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SOS Will Host Sober New Years' Eve Party

It may be a dark and stormy night, but nothing will faze the sober spirits of the revelers who will participate in the third SOS almost-annual Sober New Year's Eve Party on Dec. 31 beginning at 9 p.m. at the Albany Senior Center.

Last year, strings of flashing colored lights, crepe paper and balloons decorated the hall. Each table had a supply of noisemakers and a kit of colorful mixed beads and strings for making New Year's ornaments. As everyone was sober, some strings of beads were successfully assembled. There was an abundant potluck, varieties of nonalcoholic drinks, and six prerecorded tapes of boogie music assembled by that sober DJ extraordinaire, Kurt S.

As Geoff G. counted down the final ten seconds, pandemonium broke loose in the hall. Couples hugged and kissed, soberly. Children joined in the happy racket. No one fell down.

As everyone pitched in to help, cleanup was quick work. Everyone drove home sober and safe. A fine time was had by all.

For details of this year's repeat, consult your meeting secretary.

Intergroup Potluck Dec. 6

There will be another intergroup potluck on Saturday, Dec. 6, 1997, at 6 p.m. at Fred and Elly's new house in Kensington. Bring a dish of your choice to share. The intergroup potluck features a business meeting at which meeting secretaries and treasurers discuss issues of joint concern to the meetings in the area. The event is open to all SOS meeting participants and is a good opportunity to socialize with people from different meetings. Bring a dish of your choice to share. For details and directions, call Fred and Elly at 558-1380.

Wednesday Noon UC Berkeley Campus Meeting Reopens

The Wednesday noon SOS meeting on the UC Berkeley campus, closed during summer vacation, has reopened, convenor Craig M. announced. The meeting is in the Tang Student Health Center at 2222 Bancroft Avenue across from the new athletic facility. The room is 1019 C, on the ground floor behind the reception desk to the left. The meeting goes one hour. It is not necessary to have campus affiliation to attend this meeting. (MN 8/18/97)

Belgian SOS Members Tour West Coast

Steve Morgan and Halima Hamurabi, founders of the SOS meeting in Brussels, Belgium, are touring the Western United States and will be visiting SOS meetings in Southern and Northern California in late December and early January, Jim Christopher of the SOS International Clearinghouse announced.  Contact the Clearinghouse for details. (12/24/97)

SOS Founder Addresses British House of Commons

SOS founder James Christopher addressed a seminar at the British House of Commons on Thursday Nov. 6, 1997, on the topic of teenage drinking. Prof. Theodore H. MacDonald, MD, PhD, FRMS also addressed the gathering. Hosted and chaired by Derek Foster, Member of Parliament for Bishop Auckland, the afternoon event was held in the Grand Committee Room of the House of Commons before an audience of about 150 students representing 45 high schools. A number of other MPs and dignitaries of the UK Department of Health also attended. The event was sponsored by the United Kingdom Alliance, an action group against alcohol and drug abuse, and by the UK chapter of SOS. Click here for photographs of the event with the text of Jim Christopher's and Prof. MacDonald's talks. (Thanks to Jim C. 11/15/97)

Council for Secular Humanism Extends Financial Sponsorship of SOS Clearinghouse

The Council for Secular Humanism (CSH, formerly CODESH) will extend its financial sponsorship of Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS) through the 1998 calendar year, Dr. Paul Kurtz, CSH chairman, announced Nov. 8. The CSH financial commitment will fill the gap between the income and the expenses of Secular Organizations for Sobriety Inc., and its Executive Director, James Christopher. The decision was made at the CSH Board of Directors' meeting in Los Angeles Nov. 7-8, 1997. SOS activists Ron Crane, Larry Beck, Tom Hill and Marty Nicolaus addressed the CSH Board Nov. 7 to describe recent SOS activities. Dr. Kurtz stated: "The CSH Board were impressed by SOS' achievements during the year, including expansion in the Texas prison system, publication of a textbook chapter, growing activity on the Internet, and publication of the Sobriety Handbook by LifeRing Press. CSH is pleased to continue as part of this exciting and worthwhile project." (MN 11/17/97)

New SOS Meeting in Ogdensburg, N.Y.

