Fellowship World Service, Worldwide Friends I’ve long been a self-proclaimed “service junkie.” I learned very early the benefits of attending more than just one group. I’ve also reaped the benefits of having a sponsor and being a sponsor. It didn’t take me long at all to get involved at the group, intergroup, region, and world service levels, and I’ve been blessed to attend some of … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts Many Ways to Serve There are so many ways to give service in OA and pay forward all we have so freely received. Not all forms of service require years of commitment or abstinence. Will service make you abstinent? No, unfortunately, it is not a magic cure. But it is one of the Tools you can use to work the Steps. Members can give … Read More
Steps Traditions My Part of Together OA’s Twelve Traditions offer guidelines on how we can all get along. Simply put, we come into OA from diverse cultures, backgrounds, beliefs, personalities, and defects, so these guidelines are necessary for our survival as an organization. It is no surprise, then, that unity should be our First Tradition. This tradition forms the cornerstone of our organization; it’s how we … Read More
Fellowship Recovery Viva OA I do not have an adequate vocabulary to describe Region Eight’s first international assembly and convention in South America where we met in Medellín, Colombia. Board members, region reps, and committee chairs began arriving on Wednesday, greeted at the airport by OA members with signs that read, “Bienvenidos, OA.” We were driven to the hotel, and as we arrived we … Read More
Ask-It Basket Connecting to Recovery How can I feel hopeful about recovery when folks at the meetings I attend have been going to meetings for seven, ten, even twelve years, but still haven’t got thirty days of food sobriety—abstinence—under their belts? I need to see abstinence at work. Actually your question feels less like an inquiry, more like an expression of your desire for support. … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts The Business of Recovery Early on, I was taught that OA is a business as well as a recovery program. My service in OA is both part of the business side and part of my recovery. When I serve, I not only help further my own program, but I also help make recovery a possibility for others. If I am a group secretary, I … Read More
Meetings Tools & Concepts Strong Service Bodies “What on earth do service bodies and OA’s service structure have to do with me?” you might ask. “I just go to meetings. That other stuff is for older people in the program.” OA’s service structure has a lot to do with you, if you’re an OA member and you value your program, your recovery, your meetings, and your life. … Read More
Steps Traditions Self-Supporting through Service I sometimes use an image to explain the concept of OA groups being self-supporting. I draw a giant circle and label it “Everyone in OA.” Then I draw eleven large circles within the giant circle and label these “Regions” (there are ten land-based and one virtual). I zoom in on my own Region Four circle and draw sixteen little circles … Read More
Fellowship Recovery Intergroup Participation Q. Are there any suggestions on what an intergroup can do to attract participation from the Fellowship? A. Yes. First, let me assure you that yours is not the only intergroup that has challenges with this issue. The good news is that there are a number of ways to stimulate growth in intergroup participation. One way to get started is … Read More
Service Tools & Concepts Don’t Disappear Last year, I reflected on whether I should run for another term as intergroup chair. Because of work and family commitments, I felt I was not as effective in the last term as I could have been. It was the second time I had served as an intergroup chair in my twenty-five years in OA. I wondered if I should … Read More
