“Is our meeting in trouble?”

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circle of chairsIt’s very exciting that our popular new Thursday night Portsmouth meeting is helping a lot of members. On the flip side, we are also saddened by this week’s closure of the Saturday morning Rochester meeting.

When we see our meeting struggle, is there anything we can do to turn it around?

Find out the truth

First off, we need to recognize declining attendance before it dwindles to two to four people. Next, we need information. Without information we’re just guessing why the meeting is struggling. While there’s still a committed group, we can take helpful, informative actions such as:

  • ask former regulars to honestly say why they left—and listen closely with an open mind
  • review the Twelve Traditions to see whether our meeting is keeping to them
  • attend a thriving group and ask what their members find helpful about it
  • assess our meeting through OA’s Strong Meeting Checklist
  • take an honest and thorough OA Group Inventory.

These actions will tell us much about how and why our meeting struggles. As we perform each, we might pray beforehand so that our higher powers can show us the truth. We might not like the answers we get, but by being entirely honest with ourselves and our fellow members and by trusting and relying on our higher powers, we might discover that this process strengthens our personal recoveries too.

Making change

Once we know the why of it, what do we do about it? We look back at our group inventory and at the information we’ve gathered. What are the main themes in it? What are the specifics people didn’t get from our meeting or objected to? If we’ve been honest and thorough, the information we’ve gathered will show us the way. We should also ask members at other meetings what experience they’ve had in righting a struggling meeting. Most important, we should ask our higher powers for guidance. We may need to change the day, time, location, room, format, focus, or our attitudes.

As we change our meeting for the better, we can find opportunities to invite back former regulars, conduct a public information campaign in our meeting’s area, and trust the process will bring about the right situation.

We are willing to go to any length to recover from our disease, so we need to ask ourselves what lengths we are willing to go in helping our favorite meeting flourish. If the answer is “not very far,” it’s OK to let a meeting close. But if the meeting is truly important for us, then we need to take action.

Visit SeacoastOA’s Meeting Resources page or OA.org’s Group Support page for a wealth of helpful information and tools.

Register for “Freedom Isn’t Free” Workshop, August 16th in Portsmouth

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break freeRegistration is now open for “Freedom Isn’t Free,” a no-cost, dynamic one-day walk through OA’s 12 Steps. This workshop will emphasize the nature of the disease, getting honest about food, and the process of change. Our guide will be a 32-year OA veteran who has led 25 Step-study retreats.

Join us if you are…
…A newcomer interested in getting your recovery rolling
…A current member who wants to restart your program 
…A long-timer who wants to kick your program into a higher gear
…Anyone who wants a JOLT! of OA energy.

Register now by email or voicemail (603) 418-4398. Please provide your name, your phone number, your email address, and what Intergroup you are from.

Please download this flyer to share at your meetings.

Registration is FREE. We ask for registration because our room is limited to 100 attendees. Registrations are on a first-come, first-serve basis. So please sign up now!

Sponsored by Seacoast Intergroup

DETAILS AND DIRECTIONS
Saturday, August 16th, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Community Campus
100 Campus Drive Portsmouth, NH
Google Map

From I-95, take Exit 5 for the Portsmouth Traffic Circle
Exit the circle for Route 1 South
Follow Route 1 South for 2.7 miles
Turn right onto West Road (across from Corpus Christi Parish Church) and follow as it becomes Campus Drive
Community Campus will be on your left, please use the front entrance.

May’s Tradition of the Month

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PurposeIn our Year of Abstinence, we want to be sure we examine everything that contributes to our ongoing, one-day-at-a-time recovery. The OA 12 & 12 tells us that the Twelve Traditions show us how to safeguard OA so that it will be here for us always, helping us get and stay abstinent. They connect directly to our personal recoveries by helping us keep our meetings focused on what’s most important. Which leads us to this month’s Tradition:

5. Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the compulsive eater who still suffers.

How does this relate to one person’s personal recovery?

When I arrived at OA, Tradition Five ensured that whatever room I walked into, I would hear the solution we have to offer and, if I chose, I could start turning my life around right away.

