Service Tools & Concepts Vast Benefits By kmcguire@oa.org Posted on July 1, 2020 2 min read 0 Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Google+ Share on Reddit Share on Pinterest Share on Linkedin Share on Tumblr When I walked into my first intergroup meeting in 2003, my presence increased the size of the entire intergroup by 33 percent. Only three members in the entire area fellowship were attempting to serve all of the meetings and a few hundred OA members! Only three! They traveled up to 40 miles (64 km) one way to attend intergroup meetings. Naturally, there were more things that needed to be done than those three members could handle: the website was down, and the newsletter had not been published in almost a year! The four of us got to work. With no experience, I became the vice chair and newsletter editor—I learned on the fly. The website was relaunched, and we invited individual Overeaters Anonymous members to join. In just three months, fifteen members started attending intergroup regularly, and we were able to restore vital services, which have been in operation ever since. Intergroup has connected me to members who are dedicated to long-term abstinence and recovery and who inspire me to remain abstinent. I have learned skills in commitment, website design, writing, mediation, organization, building consensus, leadership, open-mindedness, networking, respect, and service. I use these skills regularly and they also enhance both my personal and professional lives. The benefits of service beyond the group level are vast and many. Go to your intergroup and see! — Edited and reprinted from The OA Steppingstone newsletter, Baltimore Area Intergroup, March–April 2019
