The Hispanic Community invites you to

25 Years “Grey Turning Silver”

A Celebration of GSA’s 25^th Anniversary

We are recovering too and you are invited to our Global Anniversary Party — Let’s Celebrate Together!

Sponsored by Comunidad Hispana

• Friday, April 7th, 9a – 1p CDMX (CST) Time
• Saturday, April 8th, 9a – 1p CDMX (CST) Time
• Zoom ID: 828 3976 4912, Universal Password

Simultaneous Translation Available
Traduccion Simultánea

Email ComunidadHispana-ISR@greysheet.org

Quarterly Town Hall April 30^th

8 am PT, 9 am MT, & 10 am CT; 4 pm Iceland, Ireland, & UK; 5 pm Central Europe, 6 pm Eastern Europe, South Africa, & Israel; 12 am Hong Kong; 3 am Eastern Australia

GSA World Services will increase the length of our three quarterly Town Halls to 90 minutes starting April 2023.

https://www.greysheet.org/events/service-events/gsa-world-services-town-hall-04-03-2023

This will allow time for the main purpose of the Town Hall – fellowship input on GSA World Services issues – as well as the special topic of the quarter, World Service update, and intergroup presentation.

• Special Topics of the Quarter
  • April: Twenty-Five Year Anniversary of GreySheeters Anonymous
  • July: GreySheet Counts: Why should I participate in the census?
• Presentations by Intergroups (15 minutes)
  • January: New York Metro, Western States, Europe
  • April: Southern Central, Israel, Iceland
  • July: Connecticut, Phone Bridge, Northeast, Comunidad Hispana
• World Service Vision and Four Core Functions Update: When anyone, anywhere, realizes they have a problem with food, they think of the Greysheet solution.
  • Integrity of GreySheet Program
  • Literature
  • Public Information
  • Website
• Plus Treasury report and Announcements if time allows

Ideally members submit questions in advance to Chair@greysheet.org or to Communication@greysheet.org if questioner wants to remain anonymous. This will allow the Board of Trustees to be sure we have the information available at the Town Hall.

If questions do not relate to GSA as a whole, the chair will refer the questioner to their sponsor, their group, or their intergroup. World Service suggestions will be referred to the appropriate World Service Conference committee or board.

Service Opportunities

GSA World Services provides many services to the world-wide fellowship, and we need you to make the magic happen.

Board of Trustees

Secretary

The GSA Secretary records the minutes of the monthly Board of Trustees and the Chairs/ISRs meetings as well as the minutes of the World Service Conference.

Assistant Secretary

The GSA Assistant Secretary supports the secretary and manages GSAWS records in the GSAWS Google Drive.

Trustees: Iceland, Europe

Represent your area on the Board of Trustees. Ensure that your community is heard.

Board Requirements: Five years abstinence. Three-year term. 2-4 hours a month. Chair@greysheet.org or Nominating@greysheet.org

Communication Committee

GSAWS Facebook Admins

• Duties: Moderate the GSA World Services Facebook group to ensure posts meet criteria and that only existing GSA members join the group. Current trusted servant will train.
• Abstinence: 1 year. Term: 1 year.
• Time required: Few minutes daily.
• InternalFacebook@greysheet.org

Service Matters Publisher

• Duties: Receives newsletter content in Word from Communication Committee by last day of the month. Copies, pastes, and formats in MailChimp Service Matters template. Posts same content into website blog. Publishes MailChimp newsletter by 7th of the next month. Current trusted servant will train.
• Time Required: 2-3 hours a month.
• Abstinence: 1 year. Term: 1 year.
• Communication@greysheet.org

Service Matters Subscription Manager

• Duties: Once a quarter, receive a spreadsheet of new trusted servants to subscribe to Service Matters from the registrar. Load the new subscribers into MailChimp.
• Requirements: One-year GreySheet abstinence. One year term. Works with Communication Committee.
• Communication@greysheet.org

GSA Phone List Coordinator

• Duties: Add new subscribers to the online Phone List monthly. Send new subscribers login information. Send out new login information quarterly. Coordinate volunteers who call to verify subscribers. Update list with the information provided by volunteers. Current trusted servant will train and support.
• Time Required: 2-3 hours a month.
• Abstinence: 1 year. Term: 1 year.
• Communication@greysheet.org

Area Contacts List Coordinator

• Duties: Add new contacts to the online list quarterly. Annually email all contacts to verify that they respond within 24 hours.
• Time Required: 2-3 hours a month.
• Abstinence: 1 year. Term: 1 year.
• Communication@greysheet.org

Start-Up Sponsor Team

• Want to get newcomers started in their GreySheet abstinence and help them get connected? The Start Up Sponsor Team needs more women living in North America, especially those available during the day.
• Training and mentoring provided. Requires responding to Coordinator’s WhatsApp text within two hours with your availability and starting off your share of newcomers.
• Abstinence: 1 year. Term: 1 year.
• SUS@greysheet.org

Finance Committee (Temporary)

The Finance Committee is seeking 2-3 GSA volunteers with one-year abstinence to serve on a temporary subcommittee. The subcommittee will review our financial reports for the past year (July 1, 2022 to June 30, 2023).  Typically, the subcommittee will meet one to two times to review at a time(s) selected by the volunteers (historically, 2-4 hours total).  Subcommittee needs to meet by August 1^st.

Questions and comments found during the subcommittee’s review of the reports to be sent to Finance Chair at Finance@greysheet.org

When anyone, anywhere realizes they have a problem with food,
I want them to think of the GreySheet solution.
For that I am responsible.

