Multifaceted Meeting

I love my Saturday Abington meeting because it is so strong. The following qualities all contribute to its strength:

• The meeting only uses OA-approved literature and material downloaded from the oa.org website.
• Newcomers and returning members are acknowledged and given a Serenity Prayer coin and newcomer literature or a Welcome Back, We Care! packet. Greeters make a point of talking to these folks during the break and providing them with a printed telephone list of our group’s members.
• Members celebrating anniversaries of abstinence—thirty days and on—are acknowledged and provided with a Milestone Recovery coin.
• On the third Saturday of each month, the meeting leader focuses his or her share on experience with the “Step of the month.” For example, in March the leader would share on Step Three.
• There are no requirements for sharing at the meeting, but members are encouraged to share about their recovery through the program. Likewise, we have no specific requirements for leading the meeting, only that “you be in a good place in your program.” We send a calendar around with the telephone sign-in book and encourage members to write their name on a Saturday to lead the meeting. This has worked very well for us.
• We have a business meeting on the first Saturday of each month, at which a written treasurer’s report is provided. We discuss whether any service jobs are due to be rotated. If we’re discussing an item of new business that impacts the group or the meeting format, the item is announced at the regular meeting a week before and on the day of the business meeting.
• Decisions at the business meeting are made by a group conscience vote. We try to have enough discussion so that every view is heard. For the few times that we have many members not in agreement with the majority, we try out the new decision but revisit the issue the next month to see if the change is working out best for everyone.
• At every meeting, the secretary does a great job announcing upcoming OA events and provides flyers when available.

I’m sure many other facets of this meeting contribute to its strength, but I think a big factor overall is that so many of its members have many years of program and abstinence, plus a strong understanding of the importance of adhering to our Twelve Traditions.

— Lee R., Marshfield, Massachusetts USA