Have AA meetings been canceled? Or are they considered a health service and still continuing? I know they’re often held in church meeting rooms which might make it difficult with many churches closed and I doubt they’d want to have someone open the church on a Tuesday evening for a meeting.
I don’t think a Zoom meeting would work, even assuming all the group members have the technical know how. I could see some members recording their stories to be played back on demand. Also, the big book can be read by yourself.
I’m not in AA, but I’ve known several people who are and they consider meetings to be very important and would almost never miss one.
Many meetings have been cancelled around the country, and replaced by virtual meetings. The Mrs. is attending an online Al anon meeting today. I’ve been in a couple AA ‘phone conference’ meetings in the past week, and a couple cyber meetings.
We find a way. Staying connected is crucial.
I suspect the AA and Al anon websites provide overall info on how to connect. Members can look at their local organization’s websites too for further info.
In Ohio, as of two weeks ago, no gatherings of more than 100 people were allowed, regardless of purpose. That already knocked out a lot of AA meetings.
The rules now are even more restrictive. I think that “social services” (which AA would probably be considered) are only allowed with 10 or fewer people.
Check with your local hospital/s. I used to work food service at mine, and they hosted an AA meeting every Sunday. That said, virtual meetings are an awesome suggestion, and probably the safest idea right now.
I had a good friend in AA, and she invited me to her regular meeting on her “birthday.” It was her 15th, so she made a sort of deal that was bigger than normal for an AA birthday, and invited 5 or 6 close friends, and I think 3 of us were non-AAers. The group of regulars was pretty small. There were, I think, 7 or 8. It was a “closed” meeting, which I understand is a meeting that requires an invitation, but I’m not sure just how it works-- if it has to come from the whole group, a majority vote of the group, or if any member can just invite anyone.
Anyway, a meeting like that, where you know what the headcount will be, could still go on, and if I understand correctly, that can happen literally anywhere. They can be in someone’s home, or even in a park, if the members all agree to it.
On the TV show Mom, they had one in a van while driving on the highway, but I don’t know how accurate that show is. I’ve been to maybe three meetings to support my friend, a couple more as an interpreter, and I read about halfway through the book before I got bored. I know a couple of AAers who say the show is pretty accurate, but there’s accurate, and there’s “TV accurate.” Those are two different standards.