Welcome to the June 2022 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Welcome to the May 2022 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Welcome to the April 2022 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Welcome to the March 2022 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Welcome to the January 2022 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the January 2022 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

My experience with New Year’s resolutions never included starting a diet.  My obesity and compulsive eating started in my late 30s and by that time I had had some time as a PhD candidate in Nutrition and had learned the science (as we knew it in the 1990s) that fad diets may result in short term weight loss but that once off them, people tended to gain back all the weight and about 10 lbs. more.  So, knowing that, I didn’t diet. I wanted to lose weight for sure and saw the magazines in the grocery aisle, which made weight loss look so easy; yet I knew it could not be possible.  On the covers of those magazines were people advertised as having loss half their weight and getting them down to a healthy weight.  I’m grateful I never dieted, because inevitably there is the cheat day on a diet, sanctioned or otherwise, and having never made such exceptions, I do not have the habit of thinking I could get away with them.

For me, “no exceptions” is key to my abstinence, and I’ve been abstinent since committing my first weighed and measured meal on 12/20/2018. I lost about 95 lbs. the first year, an additional 34 lbs. the second year, and 29 lbs. in this past year. On December 1^st, I weighed 155 pounds for a total of 153 pounds lost. GreySheet has saved my life—at 5’2”, my 308 lbs. were a lot to carry on my short body. I’d had a stroke 7 years before starting GS, considered and rejected my doctor’s recommendation for a gastric bypass, yet continued to eat compulsively. I was seeking weight loss, sure, when I came to GreySheet, but mostly I wanted to be able to not have crazy food thoughts because I knew that was my main problem.  I’ve lost over half my weight in 3 years, and without serious exercise.  A truly miraculous outcome!

Upcoming Meetings

All Interested GreySheeters Welcome!

Each of these meetings is an opportunity to expand your recovery by learning more about the framework that guides our work together. If you’re a delegate, you’ll want to clear your calendar and attend each of these meetings. This is how we get essential information and guidance for giving our best to the groups we serve.

- Concept 3 meeting ID: 791 453 380 on Sunday, January 16 at 1:00 PM ET
- Tradition 3 meeting ID: 791 453 380 on Sunday, January 23 at 1:00 PM ET
- Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166 on Sunday, January 9, Noon PM ET
- Town Hall meeting ID: 717 731 799 on January 30, 2022, 11:00 am ET

Sustaining our Vital Service Structure
 

Our primary purpose is to stay abstinent and help another compulsive eater achieve abstinence. All of the services that we expect from GSA to support our primary purpose, like literature, website, social media, meeting lists, phone lists, contact lists, and the actual GreySheet food plan itself, are provided by committees of the World Service Conference. These committees are composed of your Group Service Representatives (GSRs) working with Intergroup Service Representatives (ISRs) and Trustees. GSA does not have paid staff. Everything depends on your GSR joining a committee and contributing.

At the WSC2021, the delegates adopted a resolution called Sustaining World Service Conference Committees. That resolution outlined how we can be sure that each committee has the GSRs it needs to provide the services we want.

ISRs play a key role. Here’s what the resolution says:
Within one month of the prior World Service Conference, Intergroup Service Representatives (“ISRs”) shall inform the Recording Secretary of Greysheeters Anonymous World Services (Secretary@greysheet.org) in writing of the top two committee choices of all the GSRs in their Intergroup Area. If a GSR is already on a committee and would like to stay on that committee, the ISR shall include that information.

For those groups that do not have a GSR, ISRs shall work with each group to elect a GSR. Once a GSR is elected, the GSR shall advise the Secretary directly of their top two committee choices within two weeks of their election.                                        
 
So all ISRs of our ten operational intergroups – Connecticut, European, Iceland, Israel, MidWest, New York Metro, NorthEast, Phone Bridge, Southern States, and Western States – will be getting in touch with all GSRs to confirm their committee choice. If you are a GSR, you can make your ISR’s job easier by emailing her or him yourself.
 
CT-ISR@greysheet.org
Europe-ISR@greysheet.org
Iceland-ISR@greysheet.org
Israel-ISR@greysheet.org
Midwest-ISR@greysheet.org
NorthEast-ISR@greysheet.org
NY-ISR@greysheet.org
PhoneBridge-ISR@greysheet.org
SouthernStates-ISR@greysheet.org
WesternStates-ISR@greysheet.org
 
Together we don’t eat no matter what AND we carry the GSA message of hope to another compulsive eater.

---

Archives: We are Living History

 

The purpose of the Archives Committee is to collect, organize, categorize, copy, preserve, and electronically store historically valued documents, digital materials, printed materials, and historical items of GreySheeters Anonymous World Services, Inc.  

Our goal is to make the Archives searchable, and consistent file naming will insure this ideal.  Remember, we are living history, and the future is curious.
 
All trusted servants are asked to keep a copy of their documents on the GSAWS website so they may be archived and ensure continuity of record keeping as positions rotate.  The Archives Committee Collection Policy provides more detail and is attached.  How do you ensure that file naming remains consistent as positions rotate?  Create a template that is passed to the next trusted servant.
 
Does your meeting host events, keep minutes or treasury reports?  Your documents and flyers can be stored on the GSAWS website under your Intergroup. Contact: secretary@greysheet.org for a link to your folder.
 