A new SOS meeting has started in Ogdensburg, New York. The meeting meets Thursdays at 8:15 to 9:15 p.m. at the St. Lawrence Alcoholism Treatment Center, 1 Chimney Point Drive, Ogdensburg 13669. Contact Chris Hastings, convenor, at (315) 393-0483. (Thanks to David M. 11/6/97)

New SOS Meeting in Buffalo, N.Y.

SOS will start a meeting in the Buffalo, New York, area on Friday, Nov. 7, 1997. The meeting will convene every Friday from 8 - 9 p.m. at the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst NY 14228. For information, contact Jack W. at 1-716-832-7348. (Thanks to Jim C 10/21/97)

Organizing Meeting for New York City SOS Chapter

An organizing meeting for the New York City chapter of SOS will be held Friday, Nov. 7, 1997, at the home of John C. in Flushing, N.Y. Everyone interested in starting an SOS meeting or meetings in the New York City area, please telephone John at 718-463-6613 or email him at jsc27@hotmail.com. (Thanks to John C. 10/15/97)

New SOS Meetings in Washington State, Florida

Grays Harbor, Washington. -- A new SOS meeting began Sept. 8, 1997, in Aberdeen, Washington. Known as Grays Harbor SOS, from the name of the shipping-logging-industrial region of which Aberdeen is the chief town, the new group meets Monday nights from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. in the Aberdeen Public Library, Market and H Streets, in Aberdeen. For more information, contact Mike Gyde 360-533-8039 or Don Ratke 360-573-4502. (Thanks to Mike G., 10/15/97)

Bradenton, Florida. -- A new SOS meeting began Oct. 7, 1997, in Bradenton, Florida, in the Tampa Bay area. The group meets on Tuesday nights at 6:30 p.m. in Manatee Glens Hospital. Contact Mark Page, 941-746-0552. This is the fourth SOS meeting in the Tampa Bay area. (Thanks to Mark P., 10/15/97)

SOS Founder to Speak in Western New York

SOS Founder Jim Christopher will speak in Buffalo, New York, on Friday, October 17. His topic will be "SOS -- Secular Alternative to AA." His talk will be followed by an open workshop on how to start and maintain SOS meetings. The event begins at 8 p.m. at the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst, NY 14228. For details about the event, call Ranjit at 716-636-7571. (MN 10/6/97)

Tampa Bay Area Adds Third SOS Meeting

SOS added its third meeting in the Tampa Bay Area in August with the addition of a meeting at Charter Hospital in Pasco County. The new meeting will convene on Mondays at 8:00 p.m. Nick Austrian, the convenor, reported that this meeting grew out of an unaffiliated ongoing meeting of dually diagnosed inpatients. The meeting retains some concern with dual diagnosis but is now open to anyone interested in pursuing the SOS approach. (MN 8/22/97)

LifeRing Press Publishes Sobriety Handbook: The SOS Way

LifeRing Press on July 27, 1997, began shipping Sobriety Handbook: The SOS Way, an Introduction to Secular Organizations for Sobriety / Save Our Selves. The book is a 100-page paperback that summarizes the common foundations of SOS meetings, gives fictionalized anecdotes illustrating the basic principles in action, sets out the SOS program, provides a resource kit of sobriety tools collected from SOS members, outlines the basic options for meeting leadership and format, and gives detailed instructions for starting a new SOS meeting. The appendix contains resource material for running and starting up SOS meetings and outlines other available SOS resources. The book is available by mail order from LifeRing Press at $10 plus $2 shipping & handling; California residents add 8.25 per cent sales tax. Special discounts and express delivery are offered for SOS meeting convenors. For further details, visit the LifeRing Press web site at www.lifering.com. (MN 7/30/97)

SOS Founder to Address Seattle SOS Meeting

SOS founder Jim Christopher will attend the Seattle SOS meeting on Saturday, July 26, 1997, the SOS Clearinghouse announced today. The Seattle SOS group meets upstairs in the Rendezvous Restaurant, 2320 Second Avenue, Seattle 98121. The meeting begins at noon and goes to about 1:30 p.m. For further information contact Warren Logan (206) 282-4899. (MN 7/14/97)

SOS Europe: Meetings Grow in UK, Paris, Brussels

SOS now has a growing number of meetings in the UK, and meetings are being established in Paris and in Brussels, the Spring 1997 issue of the SOS International Newsletter reports. In a lead article by SOS founder Jim Christopher, Christopher reports from a recent visit to the UK and other European cities that SOS meetings have increased in number and frequency in the UK and that there are SOS activists in Paris and Brussels working on establishing the SOS presence there, as well. Stephen Morgan, an SOS activist in Brussels, reports in another story in the same issue of the SOS newsletter that an English-language SOS meeting is now underway in Brussels, and plans for French and Flemish language meetings are underway. (MN 6/10/97)

