A.A. and other fellowships remain separate while respecting one another
Other fellowships may use a Twelve-Step approach, and individual A.A. members may also seek help elsewhere. That similarity does not combine the fellowships or change A.A.’s responsibility for recovery from alcoholism.
The official A.A.W.S. material explains how primary purpose, membership, group identity, open and closed meetings, individual participation, separate services, and cooperation without affiliation keep the relationship clear.
A.A. begins with one primary purpose
Tradition Five gives every A.A. group one primary purpose
: carrying its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. (The Twelve Traditions)
A.A.’s message concerns recovery from alcoholism. Another fellowship may address a different problem and carry its own message, but A.A. does not expand its group purpose to take responsibility for that work.
A.A. groups stay focused on recovery from alcoholism
In Problems Other Than Alcohol, Bill W. describes sobriety through the Twelve Steps as the sole purpose of an A.A. group.
(Problems Other Than Alcohol)
The Twelve Steps can be adapted by other fellowships, but their use of a similar approach does not make their purpose A.A.’s purpose. The identifying issue for an A.A. group remains alcoholism.
A.A.W.S. gives a specific example of separate fellowships
The official A.A.-Al-Anon guideline says each fellowship functions more effectively when it remains “separate,” cooperating but not affiliating with the other.
(Relationship Between A.A. and Al-Anon)
This guideline addresses A.A. and Al-Anon specifically. It demonstrates the distinction A.A. makes between a close, respectful relationship and organizational affiliation: cooperation can occur while each fellowship keeps its own identity and message.
Related fellowships are not combined into one group
Because A.A. and Al-Anon have different primary purposes, A.A.W.S. guidance says they should not be combined, but remain separate groups.
(Relationship Between A.A. and Al-Anon)
A combined gathering can exist, but its identity must be clear. It should not be presented as an A.A. group when its membership, purpose, or message combines A.A. with another fellowship.
A.A. membership keeps its own stated requirement
Tradition Three identifies the requirement for A.A. membership as a desire to stop drinking.
(The Twelve Traditions)
Membership in another fellowship neither grants nor prevents A.A. membership. The A.A. question is whether the person has a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking, not whether that person also participates elsewhere.
A dual-purpose group is not identified as an A.A. group
A.A.W.S. literature says such a dual-purpose group should not insist that it be called an A.A. group.
(Problems Other Than Alcohol)
People may gather to address more than one problem, but the A.A. name communicates a particular membership and primary purpose. Using that name for a combined program would blur what an attendee is being invited to and what message the group carries.
Open A.A. meetings allow observation without changing membership
A.A.W.S. explains, Nonalcoholics may attend open meetings as observers.
(What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting)
A person from another fellowship may attend an open A.A. meeting to learn about A.A. The meeting remains an A.A. meeting, its discussion remains about recovery from alcoholism, and attendance as an observer does not create A.A. membership.
Closed meetings retain the A.A. membership boundary
A closed meeting is for A.A. members only, or for those who have a drinking problem and have a desire to stop drinking.
(Frequently Asked Questions About A.A.)
Participation in another Twelve-Step fellowship, by itself, is not the basis for attending a closed A.A. meeting. The closed-meeting boundary follows A.A.’s own membership requirement and protects discussion of the alcoholic problem.
Individual members may participate elsewhere without speaking for A.A.
A.A.W.S. explains that members of A.A. speak only for themselves.
(What is an open meeting?)
An A.A. member may personally use another fellowship, attend its meetings, or help create a separate group for another problem. Those choices belong to the individual; they do not make the other activity an A.A. service or an official A.A. position.
Separate services keep cooperation clear
The A.A.-Al-Anon guideline says each fellowship functions effectively when it retains separate committees, staffs, and facilities.
(Relationship Between A.A. and Al-Anon)
Separate directories, service offices, meeting lists, committees, funds, and Twelfth-Step services allow each fellowship to answer for its own work. Cooperation can include sharing information or arranging separate participation at an event without merging authority, identity, or responsibility.