As I’ve gained experience in OA, Tradition Five has connected directly to working with others. The Twelfth Step tells us that “having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters….” Now Tradition Five tells us that a meeting’s primary purpose is also to carry the message. The connection with my personal recovery is direct and clear. I need to “pass it on” to stay sane and happy, and the Fifth Tradition ensures that our meetings remain a place to do so.

As the OA 12 & 12 says, “we who have found a sane way of eating and living have a responsibility to make sure OA doesn’t become sidetracked…OA will always offer recovery to those suffering from our disease as long as we remember that this is our primary purpose.”

This post represents one member’s experience and not necessarily the opinion of OA or Seacoast Intergroup.

The Action Plan

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Footwork of RecoveryAt SeacoastOA.wordpress.com, members who are willing can share their Action Plans to help others create one. Thanks to a plan recently shared by a member, we now have two samples to offer. For more information about the Action Plan, please check out the Tools of Recovery page at OA.org or the pamphlet Tools of Recovery, which is also found in the OA newcomer packet.

The Action Plan is the newest of OA’s nine Tools of Recovery. It can be as simple or as detailed as an individual member needs it to be. The Abridged Tools reading at OA.org summarizes it this way:

An action plan is the process of identifying and implementing attainable actions that are necessary to support our individual abstinence. Just like our plan of eating, it may vary widely among members and may need to be adjusted to bring structure, balance and manageability into our lives. 

The Action Plan is powerful because it can help us see our program at a glance. The Big Book tells us on page 88 that “we [addicts] are undisciplined,” and whether we are newcomers or OA veterans, the Action Plan can benefit our recovery in many ways. As our new sample shows, it can remind us of the actions we find helpful for getting and keeping our abstinence, but it’s also useful for our entire program! The sample plan shows us how the Action Plan helps us remember actions that support living the Twelve Steps in our daily lives as well as those that help carry the message of hope that OA has to offer.

What’s an Intergroup rep do, anyway?

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Bill W. knew about the perks of service.

Bill W. knew about the perks of service.

“What does an Intergroup rep actually do?” We hear that question a lot, so we have created a new, downloadable description of the role. It’s now avaialble in our meeting resources area.  But right now, let’s answer the question.

First, though, why should you want to be an Intergroup rep?

  • It supports abstinence via the Service Tool.
  • It sustains your recovery as part of the 12th Step (“…we tried to carry this message to compulsive eaters”)
  • It gives back to the program that’s saved our lives.
  • It helps others like us who are still suffering.

And what’s the Intergroup do? In a nutshell it coordinates with area meetings to support them and carry the message of recovery to those who still suffer. That includes these actions:

  • providing basic services such as meeting lists, telephone hotline (603.418.4398), and this website
  • giving financial assistance to new meetings and helping struggling meetings with group inventories when asked
  • ensuring 7th Tradition money flows to Region and World Service
  • organizing special services such as recovery workshops and events, initiatives such as 12th Step Within drives, and public information beyond the group level.

Our current Year of Abstinence initiative is a blending of these services.

So, finally, what do you do as an Intergroup Rep do to support these valuable actions?

  • Attend your home meeting regularly, note what’s going on there, and alert members to upcoming Intergroup meetings
  • Attend the monthly Intergroup meeting, bring any issues or agenda items, make notes to share, vote on behalf of your home meeting, and participate in discussion.
  • Return to your home meeting and inform members of the important news that comes out of it so that they can get the benefits of what the area meetings are doing together.

Simple! And incredibly valuable to our recovery and those of others around us.

Every meeting in Seacoast Intergroup is entitled to a rep and an alternate. Please volunteer at your home group’s next business meeting. If you have any questions, drop an email to SeacoastOA@gmail.com.

Member Story #1: He Stood at the Turning Point

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bill and bobToday we present our first member story, “He Stood at the Turning Point.” We’ll be archiving it in the Our Experiences area of the site so that you can read it at any time.

We offer this story and others forthcoming to help newcomers who may not yet be familiar with OA literature, such as The Brown Book, that share members’ stories. We also offer these stories to help current members who may want to read a story from someone closer to home.

Identifying with someone’s story and glimpsing the promise of recovery in it are powerful. As AA’s Big Book says,

We hope no one will consider these self-revealing accounts in bad taste. Our hope is that many [food-addicted] men and women, desperately in need, will see these pages, and we believe that it is only by fully disclosing ourselves and our problems that they will be persuaded to say, “Yes, I am one of them too; I must have this thing.”

