About the 5th Tradition Group

The 5th Tradition Group began as a small group of Alcoholics Anonymous members seeking to create the kind of fellowship they craved. The founding members were regular attendees of a meeting at Peachford Hospital on Tuesday nights. Gradually the idea grew that we wanted a strong Home Group where the newcomers from the hospital could quickly jump into action. The Group began organizing in November 2008 in one of our member’s homes. Early discussions evolved into a set of core principles on which the Group came to be based: a strong focus on the program of action detailed in the Big Book, the importatance of the Home Group, adherence to AA’s 12 Traditions, the importance of Sponsorship, the belief that Group level Twelfth-Step Work was the primary purpose of an AA Group, and the conviction that sobriety should be filled with joy and enthusiasm!

There followed several challenging months when no good location could be found for the new Group. Then, almost magically, everything fell into place, including the perfect location, at the perfect size with room to grow. The 5th Tradition Group’s first official meeting was held on Saturday May 16th 2009 at 7:00 PM.

Since that time, the Group has rapidly grown into an active and enthusiastic one. We began with 3 meetings per week, including a Closed Big Book study on Thursdays at 8PM, an Open Speaker meeting on Saturdays at 7PM and of course, the meeting at the Peachford. The Group has since added a Friday meeting at Peachford Hospital, a Newcomer’s meeting on Thursdays before the Big Book Study, and a Tuesday meeting at the Dekalb County Jail. Additionally, there are Twelfth-Step commitments at local halfway houses for Home Group members.

There are a lot of Service jobs in our Group, and Home Group members are able to (and encouraged to) get into Service right away. The men and women of the 5th Tradition Group have been blessed to be a part of the impact the Group has already made, which has been greater and far quicker than we had ever dreamed. We appreciate your interest and would love to see you at one of our upcoming meetings.

In Gratitude and Service,
5th Tradition Group