A Step Ahead
  Second Quarter 2006
Volume 16, Number 2   

IN THIS ISSUE

Attention Group Secretaries: Please download the PDF file of this issue and make copies to share with your group members.

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Conference 2006 Around the Corner

Motions, Elections, Workshops on the Agenda

Delegates, trustees and World Service Office (WSO) staff are gearing up for a productive World Service Business Conference (WSBC) in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA May 1–6, 2006, at the Hotel Albuquerque at Old Town. The Conference theme, “OA Without Borders,” will serve as the backdrop for a number of workshops addressing issues OA members and service bodies worldwide may encounter.

Delegates will consider four new business motions:

  • Proposal A: To change the name of the Hospitals, Institutions, Professionals and the Military (HIPM) Committee to Professional Outreach Committee.
  • Proposal B: To solicit requests from regions interested in participating in cohosting an OA World Service Convention (WSC).
  • Proposal C: To change Unity Day from the third weekend in February to the Saturday after OA’s birthday on January 19.
  • Proposal D: To create a ninth tool on exercise.

Three amendments to OA, Inc. Bylaws, Subpart B, will also be considered:

  • Proposal 1: To require service bodies to adopt bylaws that conform to OA, Inc., Bylaws and submit them to the WSO.
  • Proposal 2: To require regions to adopt bylaws that conform to OA, Inc., Bylaws and submit them to the WSO.
  • Proposal 3: To require national/language service boards to adopt bylaws that conform to OA, Inc., Bylaws and submit them to the WSO.

Delegates will elect for three-year terms one general service trustee (GST) and region trustees for Regions Three, Six and Nine. The nominees are:

Region Three — Debbie W.
Region Six — Margaret Ann B.
Region Nine — Dominique B.
GST — Michael B.

Many workshops will augment this year’s Conference. The two Monday-evening, early-bird workshops will address the topics “Travel Buddies: You and Your Sponsor” and “Map It Out: The Tools.” Other workshops will focus on the stigma of membership, the disruptive member, Tradition-Four issues and the Internet. This year’s forum topic, “Crossing Borders: Sharing Region Information,” will explore how regions handle various issues within the Fellowship. As always, delegates may attend an introductory workshop about Conference and parliamentary procedure and participate in OA meetings scheduled for delegates throughout the week.

This year, Conference business meetings will follow a different schedule with two meetings Thursday, two Friday and the final meeting Saturday morning. Saturday afternoon a meeting for Conference committees will facilitate the transition to the committees’ new trustees and delegate cochairs.

Early-arrival delegates who wish to tour Bandelier National Monument or the Sandia Tramway on Monday must submit payment and registration by March 24. Friday evening will give the delegates much-needed free time.

Delegates may download all WSBC delegate mailings on the OA Web site.

For Conference voting results, look on the World Service Business Conference Web page after Conference and in the July A Step Ahead.

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Group Conscience Guidelines Now Available

Suggested Meeting Format Makes Process Easier

Guidelines for a Group Conscience Meeting, a new publication from the Board-Approved Literature Committee, is now available for groups and service bodies. The guidelines explain group conscience and give examples of how it serves members, groups and OA as a whole. The guidelines include passages from OA literature and suggestions for groups to use when practicing Tradition Two. A suggested meeting format assists groups through the group conscience process.

In the past few years, it became evident the Fellowship wanted more information on how to conduct group conscience and business meetings. While the pamphlet OA Handbook for Members, Groups and Intergroups provided some guidance, many members and service bodies needed more assistance and an actual meeting format. The Board of Trustees responded with the new guidelines and hopes the spirit of the guidelines will help each member, group and service body in the practice of Tradition Five: “Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers.”

Members may download the guidelines as a PDF file from the OA Web site. The OA Guidelines packet #570, a collection of guidelines developed to help carry the OA message, also includes the new group conscience guidelines. Packet #570 also has guidelines for OA newsletters, OA events, OA CARES, the OA-approved literature list, the Twelve Concepts of OA service, HIPM committees, local literature, fund-raising and prudent reserve for groups and intergroups, public information events, membership retention, writing the history of your local OA area, and health fair participation. To order packet #570 online click here.

For more group support, check the following links:

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Matching Grant Program Ready for Proposals

Delegates to the 2005 World Service Business Conference (WSBC) adopted a motion directing the Board of Trustees (BOT) to implement a Matching Grant Program to help service bodies participate in projects that will enhance OA unity and carry the message of recovery to compulsive eaters both within and outside OA. Intergroups, national/language service boards and regions may apply for funds.

The motion states that total yearly funding for this program will not exceed 1 percent of total donations to the World Service Office (WSO) for the prior year. Funding for 2006 is US$2,250. In the spirit of “matching grants,” the Matching Grant Program will award no more than 50 percent of the cost of the proposed project. Service bodies working together on a project receive preference in fund allocation. Please specify on the application one of the participating service bodies to act as project coordinator. The coordinating service body will provide progress reports to its region trustee.

