The Trip to A.A.’s Spiritual Roots is a
Go: They Center on Vermont
An International Christian Recovery
Coalition Fall Leaves Cadre Workshop
With Informative Visits to Historic A.A.-Related
Locations in Vermont
By Dick B.
© 2012 Anonymous. All
rights reserved
Come Join Us!
As we have said, we are
planning a Fall Leaves Workshop centered on the New England Area and definitely
zooming in on historic A.A.-related locations in Vermont: the Green Mountain
territory of Bill W.’s and Dr. Bob’s youth. It’s where my son Ken and I
identified and examined in great depth some of the Christian roots of A.A. And we
gathered an immense amount of historical evidence, embodied it in our books and
articles, posted it on the Web, and included it in our www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com presentations. But there’s nothing like the
excitement of seeing it all for yourself with excellent guidance. And there’s
nothing like learning it for yourself so that you can be one of those
experienced Christian leaders who can transmit A.A. founding information fully
and accurately
You will be able to
participate in September 2012 events involving:
1. St. Johnsbury and Dr. Bob’s boyhood home;
2. North Congregational Church—the Smith Family church
and location of the historical collections in Dr. Bob Core Library;
3. Identifying Akron A.A.’s “Christian fellowship” program with Dr. Bob’s
Young People’s Society of Christian Endeavor;
4. The immense historical resources in the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum (library);
5. The St. Johnsbury Fairbanks Museum, the Courthouse
where Dr. Bob’s dad was probate judge, the former location of the YMCA building
where Dr. Bob’s father was President;
6. St. Johnsbury Academy—where Dr. Bob’s mother was a
teacher and later an historian, where Dr. Bob’s father was an examiner, and
where Dr. Bob attended daily chapel and weekly church services and Bible
studies, and participated in YMCA events;
7. East Dorset and Bill W.’s birthplace;
8. The Wilson House where Bill W. was born and where many
A.A. meetings, seminars, and tours and offered;
9. The Griffith House where Bill was raised by his
maternal grandparents for several years and where he studied the Bible with his
maternal grandfather, Fayette Griffith;
10. The Griffith House Library which probably contains the
largest collection
of A.A. historical books and articles and pamphlets
and memorabilia of
any place in the world
11. East Dorset Congregational Church, where Bill, Bill’s
parents, and
both
sets of grandparents attended; and where Bill attended church and
Sunday
school, along with revival and conversion and Temperance meetings;
12.
The Bill and Lois Wilson gravesites;
13.
Manchester, where Bill attended Burr and Burton Academy, attending its
required
daily chapel and four-year Bible study course, and was its president
of
the Young Men’s Christian Association during his senior year; and
14.Your optional personal detour to see
the Fall Leaves display.
Want to come?
This cadre tour and workshop
will give you an accurate knowledge of A.A.
history, A.A. historical collections, and A.A.’s Christian roots and origins most
have probably never heard about or understood. It will provide you with important
keys to the Christian upbringing of Dr. Bob and Bill W. It will show you more about real “spirituality”;
ie., the relationship with God that the Big Book talks about. You visit a
location with thousands of A.A.-related historical items. It will take you to an
area filled with New England charm. It will be far more than just a walk
through a memorial building or two. It will be at a time when the Fall Leaves
displays are there. And Dick B. and Ken B. will be there to show you what’s
what.
What is needed to make it
happen:
Prayer.
A
real interest in learning something very vital about “old-school” A.A. ideas
and their applicability today.
A
zest for a guided tour to inspect, learn about, and handle scads and scads of
historical evidence, attend meetings if you wish, and hear Dick B. and Ken B. report
on 22 years of research as you move about and stop for some short talks.
We
hope to develop a cadre of long-sober folks who can learn and absorb the
important Vermont history of A.A.’s Christian origins, the Christian upbringing
of Bill and Bob, and how they can be applied today
Benefactors
to provide funds for our travel are needed.
Your
plans for a car or car pool with friends.
Accommodations
at the St. Johnsbury Marriott hotel and in East Dorset.
And
an essential willingness to walk, look, listen, and learn.
Since this will be an
International Christian Recovery Coalition workshop, we are looking for a cadre
of Christian leaders and workers in the recovery arena who want to learn and
pass on to others what we’ve found and you have actually seen.
This will be unlike other
history and archive conferences, seminars, and forays.
You’ll see and enter the
buildings. You’ll pick up and examine the historical items. You’ll explore on
your own, too. You’ll hear from two speakers who have researched, written
about, and spoken about the whole scene—many times.
This may be the only time in
your life that you will have such an opportunity.
This July is the month to
plan and let us know if you’ll be coming and when. It is also the month to help
fund our trip. And then to make your car and hotel reservations.
The light is green this July,
and we’ll go. In August, we’ll be all set. For more information, contact Dick
B. by email at DickB@DickB.com.
Gloria
Deo
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