A file name has 3 parts: (Origin) (Document Name) (Date)
 
- Phone Bridge Meeting example:  PB Tues 10 Am ET MINUTES 2021 12 16
- Live Meeting example:  Winthrop Mineola Sat 0930 ET Treasury Report 2021 11 29
- Zoom Meeting example: WE Thurs Eur 2000 UK Z SPEAKER EVENT 2021 Oct 11
 
Recording our growth as a program will help us move forward as we reach out to the sick and suffering.

---

Start Up Sponsor Teams

 

GSRs: please read to your groups

 

Are you a GSer who has been abstinent for a while but has not felt ready to sponsor someone on the GreySheet? Have you lost sponsees during the pandemic or has your life situation changed, making full time sponsoring difficult right now? If so, the Start Up Sponsor Team might be a great option for you in 2022.
 
One of the most exciting resolutions that received an overwhelming vote of confidence by the WSC in October was the creation of an official Start up Sponsor Team under the auspices of the Communication Committee. The group has been working for the past two years with people new to GSA who have found our solution on-line at our website or via YouTube videos and Zoom meetings. How do people get and stay abstinent with few (if any) face to face meetings to meet potential sponsors? This is the problem we face as our fellowship reaches more and more people, many of whom may not live anywhere near an active GreySheet community and made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic.  The Start up Sponsor Team is the solution we are creating, and with your help, we can grow this arm of service to help the compulsive eater who still suffers.
 
Start up Sponsors work with individuals one-on-one with individuals who are ready to start their GreySheet abstinence.  Once you are part of the team, you attend a training for all new start up sponsors so that the information we give is the same. Using the Clarifications of GS Abstinence, you help the newcomer to know what is and is not abstinent on the GreySheet and help them plan the next 3 meals by phone. This initial contact takes about one hour. Then, you give the newcomer a list of ten eligible sponsors (people with 90 days of back-to-back GS abstinence) from the Phone List who are in their time zone and/or are the same gender with the instruction to call at least 3 people on the list every day until they find someone to sponsor them.  You agree to take the newcomer's food for the first 24 hours, up to a few days until the newcomer finds someone to sponsor them. Start Up Sponsors do not commit to sponsoring a newcomer full time.  Instead, they commit to being available to newcomers for a few days. Then once a newcomer has a sponsor, the SUS becomes available to help another newcomer. This is a one-year service commitment.
 
What's in it for the Newcomer?
1. They receive the time and loving attention of someone familiar with GS who can answer their questions. 
2. They can start immediately and have an experience of GS abstinence instead of waiting days or even weeks until they meet 'the right someone.'
 
What's in it for the Start Up Sponsor?
1. They get the satisfaction of helping someone desperate enough to reach out via our GS website and make our solution possible and doable in those crucial early days.
 
2. They get experience helping people understand the GS. For a person just starting out as a sponsor, it's an opportunity to learn by teaching -- and build confidence to be a full-time sponsor. It's also a great way to meet more GSers.
 
3. They get to watch people grow who are new to GS.
 
4. They can ask for help from their own sponsor when they have questions that stump them. 
 
5. They are part of a team that is doing some of the most important work in GSA by helping compulsive eaters who still suffer.
 
If you or someone you know or sponsor (with a minimum of 90 days of back to back abstinence) would like to get involved, please send an email with your name, location, phone number and time zone as well as your abstinence date to: startupsponsor@greysheet.org.

---

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services

Share the Vision Monthly Board of Trustees Liaison Report¹ , December 19th, 2021

 

Whenever anyone, anywhere realizes they have a problem with food, they think of GreySheet.

1. WSC2021 Minutes and Transcripts Corrections Deadline December 31^st 2021
   a. Minutes on greysheet.org / World Service / WSC2021
   b. Delegates received link to the transcript
   c. Send corrections to Secretary@greysheet.org

2. Registering GSA Groups (and Listing Their Meetings) January-February 2022
   a. New registration form will launch on January 1^st.
         i. Link in Service Matters and on website: http://www.update.greysheet.org/groups/group-registration-form
         ii. Email to currently listed Trusted Servants
   b. Groups will have until February 28^th to register their groups and provide updated  information for their meetings. 
    c. Only those groups which register and update their meetings will be listed on the GSA  website and eligible to register a WSC2022 delegate. 
   d. Groups may register later. The online meeting list will be updated approximately  monthly until the new website launches. 

3. GSR Orientation January 16 and 18^th, 2022
     a. Sunday January 16^th 10 AM ET 896 6591 9622 
     b. Tuesday January 18^th at 6 PM ET 838 9475 2685 
     c. Notes with Q&A will be published on greysheet.org / World Service / GSR Orientation. 
     d. We had a request for ISR Orientation, too. Stay tuned.

4. Quarterly Town Hall January 30^th at 11 am ET  https://zoom.us/j/717731799 GSA Passcode
     a. Your chance to raise questions, concerns, and suggestions about World Service. 
     b. What you need to do to implement resolutions adopted by WSC2021. 
     c. What’s unique and wonderful about the Western States and MidWest Intergroup.

5. World Service Opportunities
     a. Secretary: Abstinence: 5 years; Term: 3 years. Records the minutes of the decision making meetings of World Service, i.e., Chairs/ISRs, Board of Trustees, and World  Service Conference. Nominating@greysheet.org
     b. Note Taker: Abstinence 1 year; Term 1 year. Records attendance and main points of  presentations and discussions at non-decision-making Committees Connecting meeting.  greysheet@greysheet.org  


¹ For Board of Trustees Liaisons to share with intergroups; ISRs to share with their GSRs; and GSRs to  share with their groups. Committee Chairs may also choose to share this report with their committee  members.