SOS Western Regional Survey Begins

Bill C. convened the SOS Western Regional Survey Team on Tuesday, April 29, 1997 for an evening phone-a-thon in Oakland. The survey will update the SOS Clearinghouse mailing list by contacting as many persons on the list as possible and obtaining their current status and interest in secular recovery. The survey is a follow-up to a nationwide mailing campaign being sent out by the Clearinghouse. On the first evening, the team members telephoned about a fourth of the Clearinghouse activist contact list in the Western states. Additional evenings are planned. To join the Survey Team, telephone Bill C. at 412-3331. (MN 5/5/97)

Main Dishes Prevail at April Intergroup Potluck

The table was heavy with main dishes at the April 26 intergroup potluck at Kurt & Lorna's house in Alameda. Anna's salmon mousse, Leeza's monster meatloaf, and a plethora of hot salads and casseroles made for a stuff-fest that challenged the capacities and waistlines of the most voracious. There were only a few desserts this time, to make up for the last time when practically everybody brought desserts and almost nobody brought main dishes. So swings the pendulum. After the feast, there was an effort to meet and conduct business. Not much new got done, but some unfinished business from the past was taken care of. Everyone present signed a get-well card for local member Willard B., convalescing after a fall. Best wishes for a speedy recovery, Willard! The long-promised local SOS business cards finally got printed, thanks to Marty N., and distributed to convenors in attendance, thanks to Craig G. The cards can be used either for personal referrals or for 'salting' in bookstores or libraries. Craig G. undertook to build a bookstore list for 'salting' expeditions. Contact Craig to obtain the cards; they are $3 per packet of 200. Geoff G. passed out copies of the local convenor's phone tree, so that messages and announcements can be quickly distributed to everybody and nobody falls in the cracks, as happened in the past. Need a copy? Go to a meeting. There was discussion of the local newsletter, which is nearing completion in the capable hands of Kurt S; the feature story will be Ellie S.'s recovery share. There was also discussion of the formation of LifeRing Press, the upcoming new SOS self-publishing house, which will be located locally and will need the enthusiastic support of the local membership, as it is truly a 'do-it-yourself' effort. Finally, Bill C. called for volunteers to staff the phones in the ongoing SOS Western Regional Survey. A good and full time was had by all. (Marty N. 5/5/97)

New Participants Brought by April 10 Mandana Talk

At least three new participants came to the Thursday night SOS meeting as a result of SOS Information night April 10 at the Mandana Community Recovery Center in Oakland. Ellie S. and Craig T. were the speakers. They each shared the story of their recoveries. Ellie's recovery has been entirely in SOS. Craig attended AA before SOS and still attends meetings of both organizations. The event was part of the Thursday night education series at the community-based recovery center. (Marty N. 5/5/97)

Standard Substance Abuse Textbook Adds Chapter on SOS

The Third Edition of SUBSTANCE ABUSE: A Comprehensive Textbook, edited by Joyce H. Lowinson, M.D. et al., now includes a chapter on SOS. Chapter 39 of SUBSTANCE ABUSE is entitled "Secular Organization for Sobriety." The author of the chapter is SOS founder James Christopher, C.A.S. SOS is the only secular recovery group to be recognized with a chapter of its own in this standard volume.

The chapter occupies pages 396-399 in the massive scholarly anthology. Its subheadings are What is SOS?, General Principles, History, Philosophy, The Sobriety Priority, Family and Friends, The SOS Meeting, Studies of SOS Membership, and Case Studies in Sobriety.

Dr. Lowinson, the principal editor of the textbook, is Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University and Adjunct Faculty of The Rockefeller University in New York. Her co-editors are Pedro Ruiz, M.D., professor and Vice Chair for Clinical Affairs of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the University of Texas in Houston; Robert Millman, M.D., Saul P. Steinbert Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Public Health at the Cornell University Medical College and Director of the Division of Substance Abuse Services at the New York Hospital - Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic in New York; and John G. Langrod, Ph.D., A.C.S.W., Director of Admissions and Evaluation, Division of Substance Abuse, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, in New York.