This year, the BOT will allocate funds at its August meeting and will notify applicants by letter after the meeting. Each year the board will approve total funding for the grant program at its November board meeting (or the meeting at which the BOT approves the budget), after which the WSO will post a notice of the availability of funds on the OA Web site. A committee appointed by the board chairperson will determine final allocations at a meeting immediately preceding the annual WSBC, and the board will announce them both at the WSBC and by letter following the Conference.

Deadline for applications for the 2006 Matching Grant Program is July 1 (postmarked). In future years, the application deadline will be March 1.

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Official Convention Logo

Make Plans for 2007!

OA’s 2007 World Service Convention is just over a year away!
Have you made plans to attend?
The Convention theme,“Ring in Recovery: Declare Your Freedom from Compulsive Eating,” beckons you to four days of camaraderie, inspiration and fun.
Join us!

August 30 to September 2, 2007
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA

Visit OA’s Web site for Convention details and updated information.

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e-Lifeline Versus Print Lifeline Brings Varied Responses

For several months, Lifeline has solicited feedback from Lifeline print subscribers who own computers asking them to share why they prefer the print version over e-Lifeline. As of this writing, 53 members have responded, 31 from the US, 13 outside the US and nine whose country we could not determine. Their responses offer insight into their love for Lifeline and the ways in which they use the print magazine. Here are some vignettes from their letters and emails:

  • The print version of Lifeline is so beautifully portable. So, I’m happy to pay a little more for the shipping (and/or printing) charges for the pure enjoyment of holding it in my hands and reading it where and when I like.
  • My laser printer would never be able to match the quality and look of a printed Lifeline.
  • I donate my old Lifelines to meetings. They look more permanent and attractive than just a printed newsletter. They also fit in the newcomers’ packages. They last longer. I delight in pulling out issues from the 80s that are still around at meetings.
  • I would want the print version even if I lived overseas and would be willing to pay for it. My recovery is worth it!
  • I cannot take the time to turn the computer on and wait to get the inspiration Lifeline gives.
  • I use it daily during my quiet time. There are usually as many Lifeline readings as days of the month. Coincidence? Not at all. This is a God thing.
  • Easier to store and reread, plus I can highlight bits that are particularly relevant.
  • When I come home from work, spending more time on the computer is the last thing I want to do.
  • Delayed arrival isn’t significant; I am thankful this publication ages beautifully!
  • I like the compactness of the magazine. I prefer the quality of print/graphic that I get from the “hard” version. I would be willing to pay a higher print-subscription price to continue receiving a mailed version rather than an electronic version. At US$21 per year, Lifeline is a bargain.
  • We had Lifeline for our meeting, so the print version was passed to the members who are able to read English and single articles where translated.
  • It is much nicer to present a Lifeline print version to an OA friend as a present.
  • Receiving a physical magazine every month is a more tangible sign of my connection to OA. Asking me to download the magazine puts additional burdens on me.
  • I bring my old Lifelines to meetings so others can have them. I can’t see doing that with a bunch of loose papers.
  • If I were to print it out, knowing the addict I am, I would either read it in one day only skimming, or lose my printout and punish myself.
  • To print it out, staple it up—I’m busy enough in my life. Well worth the extra cash to have it mailed.
  • Computer not always available. Booklet doesn’t make noise in middle of the night. Computer not always turned on and the few minutes I’d have to read are spent waiting to go online. Can’t really read at those odd moments waiting.
  • I’ve even placed a few copies in the mail to some who have requested them.
  • It migrates around the house. It will come across my path at a time when I need to be reading it.
  • Cost is totally irrelevant. I prepaid for five years of Lifeline, and it cost much less than one family dinner at a restaurant.
  • It’s a no-brainer that I do not subscribe to e-Lifeline. One virtue of my print-version Lifeline is that it gets me away from my computer!
  • As for the two additional dollars I pay to have the print version, I paid a lot more in the fast-food drive-through. I now choose recovery.
  • We would not keep a computer in the box in the church’s room, but the printed Lifeline? You bet! Old print-version Lifelines hang around in most meeting boxes until newcomers come to meetings and then help spread the word.
  • Sometimes just seeing it and touching it reminds me I’m not alone in my daily reprieve from compulsive eating.
  • I love my print version of Lifeline. When I get home from work, I am tired and often want to eat everything in sight. Instead, I grab my Lifeline and read. I know I would not go to my computer.
  • Being in print, with nice layout, paper, color, size, it is more human, warm, personal… For all of this, there is no way the online version could be cost effective. I am happy to pay the annual subscription fee.
  • What a blessing printed copies are! I can climb into bed and just be nurtured! Be motivated! Be consoled! I can contemplate every word and idea in a comfortable and relaxed setting! No matter what the electrical situation, the computer situation, the weather, my Lifeline is here for me!

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