---

Online Meetings List

Registrar@greysheet.org
 

We have our first GSAWS Group Registrar! This new World Service position supports the GSAWS Secretary by maintaining a complete record of all registered GSA Groups and their meetings. The Registrar receives all updates to groups and their meetings, updates GSAWS records, and submits to the Webservant for the online meeting list. Email Registrar@greysheet.org to make any changes to your group’s meeting information on the website.

FYI: The online meeting list will only list Meeting Contact People and their email addresses, i.e., people who have committed to respond to email inquiries about the meeting within 24 hours. We will no longer list other trusted servants online (although we need this information in our offline records).

Coming soon: New online Group Registration form to list your meeting on our NEW website! Stay tuned.
More information: Registrar@greysheet.org or Secretary@greysheet.org

---

Conference Committee News

Registrar@greysheet.org
 

The Conference Committee of the World Service Conference will be holding its 7th World Service Conference meeting on Sunday October 23, 2022 via Zoom.

---

GreySheet Service Opportunities

Board Secretary
Your Board of Trustees has an unexpected opening for the position of Secretary. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees is a critical member of the board as she or he records the minutes of the monthly Board of Trustees meetings which provide a record of our decision making. We publish those minutes for full transparency to our fellowship: https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees The Secretary is a trustee, i.e., the requirement is five years of back to back GreySheet abstinence and the term of office is three years. If you or anyone you know is qualified and interested, please contact Grainne, Chair - Board of Trustees at President@greysheet.org or Linda, Chair - Nominating Committee at Nominating@greysheet.org. We will be happy to answer your questions.

 
Note Taker
The Note Taker records attendance and main points of discussion at the monthly Committees Connecting World Service meeting. One year abstinence/one year term. 2 hours a month. If interested, please email Grainne, Chair – Board of Trustees at greysheet@greysheet.org.

---

 

To my fellow GreySheeters,
 
I am a compulsive eater. Abstinent and Grateful One Day at a Time.
 
Are you a doer? Do you like making things happen? Are you a passionate compulsive eater? Are you a social media junkie? If any of these questions resonate with you, come join us. We are forming a taskforce to look at what recommendations we can come up with for the Board of Trustees to form an  Internal GSAWS Facebook account. The GSAWS Facebook Taskforce will consist of a temporary unit of passionate GreySheeters that will meet monthly for three months to provide recommendations (not a decision-making body) on the structures of developing an Internal Facebook account. 
 
Please indicate your interest by emailing me at Jmelmore.jm@gmail.com.  We are planning to meet every second Sunday of the month for three months via zoom from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m EST.
 
WDENMW,
Joey M
Board Member

---

GreySheet Anonymous World Service

 

2021 Direct 7th Tradition Donations Target - $42,000

 

Welcome to the December 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the December 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?”

regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

‘Tis the season of gratitude and what better way to express our gratitude toward GreySheet and our abstinence than to give back by helping to implement the newly passed resolutions!
 
Each committee needs new members with creative ideas and fresh energy to move forward.  We ask all ISR's, GSR's and members to help GSA achieve our goals and resolutions.  If you or someone you sponsor would like to get involved and participate, please email the committee you're interested in:

Start up Sponsor Teams

GSR's: please read to your groups

GSAWS Monthly Recurring Donations

a.k.a. Club 164

There’s a really easy way for any GreySheeter who is able, to make a monthly recurring donation via PayPal or Text to Donate.  Just go to www.greysheet.org and look for the “donations” tab.  From that page, the gold donate button will automatically direct you to the GSAWS donation page in PayPal.   Check the box “make this a recurring payment”  and you’re all set.  If you prefer text to donate (USA only), you can text NMW to 443-21.  You will be directed to a page where you choose the amount to donate and whether to donate monthly or one-time.   If you choose to sign up, a donation will automatically come out of your checking account or credit card each month.

Some GreySheeters have been doing this since 2015 when the practice of monthly recurring donations was first encouraged.  These donations were tracked and called “Club 164”, named after the first 164 pages of the Big Book.  In 2015 and 2016, approximately $8,500 was collected from monthly recurring donations.

Below is a pie chart where you can see the amount of donations that GSAWS has received as of August 31, 2021.  In August, 37 GreySheeters contributed $528 bringing the total year-to-date amount contributed from monthly recurring donations to $3,881 this year.  If you are able, please consider setting up a monthly, recurring donation.  Thank you and NMW!

---

Online Meeting List

We have our first GSAWS Group Registrar! This new World Service position supports the GSAWS Secretary by maintaining a complete record of all registered GSA Groups and their meetings. The Registrar receives all updates to groups and their meetings, updates GSAWS records, and submits to the Webservant for the online meeting list. Email Registrar@greysheet.org to make any changes to your group’s meeting information on the website.

FYI: The online meeting list will only list Meeting Contact People and their email addresses, i.e., people who have committed to respond to email inquiries about the meeting within 24 hours. We will no longer list other trusted servants online (although we need this information in our offline records).

Coming soon: New online Group Registration form to list your meeting on our NEW website! Stay tuned.

More information: Registrar@greysheet.org or Secretary@greysheet.org

GreySheet Opportunities

Board Secretary
Your Board of Trustees has an unexpected opening for the position of Secretary. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees is a critical member of the board as she or he records the minutes of the monthly Board of Trustees meetings which provide a record of our decision making. We publish those minutes for full transparency to our fellowship: https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees The Secretary is a trustee, i.e., the requirement is five years of back to back GreySheet abstinence and the term of office is three years. If you or anyone you know is qualified and interested, please contact Grainne, Chair - Board of Trustees at President@greysheet.org or Linda, Chair - Nominating Committee at Nominating@greysheet.org. We will be happy to answer your questions.

