Sunday, August 5, 2012

A.A. History in Vermont in September

Prepare for the September 3-9 International Christian Recovery Workshops.

They will focus on East Dorset Vermont and the Wilson House and Griffith Library and East Dorset Congregational Church; and also on nearby Emerald Lake where the Thachers and the Burnhams had summer places; where Bill visited met Lois and became engaged to her; and where Ebby and Mark Whalon also visited.

They will be held partly in Manchester Vermont. Their focus will be on Burr and Burton Seminary where Bill Wilson spent four years, and where his pal Ebby Thacher also attended. The others of interest in that area are the Burnham family (Lois Wilson); the Thacher family (Ebby Thacher); Rev. Sidney Perkins (Congregational Minister with whom Ebby boarded); First Congregational Church of Manchester (which had a close link to Burr and Burton); Manchester Historical Society; and the activities in that area of Mark Whalon (Bill's close friend with whom he read the Bible), Rowland Hazard of nearby Glastenbury, Shep Cornell (who summered in Manchester), and Cebra Graves (whose father Judge Collins Graves released Ebby to Rowland's care, and who both lived in Bennington). Then nearby Norwich Military Academy in Northfield (where Bill and Ebby both attended and where religious emphasis was strong).

They will be held for the longest period in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. And, on our http://drbob.info website, there is extensivew information on the whole St. Johnsbury scene and its importance in Dr. Bob's life. The Dr. Bob Core Library is located in the Smith family's North Congregational Church on Main Street; and we have now posted an inventory of what has already been placed in that library
http://www.drbob.info/library-inventory.shtml.

The books that will fill in lots of information during the workshops and during your preparation for the Vermont highlights are: (1) Dr. Bob of Alcoholics Anonymous: His Excellent Training in the God Book as a Youngster in Vermont - www.dickb.com/drbobofaa.shtml; (2) The Conversion of Bill W.: More on the Creator's Role in Early A.A. - www.dickb.com/conversion.shtml; and
(3) The Dick B. Christian Recovery Guide, 3rd ed., 2010.

Our video films and radio interviews on www.ChristianRecoveryRadio.com can also provide lots of information about the two AA Cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob in Vermont.

For details about times, places, hotel accomodations, and workshops, you may also contact Dick B. at dickb@dickb.com or 808 874 4876.

See you in Vermont! In September! For real A.A. history!

Latest Dick B. AA History Guidebook in eBook!

Just a short few days ago, we announced that our new book Stick with the Winners How to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Recovery Meetings Using Conference-Approver Literature: A Dick B. Guide for Christian Leaders and Workers in the Recovery Arena, had just been released, is in perfect bound trade paper form, is reasonably priced, and is available direct from the print-on-demand source.

Here's an even better piece of news. That very same book is now available in electronic form on Smashwords.com, Amazon Kindle, and Google eBook.

You may want to use it right away to establish your study group or Christian fellowship meetings; or acquire it for your own use and enjoyment; or give it to someone trying to get a group started.

God Bless, Dick B., dickb@dickb.com
808 874 4876

Thursday, August 2, 2012

Support for and Subjects of Vermont AA History Workshops


Your Worthwhile Support of

the A.A. History Workshops This September in Vermont



By Dick B.

© 2012 Anonymous. All rights reserved



Ken and I will be in Vermont during early September this year: (1) to dedicate formally the “Dr. Bob Core Library” at North Congregational Church, St. Johnsbury; (2) to present workshops in St. Johnsbury and Manchester about the Christian upbringings and biblical training of Bill W. and Dr. Bob in Vermont; and (3) to do additional research on the Christian upbringings of A.A.’s Vermont-born cofounders. [We may even go down to Northfield, Massachusetts, to spend some time at the birthplace and home (in his later years) of Dwight L. Moody, who (along with Ira Sankey and Henry Moorhouse) directly impacted on Vermont’s Christian revival during the 1870’s.] The trip will enable you to join us in workshops, hear the real history of the Christian upbringing of Alcoholics Anonymous’ cofounders Bill W. and Dr. Bob, and pass along a history that most AAs and recovery workers just don’t know. And whether you can join us for some or all of our Vermont adventure—and we hope you can!—your support in helping to offset the $6,000.00 or so in expenses involved in this trip will be much appreciated.



