If one word summarizes our Jerusalem fellowship, that word is “fun”. We really have a good time. Visitors from foreign fellowships often find this to be our most memorable feature.
We enjoy great amounts of time together – on hikes, get-togethers, parties, and campouts. We can be found merrily chatting for hours after meetings – one addict talking to another. Fast friendships are swiftly forged. And in our meetings, a tangible energy can be felt, as we honestly open our hearts and share our deepest secrets with each other. We’ve found that recovery can be deep, real, and simply fun.
We count among us many lust-free members with years of sobriety – from many ages and backgrounds. Among our membership are many chronic relapsers who have finally found recovery. And many more persist in attending, trying again and again, patiently waiting for the miracle that has blossomed in their friends’ lives to take root in their own.
Strong mixed meetings are our backbone. Women and men alike are deeply involved in the myriad service positions – from the day-to-day mechanics of meetings; arranging hikes, workshops, get-togethers and conferences; printing and distributing literature; and managing our ever-growing meeting schedule.
Over time, the service-work of our grateful members has overflowed onto the international stage – collecting and publishing vast amounts of AA & SA recordings, running virtual conferences, producing SA podcasts, and creating new tools for navigating the new reality of Zoom meetings. And when our sober members occasionally move, they carry the sprouts of our message to new locations. For the many blessings our Higher Power has granted us, we shall never be sufficiently grateful.
But what shall we do with these gifts?
The Big Book describes the newly sober, starry-eyed addict:
“For a time he may try to hug the new treasure to himself. He may not see at once that he has barely scratched a limitless lode which will pay dividends only if he mines it for the rest of his life and insists on giving away the entire product. ”
– “The Family Afterward”, Alcoholics Anonymous p. 129
The vast majority of international SA’s will never meet us in-person. How then can we be of service to them?
We’ve decided to try writing a small, weekly publication that will attempt to collect some of our experience. A regular “fellowship in text”, if you will.
We’ll share our personal and collective experiences on recovery – stories, anecdotes, and in-depth topic discussions. Together we’ll explore ideas of how to build fun, vibrant meetings that burst with recovery. We also hope to explore some of the murkier, uncharted topics that are not discussed in our existing literature.
Sometimes the horizon darkens. Our members have learned to thrive despite great tragedy – great financial trouble, arrests, mental and physical illness, multiple divorces, personal persecution, and the death of loved ones. Their stories can help those going through troubled times.
Our hope is that our modest work will be of use to all fellow sexaholics, wherever they may be.
And if you ever do visit, we hope you’ll drop by for a secrets meeting, a walk in the mountains, or maybe just a friendly chat over another slice of pizza.
May God bless you and keep you, until then ?.
– The SA Israel “Road to Freedom” committee
Got something to share?
If you have a thought, idea, or story that you think would be helpful, we’d love to hear from you!
This is a new exciting project, and we need all the help we can get!
Learn more about article submissions ›
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