Open Alcoholic Anonymous Meeting Analysis

For my out of class activity I decided to go to an open Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. I chose to go to this type of meeting because they have lots of time options in the Des Moines area, so it was convenient within my schedule. Initially, going into this I had no idea what to expect. I’ve seen a few AA meetings on movies I have watched, but other than that, I had no previous knowledge of what this meeting would be like.
It first started with individual conversations amongst each other, then chairperson (the person in ‘charge’) opened up the meeting with a prayer. Next people went around and introduced themselves and the chairperson offered if anyone wanted a desire chip. A desire chip symbolizes being sober for at least 24 hours. The chip was also offered at the end of the meeting as …show more content…
Consequently, the chairperson talks about any AA information going on within the organization. The chairperson will bring up a topic from the AA big book to get started, once he/she does this it’s an open floor for anyone to raise their hand and speak on that topic. In the meeting I went to, I learned about the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. In summary, the 12 steps basically admit that we are powerless over alcohol and to admit to others of our wrongs. After, learning about these 12 steps and the anecdotes of the members, the chairperson passed around a collection plate where people can chip in money for the meeting. Being a member of an AA meeting doesn’t cost any money, but it does cost money for the group to rent out a place and for refreshments and books, so it’s generous to chip in money. Afterwards, the chairperson got the group back on topic and