Sam Shoemaker - 1960 AA Convention

“Sam Shoemaker and Bill W. in 1960 "AA history." Sam Shoemaker’s address to the 1960 25th Anniversary International AA Convention meeting in Long Beach, California. Shoemaker was pastor of the Calvary Episcopal Church in Gramercy Park in NYC and head of the city’s Oxford Group, which Bill W. joined after attending one of its meetings at the church’s mission on 23rd St. Bill credits Sam with transmitting to him the basic OG principles which later went into the 12 Steps of AA. Here Sam discusses, with a great deal of wit, the relationship between religion and AA and how much the church has to learn from the latter. See video “Rowland H.: A.A. History,” in PTP website, “Audios & Videos.”