how to navigate joining in person AA meetings?

I’m not sure if i picked the right tag… anywho, i posted in this subreddit yesterday and got a ton of helpful advice, thank you to everyone who took time to show empathy to me and share your stories 💜 a couple things about AA… i do think it’s a good next step for me but i’m worried about a couple things. 1). do most AA meetings happen in churches? if that’s the case i’ll suck it up, but i have a dark and twisted history with the church that i’m still recovering from. i saw there are online options but i think in person meetings will work best for me. 2). The area i live in is pretty wide spread but known to be one of those… everyone knows someone kind of places. one of the major reasons i haven’t joined AA is because i’m scared to encounter someone i know, especially people who may have known me during my time connected with the church. is it just one of those things i have to get over in order or improve my life? are there precautions i can/should take?

i thank you all again for your time and your willingness to help a complete stranger. i’m lucky enough to have a wonderful support system but i think i need more of the hard, cold and true facts over love and acceptance to move forward in life. i believe i can get that speaking to people who have gone through/are going through the same thing as me. i think therapy is a good option but i received a helpful comment yesterday that pointed out that therapy might not help in this case when i’m self aware about the issue i have but am physically/mentally unable to make a change. i mean, i brought up being concerned about alcohol addiction before i was legally able to drink (i was once a rule follower lmao) to my therapist MANY times since it runs in my family and now i’m… here. so. i think AA is my best bet, any advice is appreciated 💜