The birth of our group, in the midst of the COVID 19 global pandemic of 2020/2021, is just another example of the resilience and importance of the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous. Even one of the most trying times for humanity in modern history can have some silver linings. 

​

The We Are Not Saints group of Alcoholics Anonymous was started in the living room of one of our members in July of 2020 - at the height of the pandemic. Zoom meetings were being held by most groups to try to cope, but they were leaving some with a feeling of being alone and there was a sense of missed connection for many. Something needed to be done but no known, established groups were holding in-person meetings yet. 

 

A first meeting was called. Six people came. The next week there were eight. The next week - eleven. In the fourth week, fifteen people were to show up for a meeting. It was soon realized that a living room in someone's home wasn't going to be large enough to meet the needs of this emerging fellowship. 

​

Central Christian Church was contacted and they came to our assistance - opening up their large auditorium for our use. The location, building and room were perfect. It allowed for adequate social distancing for members to come together. Wearing face coverings and going through temperature checks at the entrances, we began meeting in-person. Our new fellowship was coming together. 

​

In August 2020 a private facebook group was created to "get the word out". Within two days over 100 people had joined that facebook group. We started with two meetings per week - Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm. Our first meeting, opened to the broader public, was Tuesday, September 1 2020...we had a full house. In that first month we were one of the very few groups with in-person meetings in all of Dallas. It was common to have 60 or more people in attendance - even when authorities advised great caution for public gatherings. 

​

In the fall of 2020 other groups began opening back up and what was to be our "WANS" membership began to gel - and grow. We added a speaker meeting to our schedule before the end of September 2020 - Saturday Night Live! We added a fourth meeting to our schedule in March 2021 - a Big Book study. Our group was growing.

​

In the winter of 2020/2021, it was announced that the congregation of Central Christian Church would soon cease to exist - putting the future of that campus in jeopardy. The search for a new home began in January of 2021. We would need a new partner with stability and space for us to continue to grow. Oaklawn United Methodist Church came to our rescue. The location could not have been better. It was as if it had been designed to host AA groups. With both a spacious coffee shop and lawns on the property for fellowship before, after, and in-between meetings, our group had found the perfect new home. 

​

We moved to Oaklawn United Methodist Church in June of 2021 with yet another expanded schedule. A Friday 6:00 Discussion Meeting was added in June as well as a Step-Speaker Meeting to begin in July. 

​

Over the span of just under a year, this thriving group of Alcoholics Anonymous serving the sober fellowship of LGBTQ+ people and our allies in Dallas had taken hold and set roots deep ...in the heart of Oaklawn