 
Note Taker
The Note Taker records attendance and main points of discussion at the monthly Committees Connecting World Service meeting. One year abstinence/one year term. 2 hours a month. If interested, please email Grainne, Chair – Board of Trustees at greysheet@greysheet.org

GreySheet Anonymous World Service

Welcome to the November 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the November 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?”

regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Upcoming Meetings

All Interested GreySheeters Welcome!

- Concept 1 meeting ID: 791 453 380 on Sunday, November 21 at 1:00 PM ET
- Tradition 1 meeting ID: 791 453 380 on Sunday, November 28 at 1:00 PM ET
- Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166 on Sunday, November 14, Noon PM ET

2021 World Service Conference Reflection

The 2021 World Service Conference was a beautiful GreySheet success!  After months of hard work by the committees, GSRs, ISRs, volunteers and trusted servants in our community, we gathered on October 17^,th for over 5 hours to decide on the 16 resolutions that were presented for consideration.  Committees had worked diligently crafting their resolutions, presenting them to our membership and making revisions with the feedback received.  Unlike previous conferences that were held in person, thanks to the pandemic, this year we met via Zoom.  The social connectedness that is always such a wonderful benefit of in-person conferences was certainly missed.  But in its place was an opportunity for strong group representation from around the globe and an efficiency in group process.

62 delegates attended, supported by a contingent of volunteer moderators who managed the technical end of Zoom conferencing (no simple feat!) and timers who kept us weighed and measured in our presentations.  Returning from our previous conference were our trusted parliamentarian who helped us navigate all procedural questions and our transcriptionist who took down every word – and there were a lot of them!

Each resolution was presented by a member of the sponsoring committee speaking on behalf of the proposal.  Two members speaking against the resolution followed and an additional member speaking in favor of the resolution concluded.  In order to pass, resolutions were required to have approval by a minimum of 2/3rds of the delegates.  A representative from the minority opinion was given time to speak after the vote was taken and an opportunity to reconsider the motion was offered up.   Ultimately, all but one of the resolutions passed – some with little opposition, others with greater.  The one resolution that failed (#4) addressed the parameters for World Service Conference delegate participation.  There was significant concern about members with less than a year of back-to-back GreySheet abstinence taking on the position of GSR that ultimately leads to serving as a WSC delegate.  Clearly service is a crucial piece of staying abstinent. But in looking out for newer members, the opinion fell in favor of offering other service opportunities which would not include the responsibility and possible stress that can accompany the role of GSR/WSC delegate.

My personal takeaway from the conference was a feeling of awe at our amazing GreySheet community.  So many people committing hours, days, months in preparation.  So much care was taken in conducting a fair and transparent conference.  People remained open to hearing differing opinions and considering opposing viewpoints.  Sometimes minds were changed; always respect was shown.  The bottom line, that our primary purpose is to stay abstinent and to help another compulsive eater to achieve abstinence, was our guide throughout the process. I believe that the work that was done at the conference, along with the direction voted upon for future action, will continue to strengthen our program and our community, ensuring that GSA will remain a solid answer for people looking for a solution to their problem with food. 

A huge thank you to all who participated!!!!

Laura L.
BOT Vice-Chair

31st Annual NYC GreySheet Roundup via Zoom

Sunday November 14, 2021 
Celebrating RoundUps, Fellowship and Love!
 

 
Time: 1:00pm - 4:15pm ET 
Zoom information: Meeting ID: 853 6312 0160
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85363120160
Passcode: Universal
 
Suggested donation is $5 to NY Metro Intergroup. 
 
TIME ZONES:
12:45pm ET - log in to see a friend!
1:00pm - 4:15pm ET
Noon - 3:00pm CT
11:00am - 2:00pm MT
10:00am - 1:00pm PT
6:00pm - 9:00pm London, Iceland
7:00pm - 10:00pm Paris
8:00pm - 11:00pm Israel
 
7th TRADITION: https://greysheetny.org/donations/
 
1:00pm - 2:00pm   PANEL: It Works If You Work It
2:00pm - 3:00pm   Breakout session #1 The Steps We Take
3:00pm - 4:00pm   Breakout session #2 Living Abstinent
 
We would love to see you on video, if possible. Please keep your laptop, phone and background still!

GSR Orientation

Saturday December 12^th at 10 am ET and Tuesday December 14^th at 6 pm ET

---

Welcome to the October 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the October 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?”

regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

WORLD SERVICE CONFERENCE NEWS!

Dear Fellow GreySheeters,
 
We will hold our 2021 World Service Conference on Sunday, October 17 from 9:00 am to 2:30 pm ET. This will be our first virtual conference. As we learn from our fellowship the meaning of a “WE” program, its success depends on how we actively participate in the process. We encourage everyone to understand the Standing Rules of the Conference. This will facilitate a smooth flow of our work on the resolutions and most of all, an enjoyable experience.
 
