Traditions Anonymous Generosity At my meeting, we would not want to know or care if someone tossed a lot of money into the Seventh Tradition basket. All Seventh Tradition contributions are anonymous. No one will know whether I put twenty pence or twenty pounds into the basket when it goes around. We use an opaque purse large enough for a person’s hand to fit in, … Read More
Fellowship Recovery We Need to Ask Our intergroup has struggled with having fewer funds than we’d like when it comes to covering our expenses. We need to pay for our website, buy liability insurance for meetings, facilitate workshops, and send representatives to regional conferences and World Service Business Conference to help OA grow and make vital changes. We need resources to carry the message to those … Read More
Traditions Responsible Acceptance At first, the Traditions had little meaning to me. At the place and time I attended meetings, the Traditions were not emphasized, so I pretty much ignored them. Oh, sure, I finally saw that the Traditions kept groups functioning, but they still didn’t mean much to me personally. My responsibility seemed to be the Steps. When I started to wake up … Read More
Traditions Learning and Contributing Years ago, I just knew to put a dollar in the basket. Then I learned that those dollars buy literature, pay rent, pay for the phone, print meeting lists, and help this thing called “the World Service Office.” As the years went by and my service went beyond the meeting and intergroup levels, I learned oh so much about the … Read More
Traditions Giving Back Studying and working the Seventh Tradition has been one of the most important gifts of my recovery from the disease of compulsive eating. Learning to do my part has taught me how to behave responsibly in all aspects of my life. Truly, I did not know that doing a service or making a donation could be the pathway for me … Read More
Traditions Committed to Support Being ready to support OA financially is important. I do give at every meeting I go to, and last year I set up an ARC: Automatic Recurring Contribution. I set it for US$10 per month, charged to my credit card. I don’t miss the money, and I know it’s helping support OA as a whole. Putting money in the basket at … Read More
Fellowship Recovery Five Helping Concepts Back in 2007, I had the pleasure of hearing the chair of the OA Board of Trustees talk about how to strengthen meetings. She mentioned five simple (but not necessarily easy) concepts that may help all meetings and OA as a whole. 1. Offer radical hospitality. Newcomers want to be at the meeting. They are there because they are ready … Read More
Traditions What Price Freedom? I remember my last binge very clearly. I called my local OA office that night, and I will never forget the woman I spoke to and how glad I was to speak to an actual person. A few days later, she took me to my first meeting. Since that day (more than ten years ago), through the grace of God, … Read More
Let's Meet at Convention Empty Chairs, Full Heart I sat at the table waiting for someone to show up for the meeting. No one came. I’d felt angry before, but tonight was different. I was feeling afraid—afraid that this meeting would fall by the wayside as others had done through the years. Afraid that the people I had come to know and love through this small-but-mighty meeting were … Read More