A Serenity Place (ASP) is a closed, online Al-Anon email meeting. We meet twenty-four hours a day, seven days per week. There is a new meeting every day of the week, with the chair announcing the topic some time during that day. Some days of the week are structured topics and others are open topic. Structured topics focus on themes such as the Steps or the Slogans. Open topic meetings are at the discretion of the chair. Please see Daily Meetings for more information.

We consider ourselves an Al-Anon Family Group like any other. We follow the Twelve Traditions of Al-Anon and conduct business like any face-to-face group. A Serenity Place (ASP) pays particular attention to the Obstacles to Success also known as the “Practical Application of the Twelve Traditions.” If you still have questions after reviewing ASP’s Founding Statement and Policies and reading the instructions that follow, please consult our Frequently Asked Questions.

1. Understanding the emails

Every day, the Daily Chair will post a new topic. Usually he or she will include the “Lead,” “Topic,” or the day of the week (Tuesday, Wednesday, etc.) so you can tell which email was written by the chair. Members of ASP live in many different time/date zones, so the day’s topic could appear at any time of the day or night. After reading that email (and others as you see fit), you are free to share on that topic yourself or not, as you prefer.

As you read the emails, you may notice some terms or acronyms (CAL, GOMU, AH, RAH, etc.) that are unfamiliar. Please consult the Glossary of Terms and Acronyms pages for assistance.

Yes, we know… it’s a LOT of emails, and ASP does not offer a ‘digest’ option. For that reason, we do not recommend that ASP members use a work email address. Many members choose to sign up for a free email account dedicated only to ASP (Note: our server does not support Yahoo! emails). See #5 below for how to change your ASP email address. If you have any questions about this process, please contact the List Administrator at la@asp-afg.org.

2. Sharing on a topic

Put the day’s topic in the subject line and start a NEW email to asp@asp-afg.org Do NOT hit “reply all” because the server may reject your email. The server rejects any emails with multiple addresses, so don’t CC anyone on your share. If you hit “reply” in response to the chairperson’s lead or any of the shares, your email will go only to that person and not to the general meeting.

While sharing is not required, we do encourage every member of ASP to participate in the daily meetings. Just remember that in ASP, we try to keep the focus on ourselves. You can include a quote from the CAL (Conference Approved Literature) that appears in the daily chair’s email, but please don’t quote any other portion of that email, other members’ shares or any non-CAL sources (including websites, stories you may have heard, poems, etc.). As stated in ASP’s Founding Principles, “Al-Anon literature is known as Conference Approved Literature (CAL); discussion of other literature is discouraged except for brief sharing of ES&H (not quotations) of AA literature.” For more detailed information on this topic, please see our  CAL page. For a thorough discussion of the use of CAL in ASP by founder Steve R., please see  Cal vs. Non-Cal ~ the use of Non-Cal is not OK.

Note: If you are concerned that you are not receiving ASP emails or that your emails are not posting to the meeting, please notify the List Administrator at la@asp-afg.org. Please do NOT send ‘test’ messages to the meeting.

3. Replying to an individual member

If you click “reply” when reading someone’s share, your message will go only to that member. We always like to hear that someone appreciated what we shared. Just please be respectful and refrain from giving unsolicited advice. Remember that flaming and flame-baiting (please see Glossary of Terms-Complete if you don’t understand those terms) are expressly prohibited at A Serenity Place and may cause the member who engages in that behavior to be unsubscribed.

4. Sponsorship in ASP

Sponsorship is an important tool of the Al-Anon program for many members of A Serenity Place. If you would like to find a sponsor in ASP, we encourage you to find someone whose shares resonate with you and ask him or her directly. General emails to the group requesting a sponsor are discouraged. Please see the Sponsorship page for more information.

One of our former members, Mary Beth, addressed the topic of sponsorship in one of her emails to the general meeting. In part, she wrote, “Look at the shares that mean something to you…..and go after that ‘special something.’  You deserve it.  The unexpected benefit is that your sponsor appreciates the gift you gift them by selecting them to be a sponsor as well.” You can read the remainder of Mary Beth’s share on the Sponsorship page.

5. Managing your ASP membership subscription

If you want to put your ASP emails on vacation hold, unsubscribe or change your ASP email address, follow the 3 steps outlined below. If you are unable to do this yourself for any reason or the whole process baffles you, email the List Administrator at la@asp-afg.org.

A. Go to https://asp-afg.org/mailman/listinfo/asp and enter your email address that you use for ASP. (If you only want to view the archives, go to https://asp-afg.org/mailman/private/asp/ Then type in your ASP email address and click “remind” if you don’t know your password.)
B. After you receive a password from asp-bounces@asp-afg.org, go back to the link above and enter that password or go to the link you receive in your email and enter your password
C. You should see a screen where you can do any or all of the following:

• Temporarily disable ASP email delivery (“Nomail”~up to 15 days for vacations, etc.)
• Change your email address
• Access the archives (all the emails for several years-for members to READ only. Please respect fellow members’ anonymity and DO NOT copy, forward, etc.) Please take note of this statement from ASP’s Founding Statement and Policies: “List Administrator will immediately unsubscribe anyone who violates list/server security.”

6. Volunteering for Service

Occasionally there will be a call in the general meeting to fill various service positions, such as the Greeters or Daily Chairs. Steering Committee members are elected at the bimonthly Business Meeting when a position becomes vacant. If you want to make it known that you are available to serve, please email the List Administrator la@asp-afg.org or any other member of the Steering Committee at steering_committee@asp-afg.org. Please consult Trusted Servants, Daily Meetings and the ASP Service Structure for more information.

7. Donations to A Serenity Place

Al-Anon’s Tradition 7 states: “Every group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.” Like any face-to-face meeting, A Serenity Place depends on member donations to keep it running.

The Treasurer for A Serenity Place sends out an email requesting contributions usually entitled “Passing the Basket.” This is similar to a face-to-face meeting, in which a basket is typically passed around the room to collect member donations at a certain point during the meeting. You may contribute to ASP in response or at any time with a check via regular mail. If you prefer to contribute using a credit or debit card, you can do so via email with Paypal. For specifics on how to donate to ASP, please see Tradition 7.

8. Important Documents

The following documents are of particular significance to A Serenity Place and are provided here for members to review, if desired:

ASP_Group_Registration_Letter
ASP_Group_Binder_Cover
WSO Guidelines for Electronic Meetings