Our

STORY

The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

The 12 Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority—a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever nonprofessional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

The Keystone Group

We are average Americans. All sections of this country and many of its occupations are represented, as well as many political, economic, social, and religious backgrounds. We are people who normally not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, a friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful.

WELCOME

To all newcomers and visitors, we are The Keystone Group of Alcoholics Anonymous. If you are searching for a solution-oriented group, amazing fellowship, and great discussions you’ve found it! We look forward to getting to know you soon!

We meet in-person every weekday at noon in room 206 of Emmaus Catholic Church in Lakeway and hold an online meeting Mondays at the same time; please see our meetings schedule for more information and Zoom access.

HISTORY

In early 2003, Judy C. and Louise C. began to discuss the need for another noon meeting in the Lakeway area. On March 3rd, 2003 the first official A.A. meeting of The Emmaus Monday Group was held in a small room by the church office. The format of that first meeting was to discuss a passage from The Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous) of the chairpersons choosing. The only stipulation being that if a member didn’t agree with the selection, they could choose to read another.

That first meeting was attended locally by Judy C., Louise C., Liz T., Steve H. and Paul C. There were two out of town A.A. visitors, Susan M. and Pricilla H. And a newcomer by the name of Gretchen.

They embraced the Twelve Traditions and became self-supporting through their own contributions. A reserve was held back for emergency expenses, but all remaining funds donated under our 7th Tradition were to be dispersed amongst the Hill Country Intergroup, the General Services Organization, the District, and the Area.

Over the next year the small new Monday group continued to grow, doubling in regular attendance to about a dozen.

In 2004, Dell M., Paul C., and Louise C. started meeting in the Emmaus Bride’s Room at noon on Fridays. The meeting topic focused on Steps 10, 11, and 12 from any A.A. Conference-Approved literature. For many months the Friday group was only attended by a few and at times struggled to continue on.

By this time the Monday group had reached about 20 regular members and required more space. They relocated to a room in the newly installed portable church annex. The Friday group followed suit and with the additional space began to grow also.

It was brought to the group’s attention in 2009 that their name, The Emmaus Group, violated the 6th Tradition of Alcoholics Anonymous. The group quickly adopted the new title of Keystone, a reference from The Big Book to "the new and triumphant arch through which we passed to freedom”.

In 2011 a service position as Hill Country Intergroup Representative was created and the group began meeting on Thursdays as well.

For nearly a decade the group remained largely unchanged, until early 2020 when the world itself was forced to change. Covid brought new challenges for The Keystone Group and the sober community as a whole to overcome.

Keystone was one of the few groups in the area to continue to hold in-person meetings. In March 2020 Keystone added our three meetings on Zoom to accommodate members who felt safer joining from home. Then later in 2020 our meeting place moved again, from the annex rooms to the main church in room 206 where we currently reside.

Change came once again in mid-2021 when we began to host the Lighthouse Group’s Tuesday and Wednesday meetings. Eventually the group disbanded altogether and these meetings became permanent to Keystone, leading us to where we are today.

SUMMARY

Any group as solid and steadfast as Keystone has been tried and tested. But through good times, hardships, and an ever-changing world we have endured and even thrived. Some members have passed on sober and serene, where others have succumbed to this deadly affliction that we all carry. Some have found a new way of life with us, while others sometimes choose the old way; the way we all knew. We are not saints. No matter the person, how low they’ve sunk or how high they’ve flown, there is a place here waiting for them and you.

To all of our brothers and sisters out there, please join us as we trudge the road of happy destiny; come all the way in, sit all the way down, and most importantly, keep coming back.

IN MEMORIAM

We give thanks to those members who have served our group and touched our lives. Though now basking in the eternal Sunlight of the Spirit, they remain with us still.