In preparation for the conference, we stress the following Standing Rules:
 

1. Let’s talk about our food. There is a 30-minute break during the second session to eat a meal. At this time, we may turn off our video (but not log off from Zoom.) We encourage you to prepare your food before the start of the conference, so you have time to enjoy your delicious meal.
2. Let’s talk about questions. Raise your digital hand ONLY to ask questions on the application of Robert’s Rules of Order or the Standing Rules of the Conference. No questions on the CONTENT of the resolutions or (this is new) anything said in DEBATE.
3. Ensure your video is always ON except during the 15 and 30-minute breaks. The moderator will send us a chat if we turn off video and, if we do not respond within 30 seconds, she will remove us from the session.
4. Roll Call at the start of Session 2. After the 15-minute break, we must respond to the roll call at the start of session two with our video on or be excluded from the entire second session.
5. What is a Minority Opinion? After the vote on a resolution, the Chair will ask if anyone in the minority (those who voted against the motion if it passed; those who voted for the motion if it failed) would like to speak for the minority. Then the chair will ask if anyone in the MAJORITY would like to make and second a motion to reconsider the first vote. Only those who voted in the majority may make and second a motion to reconsider. We rely on your integrity.

 
The updated materials for the conference are available for download using this link: https://greysheet.org/world-services/world-service-conference/world-service-conference-2021
 
Wishing all delegates of the 2021 World Service Conference a wonderful experience as we Trudge the Road of Happy Destiny!!!
 
Yours in Service,
 
Joey M, 
Board Member

A Message for the Delegates:
 

The Conference Committee of the World Service Conference would like to reiterate some of the Zoom guidelines for our World Service Conference meeting to be held on Sunday October 17, 2021.
 
Please remember to sign in with the name you used to register, or you will not be recognized and we will not be able to admit you from the waiting room. 
 
For the conference, please remember to arrive between 08:45am - 9:15am ET. The Zoom meeting room will be locked at 09:30 AM ET. If you arrive after 9:30am, you will be unable to join the first session and will remain in the waiting room until the second session begins at 11:10am ET. 
FYI: We have 3 non-delegate GSers who will moderate the conference.
 
Your video must remain on during the entire conference, except for breaks and lunch. Please keep your device still. Please use a laptop or desktop only.
 
Make sure your internet connection is STRONG. If you lose internet connection, unfortunately you will not be able to come back into the conference (Stated in Standing Rules of the Conference) until the next session.
 
Please remember:

• To keep your space free of all distractions such as family, pets or deliveries etc.
• Please stay muted at all times and remember no multitasking
• No eating - abstinent gum and drinks are acceptable
• Turn off ceiling fans visible on camera, as the movement can be very distracting

For more details on the Conference’s Standing Rules, please visit https://greysheet.org/world-services/world-service-conference/world-service-conference-2021
 
We look forward to a productive GreySheet World Service Conference meeting!

31st Annual NYC GreySheet Roundup via Zoom

Sunday November 14, 2021 
Celebrating RoundUps, Fellowship and Love!
 

 
Time: 1:00pm - 4:15pm ET 
Zoom information: Meeting ID: 853 6312 0160
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85363120160
Passcode: Universal
 
Suggested donation is $5 to NY Metro Intergroup. 
 
TIME ZONES:
12:45pm ET - log in to see a friend!
1:00pm - 4:15pm ET
Noon - 3:00pm CT
11:00am - 2:00pm MT
10:00am - 1:00pm PT
6:00pm - 9:00pm London, Iceland
7:00pm - 10:00pm Paris
8:00pm - 11:00pm Israel
 
7th TRADITION: https://greysheetny.org/donations/
 
1:00pm - 2:00pm   PANEL: It Works If You Work It
2:00pm - 3:00pm   Breakout session #1 The Steps We Take
3:00pm - 4:00pm   Breakout session #2 Living Abstinent
 
We would love to see you on video, if possible. Please keep your laptop, phone and background still!

Upcoming Meetings
All Interested GreySheeters Welcome!

• Committees Connecting mtg. ID: 663 470 166 on Sunday, October 10 Noon PM ET
• GSA World Service Conference mtg., ID: 818 7770 0569 on Sunday, October 17, Arrival Time: 8:45 AM – 9:15 AM ET

GreySheet Anonymous World Service

Board of Trustees' Column

My name is Joey M. and I’m a grateful compulsive eater. Today, I take responsibility for my actions. That means I weigh and measure my food, I write it down, I call and commit to my sponsor on time and I don’t eat No Matter What. My primary purpose is to stay abstinent so I can help the next compulsive eater.
 
I am your trusted servant, a Board of Trustees member, 7th Tradition sub-committee, and Assistant Treasurer since 2019. It’s been an amazing journey as a board member. The idea of a service position at a World Service level was such a foreign language for me when I started. As I learn the Traditions and Concepts, I am able to provide the level of service that I can be proud of as a member of the GreySheet community. I learned to be open and humble, that there is wisdom in accepting that I may not be able to know all the answers, and how to trust that I can be guided by a Higher Power in all of my affairs. And with these attitudes I am provided an opportunity to be the person that I can be and not the person that I thought I needed to be.
 
We currently have openings for service positions: Trustee/Secretary, European Board member, Registrar, European ISR, Website committee members/volunteers. If you are interested in joining and doing service at a World Service level, you can contact the Chair of the Nominating committee-Linda GS or click on this link. https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees/nominating-committee

And if you are as energized as I am, I encourage you to join me as we trek this amazing journey to happy destiny. My name is Joey M and I am Abstinent and Grateful.

GreySheet Opportunities

Board Secretary
Your Board of Trustees has an unexpected opening for the position of Secretary. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees is a critical member of the board as she or he records the minutes of the monthly Board of Trustees meetings which provide a record of our decision making. We publish those minutes for full transparency to our fellowship: https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees The Secretary is a trustee, i.e., the requirement is five years of back to back GreySheet abstinence and the term of office is three years. If you or anyone you know is qualified and interested, please contact Grainne, Chair - Board of Trustees at President@greysheet.org or Linda, Chair - Nominating Committee at Nominating@greysheet.org. We will be happy to answer your questions.

