & teach all 3 legacies to group members and use them in our lives.
2. Service positions are clearly defined and service sponsorship (passing the torch)
is effectively used.
3. Collaborate with other groups to offer events for the AA community.
4. Take a group inventory regularly, possibly every 6 months.
5. Transparency on how the 7th tradition money is used.
6. Encourage involvement and donate funds
7. Sponsorship and service positions are available to all.
8. All group members will take responsibility for the group – service positions (get substitute if not here), church space, outside service commitments (IR, GSR), noticing what needs improvement and helping.
9. Clear and organized communication with all members.
Carries the AA Message – Do we carry the message of recovery from alcoholism through a spiritual awakening by practicing the 12 steps as a way of life?
1. The primary purpose (5th tradition) and creating hope for new people is the
priority of every meeting.
2. Group that incorporates the literature into the meeting & is rooted in the
Big Book of AA.
3. Where God is at the center of everything we do as a group & shared about freely
in our meetings.
4. Atmosphere of excitement, enthusiasm about the 12 steps, 12 traditions, and
12 concepts while being serious about the progressive and deadly disease of
alcoholism.
5. A meeting that is built around God’s flow in it, and principles not personalities.
6. A group that makes it clear how important service work is for recovery & that
walks the talk.