One set of proposals would have changed the Steps(!!) by removing references to “Him.” For example, Step 11 would have changed to read, “…to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood God….” I think it is fair to say that many delegates expected these proposals to be among the most controversial this week….
The chair’s first comment this morning included a parable about working together. She said she has sensed growing divisions among us, white vs. nonwhite, English speakers vs. non-English speakers, and American vs. non-American. She did not say so, but the comment may have been spurred by the vote on taking religious holidays into account when…
One 7th Tradition was taken Friday afternoon for the entire conference. Delegates donated $9,411 in USD, and $20 AUS. Based on the din that greeted the announcement, delegates were impressed by the figure.
Owing to rotation of service and other factors, 10 vacancies out of 17 positions existed on the Board of Trustees as delegates gathered for the conference. Six candidates stood for election, and all were elected. One of the vacancies materialized because Beth B., Region 6 trustee, reached the end of her term and chose not…
Two proposals addressed how and when the World Service Business Conference would meet, and the reference subcommittee combined them into a single motion. It would call for a two-year rotation in which one year would meet in person, and the other would meet via a videoconferencing platform. In the latter case, the Trustees would have…
“Abstinence is the action of refraining from compulsive eater and compulsive food behaviors while working toward or maintaining a healthy body weight.” Surely you’ve heard this before; it’s OA’s definition of abstinence. At the World Service Business Conference in Albuquerque, a delegate proposed removing the word “weight.” Plenty of delegates rose to speak for and…
Dan Sandweiss was hired about 8 months ago as OA’s managing director, which means today was his first opportunity to appear before the World Service Business Conference. He evinced great enthusiasm for OA’s mission, said he loves the work, and “you’ll have to kick me out” before he’ll ever leave the job. As one would…
A proposal submitted by the National Service Board of Greece asked that no conferences be scheduled three days before or three days after major religious holidays. Their recent experience was that the start of the conference overlapped Easter Monday for those following the Christian Orthodox religion, and they need more time to get here than…
Meg M., chairwoman of the board of trustees, related that the fellowship is party to a lawsuit seeking damages because an intergroup had used a copyrighted image on its website. She asked that all service bodies review their websites to guard against further such trouble. If you have an role for your service body’s website,…
Overeaters Anonymous in the recent past has been divided into 11 regions, but this is the last World Service Business Conference that will include Region 4, which has represented part or all of 8 US states and 3 Canadian provinces. Generally, you could say Region 4 was north-central North America. In July, the region found…