Spiritual Feast I confess that service was never the first option for me. I went to meetings to vent my sorrows and problems, to be heard in silence, to receive hugs, and to put the minimum in the bag—to stay lean, leave OA, and never ask for help again. When the leader asked if somebody could do a certain service, I didn’t … Read More
A New Focus Whenever I went to my Tuesday night meeting, I noticed my sponsor talking with newcomers. He greeted them when they came in the door and sought their reactions after the meeting. I was amazed anyone could be so invested in helping others. I wanted the kind of recovery my sponsor had, so I also began to focus on newcomers. I … Read More
Turning the Key I give service for many reasons. My sponsor tells me to do it so I can remain abstinent. I do it to show others it’s not that difficult or scary. The position I was most afraid of was group treasurer. I never liked dealing with money, so I knew it was important for my recovery and my growth to take … Read More
Making Connections It’s as simple as this: I settled for food. To block the pain of my love starved existence, I used food and sugar until my carefully constructed façade of beautiful well-being began to bloat from the excesses I needed to eat to feel safe. But I had to do something to keep from losing my looks, the one thing that … Read More
Wondrous Experiences I write this with mixed feelings because by the time this is published, I will have stepped down not only as chair but also from my intergroup. The reason is a positive one: I was elected to another service position as a general service trustee of the OA Board of Trustees. Because of this, I will be doing service at … Read More
Elect to Serve! The next time you see upcoming nominations and elections of your intergroup’s board members, I want to encourage you to participate in the nomination and election process. Do it for your fellows and do it for yourself. Here are some of the benefits that I have received in the past year doing service at the individual, meeting, and intergroup level. … Read More
Service Put Me There Service above the group level was never in my plans, but as I write this, I am the treasurer for my region. Thanks to my region-level service, I am about 30 pounds (14 kg) lighter! After twelve years of recovery and maintaining a 40-pound (18-kg) weight loss, I thought my weight-loss days were over, and I was comfortable with that. … Read More
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
A Team Effort I presently attend a weekly meeting led by a woman who is half my age and who inspires me. She has lost 40 pounds (18 kg) and is really grateful for what OA has done for her. She gets on her knees and says a short prayer to her Higher Power both after awakening and before going to bed. But … Read More
Chatting with Churches Regarding our primary purpose, my OA group reached out to all Milwaukee-area churches where OA meetings are held. First, I called every location and told the secretaries I was sending a thank-you letter to the church leader and an announcement for their bulletin. They sounded very pleased; many gave me their email addresses. If our announcement was approved, it could … Read More