Strong Abstinence Checklist

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OA's Strong Abstinence Checklist

OA’s Strong Abstinence Checklist

2014 is SeacoastOA’s Year of Abstinence. As if on cue, OA World Service recently passed along an excellent tool, the Strong Abstinence Checklist. Click the link to download a printable PDF.

The Strong Abstinence Checklist includes twelve questions that remind us of the actions we can take to get and keep our abstinence. It also includes twelve questions for written reflection.

Here’s four ways you might find it immediately useful:

  1. Assess your abstinence anytime, anywhere
  2. Ask your sponsor to work through it with you
  3. Work through it with a sponsee to support their abstinence
  4. Use one of its questions as the topic in a discussion-format meeting.

This checklist has been added to our website and can be found on our Recovery Resources page. Please feel free to distribute it at your meetings—it is OA approved.

 

Register for “Living in the Solution” Workshop, June 1st in Portsmouth

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Registration is now open for “Living in the Solution,” a workshop on abstinence, sponsorship, service, and the traditions and concepts of OA!

Register by email (preferred) or voicemail (603) 418-4398. Please provide your name, your phone number, your email address, and what Intergroup you are from.

Please download this flyer to share at your meetings.

The workshop will be June 1st in Portsmouth and will be facilitated by OA’s Region 6 trustee. Registration is limited to 50 participants. Be sure to bring a notebook and a pen!

Registration is FREE. We are limited to 50 attendees, and registrations are on a first-come, first-serve basis. So please sign up now!

Sponsored by Seacoast Intergroup

DETAILS AND DIRECTIONS
Sunday, June 1st, 1:00 PM to 5:00 PM
Community Campus
100 Campus Drive Portsmouth, NH
Google Map

From I-95, take Exit 5 for the Portsmouth Traffic Circle
Exit the circle for Route 1 South
Follow Route 1 South for 2.7 miles
Turn right onto West Road (across from Corpus Christi Parish Church) and follow as it becomes Campus Drive
Community Campus will be on your left, please use the front entrance.

2014: Year of Abstinence

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141_Commitment-to-AbstSeacoast Intergroup has made 2014 The Year of Abstinence in our area.

Just what does this mean to for current members and newcomers? It means we are providing special opportunities to explore abstinence from compulsive eating and food addiction in new ways that may help your recovery, whether you are new to the idea, getting abstinent, newly abstinent, or abstinent for many twenty-four hours in a row.

Here are four actions Seacoast Intergroup is taking. We’ll have more information as details become available.

ALREADY UNDERWAY!
The new Thursday night Portsmouth meeting is focused on abstinence and features speakers describing what they were like, how they got abstinent, and how they maintain it. (See this flyer or visit our meetings page for more details.)

Our 12th Step Within Drive helps you pass on the message of abstinence and recovery to others, and working the 12th Step is vital to maintaining our abstience! Call someone you haven’t seen at a meeting lately on the 12th of every month…or any day of the month! (See this flyer for ideas.) Pass it on!

SeacoastOA.wordpress.com is the new site for our Intergroup. It’s friendlier and more navigable than our old site, and it allows us to inform you of what’s going on more quickly and easily. We’ve also got a lot of great resources for your recovery and for the health of your meetings. Got a resource you’d like us to add? Just email us!

COMING SOON!
We will soon be announcing the details of two incredible, abstinence-focused one-day workshops that Seacoast Intergroup will be hosting this summer. Both will be facilitated by wonderful, experienced OA members from elsewhere in Region 6, and no one will not want to miss these events. More will be revealed very soon, so stay on the edge of your seat. Just know that there may be limited space available. We will be opening this opportunity up to members of neighboring intergroups as well, but Seacoast Intergroup members will have the first chance to reserve a seat!

Welcome to Seacoast OA, welcome home

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If you think you may be a compulsive eater and/or addicted to food, welcome. There is hope in OA for a better life.

If you’ve already decided you are one of us, we hope the resources on this site will support your recovery from this devastating disease.

If you have any questions, please see the menu item titled Talk to a Member. There you’ll find an email address and a phone number that connect you to real people experiencing recovery who can provide answers to your questions and share how their experiences helped them heal.