Minneapolis/St. Paul April 15, 2000

Please copy this newsletter for your group.

GSO has issued an advance program guide. The lesbian and gay A.A. panel meetings are scheduled as follows.

Friday, June 30 from 1 PM - 2:30 PM: Gay Alcoholic or Alcoholic Who Happens to be Gay?

Saturday, July 1 from 11 AM - 12:30 PM: Being Part of A.A. As A Whole.

Saturday, July 1 from 3 PM - 4:30 PM: Focus on Our Primary Purpose.

These meetings will be in Exhibit Hall 1 at the Convention Center.

On Saturday July 1 at 9 AM there will also be a meeting "Al-Anon is for Gays and Lesbians" will be held in Salon A-C at the Downtown Raddison (throughout the Convention there are Al-Anon meetings at the downtown Marriott, Marquette, and Radisson Hotels)

There will be a block party and dances starting at 8 PM between the Convention Center and Nicollet Mall. Meetings at the Metrodome will be on Friday (this meeting includes the flag ceremony) and Saturday at 8 PM, and on Sunday morning, doors opening at 8 AM.

The IAC Hospitality Room will be open on the 14^th floor of the Regal Minneapolis Hotel from noon on Thursday until 1 AM. Friday and Saturday it will be open from 7 AM until 1 AM, and on Sunday hours will be from 7 AM until noon.

The IAC Dance at International Market Square will be from 9 PM until 1 AM on Friday, July 1. Advance tickets are $10.

The Minneapolis Convention and Visitors Association is also making plans for the GLBT community, as it will be the largest contingent of gays and lesbians ever to visit the city. They are planning a "GLBT guide to the city" and to distribute it at the airport, the Regal, and at various functions. Daytours is planning to have a bus tour and possibly a river boat cruise for the GLBT visitors.

On Friday, June 30 the GLBT in A.A. Cabaret will open at 8 AM at the Wesley United Methodist Church. From 9 AM until 11 AM we will hold a "Welcome to the Twin Cities" social. Come and join us in making the visitors feel welcome!

At 3 PM there will be a call-up meeting and after the Big Meeting on Friday evening there will be a candle-light meeting. We would also like to have and open stage and some scheduled entertainment in the cabaret. If you would like to do some service as an entertainer, please contact Donovan H. (612) 827-5163, or Chris D. (612) 789-1690.

"So I went to Akron, and also to Cleveland, and I met more recovered alcoholics. I saw in these people a quality of peace and serenity that I knew I must have for myself. Not only were they at peace with themselves, but they were getting a kick out of life such as one seldom encounters, except in the very young. They seemed to have all the ingredients for successful living. Philosophy, faith, a sense of humor (they could laugh at themselves), clear-cut objectives, appreciation - and most especially appreciation and sympathetic understanding for their fellow man. Nothing in their lives took precedence over their response to a call for help from some alcoholic in need. They would travel miles and stay up all night with someone they had never laid eyes on before and think nothing of it. Far from expecting praise for their deeds, they claimed the performance a privilege and instead that they invariably received more than they gave. Extraordinary people! ...

A.A. is not a plan for recovery that can be finished and done with. It is a way of life, and the challenge contained in its principles is great enough to keep any human being striving for as long as he lives. We don not, cannot, out-grow this plan. As arrested alcoholics, we must have a program for living that allows for limitless expansion. Keeping one foot in front of the other is essential for maintaining our arrestment. Others may idle in a retrogressive groove without too much danger, but retrogression can spell death for us. However, this isn't as rough as it sounds, as we do become grateful for the necessity that makes us toe the line, for we find that we are more than compensated for a consistent effort by the countless dividends we receive. ...

There is no more "aloneness," with that awful ache, so deep in the heart of every alcoholic that nothing, before, could ever reach it. That ache is gone and never need return again.

Now there is a sense of belonging, of being wanted and needed and loved. In return for a bottle and a hangover, we have been given the Keys of the Kingdom."

Whenever I feel like giving up on service work, this quote really reminds me of why I'm doing the work. It may be of help to others, but more important, it is what it does for me - it is what we used to call being "selflessly selfish". By giving of myself in the program, I'm the one that receives the biggest benefits. I get out of myself, I learn to work (and PLAY) with others, I learn more about myself and others, and most, I get to learn more about "practice these principles in all our affairs".

The lengths our for-runners had the opportunity to go to are not so prevalent today with detox and treatment centers, but there still is a lot of service work available. The International Convention is one such opportunity. Please get involved and volunteer - not for the sake of others, but for your own sake - you will find you receive more than you give.

If the shoe fits -

Do you attend meetings and mingle with the flock

or do you stay at home and criticize and knock

Do you take an active part to help the work along

or are you satisfied to only just belong

When the business session comes around

do you pretend to be sick

Then leave the work to just a few

and talk about the clique

Think this over, member, you know right from wrong

Are you and active member

or do you just belong?

Gopher State Roundup will be held at the Radisson South Hotel in Bloomington again this year. The dates for the Roundup are May 26, 27, 28, 2000. Registration fee is $10. There will be speakers at 7:30 PM and 10 PM on Friday; 9:30 AM, 11:30 AM, 2 PM, 7:30 PM and 10 PM on Saturday; 10 AM on Sunday.

GLBT in AA will again host a hospitality room at Gopher State. It is in the same location as past years, room 224.

GLBT in AA needs volunteers and donations for the Gopher State Hospitality Room. Leo G. is Chair for this years room. Please contact him if you would like to help, or just show up with your donation!

We also need volunteers for the GLBT in AA Cabaret during the International Convention. You do not have to be attending the convention to take part in the activities at the Cabaret. We do need donations of coffee, lemonade mix, cookies, bars, donuts, pastries, and munchies for the Cabaret. They can be dropped off at Wesley Church on Friday, June 30, after 8 AM, or they can be dropped off (on the porch) at 3036 Dupont Ave. So. on Thursday, June 29.

GLBT in A.A. and the Hospitality Committee would like to thank those who have helped us, both physically and financially. Your donations of time and money will hopefully make our hospitality rooms successful, as well as helping carry the message to the GLBT community through the Minnesota GLBT Meeting List, this Newsletter, the Web Page, and the IAC Representatives.

If you or your group would like to make donations of money (please specify where you want your donation to go ­ International Convention, Gopher State Hospitality Room, Newsletter and Meeting List, or Web Page.), make checks payable to, and mail to:

Also, if you feel creative, you can send articles for the newsletter or send any changes or additions for the meeting list, to:

You can also mail them to the above address.

You can also check out our web site at:

There are links to several other GLBT sites including IAC’s site. Watch for the new updates of convention news and other activities on the site!

The IAC newsletter, IACTIVITY can be ordered by writing IAC, P.O. Box 18212, Washington, DC, 20036-8212. A $5 donation is asked for the newsletter. The GLBT Directory is also available from IAC for $5. Any donations would also be welcomed and can be sent to the above address.