Make Room for the Warden

I am currently housed at a maximum security correctional center. We are fortunate to be able to attend meetings twice a month. At my first meeting here, I had a spiritual awakening. I am a strong believer and member of AA. I have read thousands of pages of literature during my twelve months in this Fellowship. It is definitely working for me. But I found something very unusual and special about my first meeting here. When I walked into the meeting, I saw our warden sitting in our circle. When it was his turn to speak, he said, "Hi, My name is----. I'm an alcoholic and I'm not better or different than you." If you know anything about the maximum security prison system, you will know that the appearance of a warden in an AA meeting humbling himself and getting right down in the mud with us is just unheard of. This truly showed me the power of this program. I am so grateful to this warden. The question of whether or not this program works was answered for me in January 2005, when a warden of a maximum security prison sat with his inmates and spoke. It was such a spiritual awakening for me.