Dates:



            Sept. 3 – 6: St. Johnsbury, Vermont, Comfort Inn Suites



            Sept. 6 – 8: Manchester (and East Dorset), Vermont, Avalanche Motel



Subjects:



            St. Johnsbury: A thorough history of Dr. Bob’s Christian upbringing and biblical training



Manchester: The many threads of Christian people and places that make up the Christian upbringing of Bill W.—Bill’s friend Ebby Thacher and Burr and Burton Seminary with its daily chapel, four-year Bible study, morning prayers, and regular church attendance; Ebby’s boarding there with the Congregational pastor Rev. Perkins; the summering there of Ebby’s Oxford Group mentor Shep Cornell; the proximity and interrelationship of his other mentors—Rowland Hazard and Cebra Graves; the friendship of Lois Wilson’s family and the Thacher family; the transition to chapel, Bible study, and church services at the military academy Bill and Ebby attended together in Northfield, Vermont (Norwich University); and the family of Bill’s love Bertha Bamford;

           

East Dorset and nearby Emerald Lake where Bill was so much involved with Lois, Ebby, Mark Whalon, and the East Dorset Congregational Church’s creed, confession, sermons, services, Sunday school, tent meetings, revival and conversion meetings, and Temperance meetings. Also Bill’s Bible studies with his maternal grandfather Fayette Griffith and with his friend Mark Whalon. And the unusual story of Bill’s paternal grandfather Willie Wilson’s conversion experience and cure of alcoholism at the top of nearby Mount Aeolus.



We will give a broad picture of the Christian upbringing and biblical training of Bill W. and Dr. Bob:



            After years of research, travel, interviews, visits to libraries and archives, and

collection of documents, we can now provide a very detailed picture for those willing to learn about Vermont, its leaders, organizations, churches, and people who impacted A.A. founders:



Christian ministers, leaders, and members of the Smith and Wilson families in Vermont; Vermont Congregational church contributions; Bible studies; conversions; prayer meetings, Young Men’s Christian Association influences; United Society of Christian Endeavor influences (on Dr. Bob); and the daily chapel, sermons, church attendance, and prayers at every turn—St. Johnsbury, East Dorset, possibly Rutland, Manchester, and Norwich University at Northfield; and the specific Christian suggestions given to Ebby Thacher by the three Oxford Group men (Rowland Hazard, Shep Cornell, and Cebra Graves) that were then passed on to Bill W.



The “Dr. Bob Core Library” in St. Johnsbury which we will formally dedicate in September, and the library at The Griffith House in East Dorset (which was built specifically to house many of the historical materials Dick B. accumulated over the years), already have thousands of these materials; and our new findings on this trip will be added as well.





If you are a Christian leader or worker in the recovery arena, or are otherwise a fan of A.A. history and the Christian Recovery Movement, please consider joining us for one or more days during our adventure in learning more about the two Green Mountain boys of Vermont who cofounded A.A.



Whether or not you can join us this time, please consider supporting our work by making a donation to help offset the expenses involved in this trip. If you would like to make a donation, please make your check or money order payable to “Dick B.” and mail it to: Dick B., PO Box 837, Kihei, HI 96753-0837. Or please contact me at (808) 874-4876 if you would like to make a donation by credit card or debit card.



If you would like to have your donation be tax deductible, please give me a call at (808) 874-4876 for details on how to do that.



God Bless,



Dick B.

August 2, 2012

Gloria Deo

Friday, July 27, 2012

"Stick with the Winners" Guide Now Available Perfect Bound

Ever since our January conferences in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Orange County, interest has grown and grown in the new book by Dick B. and Ken B. has grown. Its title is Stick with the Winners! How to Conduct More Effective 12-Step Recovery Meetings Using Conference-Approved Literature: A Dick B. Guide.

You can obtain it in trade cover right now by going to the Dick B. website front page www.dickb.com. It's a succinct 89 pages. It is sent to you print-on-demand, direct from the printer to you. It's reasonably priced at $19.95.

And it will help you form groups that cover old school A.A., Conference-approved literature, and the way to use both today to help the still suffering alcoholic or addict who needs and wants God's help.

We will be discussing the chapters from time to time to encourage you to see and use its valuable information. You can also download a copy for $9.95.

Now is the time to get answers to the frequently asked: "How do I start an early A.A. Christian Fellowship Group today."

dickb@dickb.com

Dick B.'s Personal A.A. History Blog Site Completely Revised, Enhanced, Updated


http://dickb-blog.com/