A Symposium on AA History 2016 : Episode 21

Agnostica: Bringing AA to the Unbeliever “...this was the great contribution of our atheists and agnostics. They had widened our gateway so that all who suffer might pass through, regardless of their belief or lack of belief.” Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age, p. 167  Symposium on AA History  March 4-6, 2016 Sedona Mago Retreat Center 3500 East Bill Gray Road Sedona, AZ 86336  Recordings from Symposium on AA History 2016 are available from SedonaMagoRetreat.org Saturday, Joe C of Rebellion Dogs presented on the ongoing history of atheists and agnostics in AA. On the agenda was: Growth of no-prayer, humanist, secular, freethinker, atheists/agnostic group in North America and around the world; A 40 year struggle for the General Service Conference to produce a pamphlet for atheists/agnostics; WAAFT (We Agnostics, Atheists & Freethinkers International AA Conference, and The Ontario Human Rights Tribunal case concerning Toronto Intergroup's discrimination of agnostic/atheist groups.Here are the slides and transcript Read or download PDF slides and notes here.Here is the audio + slide shows from Sedona Mago Retreat March 5th. Or watch on YouTube. Here is the whole schedule for the 2016 Symposium.visit http://www.sedonamagoretreat.org/symposium-on-aa-history/ or EMAIL JayATSedonaMagoRetreatThe whole program:FRIDAY 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner 7:00 – 7:15 Welcome and Introductions Jay S.7:15 – 8:00 Persistent Urban Legends in A.A. Dan Carracino (co-director of the documentary film: Bill W.) 8:00 – 8:30 Ernie Kurtz: A Reverence for History A video interview moderated by William Schaberg & Kevin Hanlon 8:30 – 9:30 Open A.A. Meeting SATURDAY 6:00 – 7:00 Open A.A. Meeting with Oxford-Group-style Quiet Time [meditation] 7:00 – 8:00 Breakfast 8:00 – 8:15 An Overview of Our Day Bill S.8:15 – 9:00 June, 1945: Bill Wilson Leaves A.A. for a Real Job Now What Happens? Kevin Hanlon (co-director of the documentary film: Bill W.) 9:00 – 9:45 “King” Charles Towns of New York City Gary N.9:45 – 10:15 Break 10:15– 11:00 A Candid View of the “Lady Lush”: Marty Mann Dr. Beverly Allen (Professor, Syracuse University: Playwright [An Evening With Marty Mann: First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous]; Script Writer [Lady Lush]; Author [Mrs. Marty Mann: First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous] 11:00– 12:00 An Interview with Rt. Rev. Ward Ewing Jay S. & Ward Ewing (non-alcoholic Chair of the General Service Board from 2002 to 2013; Chair Emeritus thereafter) 12:00 – 1:30 Lunch 1:30 – 2:15 Agnostica: Bringing A.A. to the Unbeliever Joe C. Rebellion Dogs Publishing 2:15 – 2:30 Break 2:30 – 3:15 “In Their Own Words”: The Recovery of People of Color & LGBTQ in Early A.A. Jackie B. & Glenn C.3:15 – 3:30 Break 3:30 – 4:15 Lois Wilson, Her Legacy at Stepping Stones Sally C. (Executive Director, Stepping Stones, Bedford, NY) 5:30 – 6:30 Dinner 6:45 – 9:00 A Night at the Movies: Bill W. [Directors cut extended version) Followed by a Q&A Session with Director’s Kevin Hanlon & Dan Carracino 9:00 – 10:00 Open A.A. Meeting SUNDAY 6:00 – 7:00 Open A.A. Meeting with Oxford-Group-style Quiet Time [meditation] 7:00 – 8:00 Breakfast 8:00 – 8:15 An Overview of Our Day Bill S.8:15 – 9:00 A New Pair of Goggles: The Spread of A.A. Internationally by the Armed Forces Roger W.9:00– 9:45 From Psychic to Psychedelic: Bill Wilson at the Frontiers of Consciousness Jay S.9:45– 10:15 Break 10:15 – 11:00 A Virtual Tour of “Wilson House” in Dorset, Vermont Julie K. (Executive Director, Wilson House) 11:00 – 11:30 OPEN FORUM: Suggestions for Future Symposiums Moderators: Jay Stinnett & William Schaberg 12:00 – 1:00 LunchLinks from the presentationArea 17 History of Proposals for a pamphlet for the Atheist/Agnostic/Non-believer CLICK HERERoger C (AA Agnostica)'s History of Secular AA groups. CLICK HERE White Paper on Non-Believers CLICK HEREOntario Human Rights Commission April 12th webinar sign up CLICK HEREWe Agnostics, Atheists & FreeThinkers International A.A. Conference in Austin TX November 11th - 13th CLICK HERE  From the Ontario Human Rights Commission:The right to be free from discrimination based on creed reflects core Canadian constitutional values and commitments to a secular, multicultural and democratic society. People who follow a creed, and people who do not, have the right to live in a society that respects pluralism and human rights and the right to follow different creeds.  “When we ask people to be tolerant of others, we do not ask them to abandon their personal convictions. We merely ask them to respect the rights, values and ways of being of those who may not share those convictions. The belief that others are entitled to equal respect depends, not on the belief that their values are right, but on the belief that they have a claim to equal respect regardless of whether they are right.” – Supreme Court of Canada. 2002