marinadock.orgNon-Profit Corporation |
|
The Marina Dock Newsletter June 2002Dear Marina Dock members and patrons alike, Thank you for your much needed continued financial and moral support. I would like to thank everyone who, over the last month, sent us a donation, paid their dues, or bought their refreshments at the Marina Dock. I noticed over the last few months an increase in contributions for coffee and beverages – that really does make a difference and helps us considerably in meeting our operating expenses. CoffeeOur coffee, by the way, is by all accounts pretty good – more favorable than anything else available across the city, and it is available from 6:00 am to 11:30 pm Sunday through Thursday and on the Friday nights we are open until 1:30 am (we’re open more than Starbucks, Tullys and Peets!). I have to tell you that I did not think that this was any big deal until I visited New Orleans for a few days recently, where twelve step meetings are few and far between and the only establishments open late any night are down in the French Quarter on Bourbon and Decatur Streets. A renewed appreciationMy weekend trip to New Orleans was my first time out of the city in about seven years. Before this, my idea of the Deep South used to be places like Millbrae, San Carlos, Burlingame and Redwood City. New Orleans is definitely interesting, well worth visiting, and I’m glad I made the trip. What I got from my sojourn was a renewed appreciation for what I had taken for granted for many years about having twelve step meetings in abundance without having to ride public transport for several miles in order to find one. Meetings large and smallAll meetings are good is the refrain; it’s just the saying goes “that some are better than others”. For a lot of us, including myself, that somehow translates into “good” if it is a well attended meeting and “not good” if the meeting is small (a small meeting being a dozen people or less). All of the meetings I attended in New Orleans were great meetings and all of them were, in terms of number, around fifteen people or less and were considered big meetings. What this experience did for me was to make me take another look at the smaller meetings at the Marina Dock through a totally different lens and realize that these meetings, usually mid-morning and early afternoon, are absolutely vital for those of us who work irregular hours and cannot make early morning or evening meetings. Clarification on a number of issues pertaining to meetingsAll twelve step meetings at the Marina Dock are autonomous, as well as being self-supporting. Theoretically, every twelve step meeting that takes place at he facility is self-supporting because the Marina Dock accepts whatever amount of money is collected from the groups – an amount that usually falls well short of our suggested hourly rent for the meeting room in question. That was the policy of the Dry Dock before us and it’s still the case. This philosophy makes meeting space available to smaller groups that could not survive at other locations because of fixed rents and other related costs. In this way, we are allowing groups that meet at the Marina Dock to fulfill their seventh tradition requirement as well as their primary purpose, i.e., “to carry the message to the person still suffering”. The difference between Free and Free for the TakingAA schedules and pamphlets are free for the taking at the Marina Dock. What that means is we freely make available pamphlets and schedules that are paid for though group contributions (the aforementioned rent). Schedules cost five cents each and the pamphlet kits are $14.00 each. We usually go through on average about 2-3 boxes of pamphlets and approximately 800 to 1000 schedules each month. Total cost is around $90 per month. Feng ShuiIn keeping with our continued commitment to excellent, we have fitted the Social Room and the West Room with a high quality carpet. The West Room has undergone a total transformation, new soundproof walls and ceiling and a new paint job. Everyone seems to like the positive energy. It’s now a great meeting place. Meetings in need of support and ServiceWe have a wide range of CODA and ACA meetings throughout the week at the Marina Dock. As I mentioned earlier, meetings are autonomous and self-supporting – so please support them. The following ACA and CODA meetings at the Marina Dock are in need of support. Codependents Anonymous (CODA)
Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA) The meeting times are:
New Meetings And Contact InformationACA. The Intergroup Board for Adult Children of Alcoholics has recently revamped (or resurrected, as they say themselves) their phone system and the new ACA phone number is 415-706-4168. OA. A new Overeaters Anonymous meeting every Thursday other, OA Women from 5:30 to 6:30 pm in the middle room. AA (Beginners) The AA meeting on Sunday evening is at 8:30 pm and not 8:00 pm. The latest schedule will include this modification. Remember you can get our schedule, freely available at the Marina Dock with up to date information on meetings and workshops. This schedule can also be downloaded from our website at www.marinadock.org. Anyone interested in starting a twelve step meeting please inquire at the front desk. As always, we are in need of financial support and as always, if you are running on empty and cannot afford to give at this time that’s all right. If you are feeling down and you are in dire need of some TLC, just come on down. So, that’s it for now. Until next time, the solution is love. Anthony T. Murray (“Irish Tony”) |
|