SUBSTANCE ABUSE: A Comprehensive Textbook is a college level textbook for professional scientists, clinicians, primary care providers, administrators and policymakers in the fields of alcohol and drug use, abuse and dependence. Williams and Wilkins in Baltimore MD is the publisher. The ISBN is 0683181793. The list price is $155 from the publisher at 1-800-638-0672.

SOS Grows in Cyberspace: Adds Convenor's Site, AOL Presence

The SOS presence in cyberspace grew in April with the addition of a SOS Convenor's Page and an SOS corner on AOL.

The SOS Convenor's page is a service of the Tampa Bay Area SOS organization. The webmaster is Mark P. The site is a special resource for SOS members doing service work as meeting secretaries, treasurers, or in other leadership positions, and for persons who want to start new SOS meetings.

The page is "a place where we will share stories from around the country and the world, on how others have managed to start meetings, promote SOS in the press, work with newcomers, promote the Sobriety Priority, etc. SOS is the foremost secular alternative to groups that stress supernatural paths to recovery. But, if you're here you already know that! We invite you to write with stories about how SOS is going in your community. Share your problems and success with others around the country who are doing the same thing." The address of the new SOS Convenor's Page is http://home1.gte.net/markp/index.htm.

Meanwhile SOS has obtained its own corner for secular sobriety discussions on the giant online service, AOL. SOS convenor Don B. of Chicago is the host of this spot, with help from Bill L. in the Tampa Bay area. To get to the SOS bulletin board in AOL, do the following:

• Keyword = A&R
• Click on "Message Center"
• Click on "Support Groups"
• Click on "Browse Folders" and pan down to SOS, where you can read individual posts.

(MN 5/5/97)

Outgoing SOS Chairman Speaks at General Semantics Conference in Manhattan

Jim Monroe, who was until March this year the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Secular Organizations for Sobriety, Inc., the umbrella corporation for SOS, represented the SOS viewpoint at a conference on addictions held by the General Semantics Institute in Manhattan, N.Y. on April 5, 1997. The title of Monroe's talk was, "Does the Sobriety Priority Work?" Monroe said: "we subscribe to some of the same principles as Alcoholics Anonymous. For instance, we respect the principles of anonymity, we believe that support of fellow alcoholics sharing their experience aids recovery, and we advocate abstinence." But "The overriding principle that distinguishes us from A.A. is that we believe the power to overcome addiction comes from within not from subordination to some higher power." He concluded: "Does the Sobriety Priority work? It works for me!" Click to view the full text of Monroe's talk.

SOS Retreat in Florida Turns Into Working Session

The fourth annual SOS retreat at UU in the Pines in Brooksville, Florida, March 7-9, 1997, turned out to be a productive working session that will bring important changes in the way SOS is organized.

There was a strong consensus among the SOS activists present that it was time for a larger amount of membership participation in the decision-making and administrative process of SOS. Toward that end, the gathering chose a provisional national steering committee of nine members to take charge of five big projects that confront SOS in the coming period.

The members of the provisional national steering committee are Dick Smith, upstate New York; Ed Batis, Los Angeles; Jim Christopher, SOS founder, Los Angeles; Jim Monroe, upstate New York; Mark P., Tampa Bay; Marty N., San Francisco Bay; Paula B., Tampa Bay; Ron C., Los Angeles; Tom Shelley, Tampa Bay.  

The first of the five big projects is a nationwide census of SOS members and SOS meetings. The census will begin with a letter to conveners and recent contacts, based on a mailing list compiled by the Clearinghouse. SOS activists in several regions will follow up with telephone contacts. This project is set to begin almost immediately.

The second big project is to transition the SOS International Clearinghouse financially from a subsidized status to financial autonomy. Since 1990, the Clearinghouse has operated at an annual deficit. The Council for Secular Humanism (CSH, formerly CODESH) has subsidized its operation, but has indicated that its resources are limited. The transition to financial self-sufficiency for the Clearinghouse is projected to be substantially completed during the next twelve months.  

The third project is to publish the updated edition of the SOS Group Leaders Guidebook. The Guidebook update is within a few weeks of being ready for publication. In keeping with the new autonomy theme, SOS will form its own publishing arm to produce and distribute this pamphlet.

The fourth project is to organize a domestic speaking tour for SOS founder Jim Christopher. Christopher will be speaking in the UK during April but will be available for domestic engagements afterwards.

