A saint, I believe, might be someone whose life’s work and witness continue to affect the lives of others after their death. Hoping to achieve one thing by their life’s work, their work might instead unexpectedly inspire another. Such describes the life, witness, and ministry of Sam Shoemaker, who, although not called a “saint” in the traditional sense, is listed among the holy men and holy women of the Episcopal Church. And well he should be. Without him my life, and the lives of countless others in recovery would be very different! His feast day is January 31.
It's no exaggeration to say that without him it’s likely that recovery as we know it would not exist. There might not have been an AA, Al-Anon, or any other Twelve-Step fellowship. His work, witness, and ministry laid the groundwork for AA and through it, for the other fellowships. What he did fundamentally altered my life, even though both he and his work were completely unknown to me when I entered recovery in 1988. I was also hardly aware of AA, let alone Bill W. and Dr. Bob. Even so, the recovery program which Shoemaker inspired and nurtured was there when I needed it. Through Bill W, Dr. Bob, and the early AAs as the vehicles of God’s grace and mercy, Shoemaker exerted a profound influence on the course and direction of both my life and the lives of others.
To paraphrase the author of Ephesians, Shoemaker’s life’s work, ministry, and witness were offerings, pleasing to God, whose fragrance spread abroad through the lives of the early AAs into the lives of countless others. While other spiritual movements arose during the Twentieth Century, for millions the most significant one was arguably the Twelve-Step movement spawned by AA. All of those fellowships arose from Shoemaker’s fostering of Oxford movement groups both in this country, in Canada, and at his parish in New York City. He was the midwife and spiritual inspiration for the original two Oxford meetings of alcoholics from which AA arose.
Ironically, Shoemaker probably never intended that his life’s work spawn either AA or the Twelve-Step movement. Focused, instead, on church renewal, he and his mentor, Frank Buchman, the founder of the Oxford group movement, fostered that renewal through the formation of Oxford group meetings throughout North America. He, therefore, probably never intended to inspire a group of drunks to use an Oxford group meeting as their model to create the makings of AA in 1935. But ironically that seems to be how God’s Spirit, which blows unpredictably where it will, creates surprising effects!
Shoemaker’s efforts with the Oxford group movement began in 1925, when the vestry of Calvary Episcopal Church, New York City, called him as their rector. Hoping to revive the parish by applying methods he’d learned from Frank Buchman, Shoemaker saw parish participation and membership increase. Despite the onset of the Great Depression four years later, he led the parish to build a multi-story building, the Calvary House, next to the sanctuary to provide housing for the church offices, for the Oxford group movement’s activities, and for the church staff. More importantly for the emergence of AA, he encouraged the parish to refurbish a rundown Calvary Mission which served unemployed street people and the homeless. Many were alcoholics such as Ebby Thatcher, who through that mission, not only became a parish member, but also led Bill Wilson to join an Oxford group meeting at the church. That meeting consisted of leading men from the parish who were struggling with alcoholism. Later calling themselves the “Alcoholic Squad”, their Oxford group evolved into one of the first of two meetings of alcoholics which became AA. The other, also originally an Oxford group meeting and the one in which Dr. Bob and wife, Anne, were participants, was in Akron, OH. Shoemaker nurtured and encouraged both.
From Shoemaker, the men in the “Alcoholic Squad” learned the core of what would become AA’s self-understanding—the Steps. Later reflecting on Shoemaker’s influence, Bill Wilson honored Shoemaker by calling him AA’s “cofounder” and crediting Shoemaker with being the source of “most of the principles” and “spiritual keys” of AA, such as self-examination, admission of character defects, restitution for harms done, working with others and prayer and meditation.
A Prayer
Merciful God, we give you thanks for Sam Shoemaker whose work inspired the founding of AA and the Twelve Step movement and whose life, witness, and ministry, by enabling our recovery, have immeasurably enriched our lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit, are one God, now and forever, Amen.
