- •[Participants draft of work in progress - not for distribution - ed]
- •Na Fellowship Work in Progress
- •Victor Hugo Sewell, Jr.
- •Na Foundation Group
- •1516 B Life Oak Drive
- •The Tradition Wars: a pathway to peace
- •Chapter One Early History of na
- •How na Service Took on Its Form
- •Chapter Three The Book
- •Wso Timeline of Important Dates and Events
- •Forward
- •Introduction
- •Money, Property and Prestige
- •Chapter Five The Growth through Our Book
- •Some thoughts on the History of the Purist Movement
- •In na by a founding member.
- •Chapter Six History Movement Starts in Alabama Madison History Conference
- •I. The inception
- •In order to share how the committee started you need to understand the why.
- •II. The Committee forms
- •III. The First Celebration Set
- •IV. Members Gather
- •V. Speaker Transcripts from the Convention
- •VI. Archive Search and Define Goals
- •VII. The Trouble Starts
- •Allentown history conference
- •Side two of tape
- •[Is there a break in the tape or transcription here? - Ed]
- •Side two of tape
- •[Side two of tape]
- •[End of Tape 4]
- •[Side two]
- •[Side two of tape]
- •[Side two of tape]
- •Baby Blue
- •Intent was to get attention on negative factions within world services by agitating
- •South Florida Blue Story
- •Bob Stone
- •Commentary on history leading up to Baby Blue Case
- •Tremendous Amount of Pain
- •Grateful Dave's Fight
- •Grateful Dave’s Home Group
- •Baby Blue Court Case
- •Part Three
- •'Baby blue'
- •Transcript of the court case - Summary Ruling by Judge Pollack
- •The History Committee Folds
- •Chapter Eleven the world service inventory
- •The superboard
- •Board Authority Motion to be inserted here - Ed
- •The internet
- •The disenfranchised
- •Chapter Fifteen
- •Inside The wso
- •(Why I'm Writing This)
- •History of Narcotics Anonymous
- •History of the Service Structure
- •Our Traditions And The World Organization
- •Inside The wso
- •Service Structure Overview
- •Too Tired To Fight
- •The real na is the caring and the sharing. All else is stage setting. Were we to grow large in worldly terms and lose our simple message of hope, we would have to make another program.
- •Central Office vs. World Wide Fellowship
- •I’m interested in the future of the future.” - Robert Doniger, 1996
- •Spiritual Unity
- •Morality
- •Traditions War Memorial
- •Lynn Watkins Eyewitness account of politics in early days of World Service Conference and the Transition from the original wso
- •Chapter Twenty Pathway to Peace
- •Appendices
- •Excerpt from Bob Stone's Book:
- •Bob Stone and the na fellowship
- •Chapter Twenty
- •I Was Stunned
- •Epilogue
- •Correctness Cults
- •If we look far enough into our past - we will see our future
- •The n.A. Tree The Service Structure of Narcotics Anonymous
- •Introduction
I. The inception
In order to share how the committee started you need to understand the why.
When I got clean treatment centers were flooding the rooms of NA. "People did not recover in NA alone" was the message; you had to go to AA in order to have long-term recovery. Going to AA meetings I heard them defend their message. Neal H. took me to many different meetings in NA, in many different towns, and I meet many new people that were recovering in NA alone. We always made at least one H&I meeting during the week. 90 in 90 was the official creed. Early on he directed me to a member that was doing H&I in a local prison. That meeting became my regular Tuesday night meeting for 5 years. Through active service, workshops and learning days I was able to meet BO S., Greg P. Motorcycle Ed, Bill B., Tully A., Susie S. Mike, Billy R., Rick A. These people helped to shape my understanding of service. I learned that people did recover in NA and that NA had a different message. I HEARD IT. WOW!!!!!!!!! What an awakening.... I heard Larry North share at a spiritual NA gathering at Cheeha State Park in Northeastern Alabama as the 3rd paragraph of We Do Recover was read. A love affair was born. A love affair with this fellowship, and our message began. I wanted to share that. Members brought back the 3rd paragraph as an opening reading to our group and we began to read it at every meeting.
In area service we understood that we did not know everything, so we asked some of the people mentioned above, and others to come share in workshops about our message and how to carry that message. We are not addicted to crosses, poly’s, anda's or anything else. I wondered how I would be received, if I said hello, I am Grover, and I am a welder.... We learned and grew, our area grew and so did our service committee meetings.
We heard about inclusive service, leading by example, how our book was written, and some of our pamphlets. We heard that addicts could somehow no longer write, the book was a fluke. Many other things were being done and said in that time period that threatened what we saw as a Spiritually based service structure and were in conflict with our Traditions. We took a stand. Anytime someone stands for something you will have opposition. We saw many members standing for Spiritually based service and our Traditions as a guide while others wanted to streamline the process and turn writing over to the professionals. To some of us the very thing that helped us to fell and be a part of, was sighted for dismantle and termination.
II. The Committee forms
If we are hurting what does our sponsor tell us? Write! History cannot be written from one person’s point of view, or it is distorted, and perverted... Orson Wells 1984 gave us an inside view of this. Only those that fear the light, cling to the darkness.... Our disease does not want us to recover. I believe it is the same with the fellowship at large. An addict went to Motorcycle Ed’s home and asked, “ what we could do to bring healing, if a Fourth Step heals, could we not do a Fourth Step in the form of history and heal?" Ed, and the member prayed in that room, and felt if addicts can recover through a historical look at their life then maybe the fellowship could find unity after a historical look at itself. After much prayer and thought, this was taken through the service structure and approved. Bill B. was given the intent and was asked if he would chair the committee for NA History. He accepted. I was voted in as Co-Chair. That trip to Ed’s house gave us our start. Bill saying yes sealed the deal. We were on.
The intent of the committee was to gather facts. Interview people, gather documents and make it available for all members. We knew that many people see one wreck from many different points of view. So to be honest, fair, searching, and fearless all avenue's had to be researched. The Basic Text project gave us a perfect tried and proven method of how to do this. There were many facts to consider, we were an aging fellowship, and many had passed, I feared many more would before it is done. Time was important. Below is a picture of first History Committee. Left to right is, member, Richard and wife from Guntersville Al., member, member, Bill B. Decatur Al., Grover N. Athens Al. These members worked hard, worked together, raised money and hosted the first Conference in Madison Al.