 
Website Committee
Your Website Committee has many opportunities for willing volunteers to help with the many non-technical tasks that it takes to keep the current website up and running and get the new website ready to launch. If you are an elected GSR, you can join the committee as a voting member if you want to help make decisions about the website or you can assist the committee with time-limited tasks as a non-voting volunteer. There’s lots to be done that doesn’t require web development or programming skills. Our website is the public face of GreySheeters Anonymous – the first thing that many newcomers see when they look for a solution online. Help us make it serve our primary purpose. Contact Linda, chair Nominating Committee at Nominating@greysheet.org

Links to Notes of Meetings 

If you missed attending these meetings, never fear. Click on these links to see notes from these meetings; Notes are also available at https://bit.ly/2RSoD6E
 
Notes from September Committees Connecting meeting:  https://bit.ly/3liz3IE
Notes from August Concepts meeting: https://bit.ly/3EV7UDu
Notes from August Traditions meeting: https://bit.ly/3CU7qLU

Welcome to the September 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the September 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Hello dear community of fellow GSers:

We, in the Literature Committee, are so excited and grateful that you love the book Living Abstinent. Your feedback to us via your meetings is encouraging us to keep producing more literature for you.

One of the goals of the Literature Committee is to have literature that is available to Everyone, especially those still suffering who need to know about our wonderful solution. Putting reviews up on Amazon, and Goodreads and wherever else you can tell the world about our solution and our book, is one of the best services you can do to get the word out there. 

Please consider writing a short review and posting it. That way, other CE and food addicts can see how it has helped others.

Thank you so much,
In gratitude,
Sara S. in Paris
Chair, Literature Committee of GSA

Upcoming Meetings

1. Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166
    Sunday, September 12, at Noon ET

TWO CONCEPTS AND TWO TRADITIONS IN ONE MEETING!

2. Concept 11 and 12 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, September 19, at 1:00pm ET*
 
3. Tradition 11 and 12 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, September 26, at 1:00 pm ET*

*Each meeting will be one (1) hour long.

---

GreySheet Anonymous World Service

2021 Direct 7th Tradition Donations Target - $42,000

 

---

GreySheet Opportunities

Board Secretary
Your Board of Trustees has an unexpected opening for the position of Secretary. The Secretary of the Board of Trustees is a critical member of the board as she or he records the minutes of the monthly Board of Trustees meetings which provide a record of our decision making. We publish those minutes for full transparency to our fellowship: https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees The Secretary is a trustee, i.e., the requirement is five years of back to back GreySheet abstinence and the term of office is three years. If you or anyone you know is qualified and interested, please contact Grainne, Chair - Board of Trustees at President@greysheet.org or Linda, Chair - Nominating Committee at Nominating@greysheet.org. We will be happy to answer your questions.

 
Website Committee
Your Website Committee has many opportunities for willing volunteers to help with the many non-technical tasks that it takes to keep the current website up and running and get the new website ready to launch. If you are an elected GSR, you can join the committee as a voting member if you want to help make decisions about the website or you can assist the committee with time-limited tasks as a non-voting volunteer. There’s lots to be done that doesn’t require web development or programming skills. Our website is the public face of GreySheeters Anonymous – the first thing that many newcomers see when they look for a solution online. Help us make it serve our primary purpose. Contact Linda, chair Nominating Committee at Nominating@greysheet.org

---

Links to Notes of Meetings 

If you missed attending these meetings, never fear. Click on these links to see notes from these meetings; Notes are also available at https://bit.ly/2RSoD6E
 
Notes from June Committees Connecting meeting:  https://bit.ly/3630qxT
Notes from July Concepts meeting: https://bit.ly/2Wrwkmi
Notes from July Traditions meeting: https://bit.ly/3ykklEr

Welcome to the August 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the August 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.   

Attention GSRs:
Upcoming Committees Connecting Resolutions - August 8th, at 12:00 Noon ET

---

Board of Trustees Column

Greetings GreySheet Community,

 My name is Dan, and I am your non-abstinent Board of Trustees member.

As you know, this program borrows a lot of its operations and traditions from other 12 Step programs, especially AA.

Bill W., a co-founder of AA, realized that he could no longer be the elder statesman, and that some form of long-term management was going to have to be set up if the program was to outlive him. He had set up various management boards to get literature published and sold, clubs run etc. Mostly they were operated by “Friends of AA” as drunks were not to be trusted. From a business standpoint this made sense. But Bill and the early members realized that no group of drunks in Omaha or Toledo was going to listen to a board from New York. So, the idea of adding AA members to the board, along with “Friends of AA,” came about.  The final solution was to put the members in charge with the purpose of the board being to serve the members. So, they set up an “upside down” management style with the individual members as the “Owners” and “Directors” of the organization. If you have an idea on a new book or want a change in a pamphlet, bring it up at a business meeting.

If your group likes the idea, it goes to the intergroup level where the idea is shared among all groups in GSA. If all the groups like the idea, they pass the idea back to the groups to vote on the idea. Then you get to vote on the final approval and implementation of the Idea. The Board of Trustees’ job is to help you get this done.

I helped start a group on a Caribbean Island. It was decided that we needed to get more organized. I was tasked with calling “the board of trustees” to see the “right” way to run our meeting. I was told we could run our meeting any way we wanted to. When you do set up your meeting, please let us know so we can share that information. There are just too many ways meetings are run for us to direct you.  I asked, are you telling me that if we wanted to run a meeting where only green people could attend, that would be OK? She replied “Yes. But I might advise that attendance would likely be poor.”