The fifth big project is to organize a national SOS convention at which the provisional steering committee will hand over the reins to a regular national leadership body elected by the membership. Time and place are still in the discussion stage.

The UU in the Pines retreat gave SOS "a great boost of energy and enthusiasm for the hard work ahead," said Tom Shelley, organizer of the event. Further questions can be addressed to tshelley@gte.net.  -- Marty N, 3/13/97.

East Bay Groups Elect Leadership

Edith A. has been elected Secretary of the Monday Berkeley meeting. She can be reached at (510) 527-1731. Kurt S. is Treasurer.

John D. is Secretary of the Tuesday Oakland meeting. Al is Treasurer.

Mike F. is Secretary of the Wednesday Berkeley meeting. He can be reached at (510) 530-6201(h) or email him at mike.r.fenger@bender.com. Juan is Treasurer.

Linda C.. is Secretary of the Thursday Oakland meeting, and Craig W. is Treasurer. (2/22/97)

Bill C. has been elected Secretary and Geoff G. has been elected Treasurer of the Friday Berkeley meeting. (9/22/96)

Maxine C. is Secretary of the Saturday afternoon meeting in Oakland. (3/20/97)

SOS Information Night April 10 at Mandana CRC

Mandana Community Recovery Center in Oakland will host an SOS Information Night on April 10, 1997, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. SOS members Ellie S. and Craig W. will be the presenters. Their talk will be a general introduction to SOS for newcomers, and they will answer audience questions. The evening is part of Mandana's Thursday Education series. Mandana CRC is located at 3989 Howe Street in Oakland, a block from Piedmont Avenue and a block from the Kaiser Hospital facility. Mandana CRC sugests a $3 admission contribution for nonmembers of Mandana CRC, but says that nobody will be turned away for lack of funds. Currently, the SOS Thursday night meeting, Linda C., Secretary, and the SOS Saturday afternoon meeting, Maxine C., Secretary, both convene at the Mandana CRC. (MN 3/20/97)

Next Intergroup Potluck Set for Saturday, April 26, 1997

Ellie S.'s homemade eclairs with nasturtiums took top honors in the March 22 intergroup potluck, with Bill S.'s African peanut-pepper-beef casserole the runner-up, and honorable mention to Craig M.'s quad-creme killer cheese spread. After the feast, there was a meeting and we decided: (1) to renew the Yellow Pages ad, payment of $660 due in August (see Fred S.); (2) to proceed on the local newsletter, with content balanced between newbies and counselors, and hope to have it ready for distribution in 30 days (talk to Kurt S.); (3) to produce business cards, also to be ready at the next meeting (see Marty N.) for distribution to a list of bookstores (see Craig M.). A good time was had by all, and the next meeting was set for Saturday, April 26, 1997, at Kurt and Lorna's house in Alameda. All convenors (meeting secretaries and treasurers) are invited; all other members are welcome also. Directions will be made available through the upcoming local convenor's phone tree (see Geoff G.). (-- Marty N. 3/23/97)

Next Intergroup Potluck Set for Saturday, March 22, 1997

• An intergroup business meeting took place Sunday afternoon, Feb. 23, at Geoff & Deena's house. The main order of business was outreach. We set up a provisional committee to publish the next local newsletter, headed by Kurt S. Plans were laid for a larger 'salting' campaign, headed by Marty N. Craig M. undertook to explore publicity in and around the Cal campus. Geoff G. will check out community calendars in the local press. John D. will check out community calendars in the electronic media. Marty N. will work up material for the Mandana and Kaiser newsletters. We will report back, and hopefully have a fuller turnout, at the March 22 potluck ( 6 p.m. at Marty's house). Meanwhile Geoff will put together a convenor's phone tree to avoid communications gaps such as occurred recently, when one meeting was inadvertently not notified of an impromptu social event.

Thursday Meeting Moves to Mandana CRC

The Thursday night SOS meeting, which has been meeting for two years on the third floor of the Fabiola Building at 3801 Howe Street, has moved to Mandana Community Recovery Center effective immediately, January, Ellie S., meeting secretary, has announced. The new location is in a well-known recovery center a short distance from the old site, and is more easily accessible. The time is 8:00 to 9:15 p.m. The new room is called the "Serenity Room" in the Gray Building. (1/2/97)