In 2019 I was asked by a friend who was a member of the GreySheet Board of Trustees, if I might like to apply for the position of non-abstinent Trustee. The Board of Trustees consists of mostly abstinent and one or two non- abstinent members. I accepted the position and am currently your only non- abstinent Trustee. I am at your service.

---

Welcome to the July 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the July 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Attention GSRs:
Upcoming Committees Connecting Resolutions - July 11th, at 12:00 Noon ET

This month, the Public Information and Communication Committees will be presenting their resolutions. They include three resolutions that will be debated and voted on and two that will be included in the consent agenda. These resolutions to be discussed concern GSA’s participation in social media, the adoption of a GSA podcast, the adoption of the GSA Start-up Sponsor Team, which has been working for the last year and a half. The two in the consent agenda are about automatically subscribing new trusted servants to Service Matters and the suggested participation of all trusted servants in the monthly Traditions and Concepts meetings. Please read the working resolutions and supporting documents before the Committees Connecting meeting on July 11.
 
It is important to note that while it is exciting to ponder the creation of a GSA Podcast, and while there has been much enthusiasm for the project, what we really need to move forward are GSers with editing skills and the technological ability and interest to make this happen. While it is a relatively simple thing to record a voice memo on one’s smart phone, to get a quality recording, someone is needed who can do the editing and knows about eliminating background noises, etc. so it isn’t an annoying experience for the listener. Our main purpose is to carry the message to the compulsive eater who still suffers...in this effort as in all of our efforts.
 
If you are interested in participating in the podcast project, or in the ongoing work of our website, please contact the chairs of the Communication, Website or Public Information Committees and volunteer your expertise. Our entire fellowship thanks you!!

---

Go the website to get information on how to buy it or go to Xlibris.com, click Bookstore, type in Living Abstinent in the search box. GSA gets the most royalties when the book is purchased through the publisher. Can also use www.bookshop.org which supports independent bookstores.
 
If you live outside of US and Canada, go to your independent bookstore or use Amazon in your country.

---

 

Upcoming Meetings
All interested GreySheetrs are welcome!

Each of these meetings is an opportunity to expand your recovery by learning more about the framework that guides our work together. If you’re a delegate, you’ll want to clear your calendar and attend each of these meetings. This is how we get essential information and guidance for giving our best to the groups we serve.
.

1. Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166
    Sunday, July 11, at Noon ET

2. Concept 9 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, July 18, at 1:00pm ET
 
3. Tradition 9 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, July 25, at 1:00 pm ET

 

---

 

June 2021 - Monthly Board of Trustees
Liaison Report Highlights

Share the Vision

Whenever anyone, anywhere realizes they have a problem with food, they think if GreySheet.

Progress Report on Four Core Functions to achieve our vision
Please share with your group!

 

ntegrity of the GSA Program
     a. Board of Trustees revised proposals to the World Service Conference regarding the distribution of the GreySheet while strengthening our liability and copyright protection. Committees Connecting notes with new Resolution
 

Literature
     a. Proud to announce the publication of Living Abstinent
https://www.xlibris.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/807489-living-abstinent

     b. Plan to publish the History of GSA within the year
 

Public Information
     a. The Public Information Committee has created a three-month bank of content to ensure several posts every week on our three new social media channels.


Website
     a. Added purchase information for our new book, Living Abstinent.
https://www.greysheet.org/literature

     b. Still planning to launch new website September. Check it out:
https://update.greysheet.org

 

 

---

 

Israeli Community Hosts an International Community Event 

The Israeli GSA community is proud to invite you all to meet the international community in the Holy Land on July 1, and July 15, 2021
 
2 qualifications in English - one from Israel, the second from the US.  
The qualifications will be held in English with a short summary in Hebrew.
Shares will be in any language the GreySheeter chooses.
 
Join us on Zoom: July 15, 2021, Thursday 20:30 Jerusalem (13:30 EST)
We are waiting to see you all in the Regular Zoom link of the Israeli
community: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89005140432 Password: Regular. 
If you need the password please send a WhatsApp message to Ofer + 972-544400600.

 

---

Board of Trustees Column

Hi GreySheet Community!

My name is Eunice M.  I am the newest member on the GSAWS Board of Trustees (BOT).  I was nominated and elected to the BOT in November 2020. I live in Cincinnati, Ohio.  My GreySheet abstinence date is March 18, 2004, and I am very, very grateful for my abstinence and the GreySheet program.  For the seventeen plus years that I have been a member of GreySheeters Anonymous, I have done service in several areas, including GSR for my home group, Phone Bridge PM Marathon Coordinator and Liaison, meeting leader, booker, timer, and reader.  I am happy to be a GSAWS BOT member. There is a lot of work that goes on at this level and I am still learning.

When I was elected to the BOT, the book, LIVING ABSTINENT, was in its final revision.  As I began to read the manuscript, I was amazed at the topics that were covered.  There are six categories and 27 chapters.  The six categories are as follows: Beginning Our GSA Journey; Nuts and Bolts of GreySheet Abstinence; GSA Recovery and the People in Our Lives; Protecting Our Abstinence; Slogans to Live by; and Life in GSA Recovery.  The chapters of the book cover topics of abstinence, getting through withdrawal, what is backup, dealing with friends who don’t support us, anger, and resentment, without exception, no matter what, and letting go of self-pity.  There is even a chapter that describes how GreySheeters are living through the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

The book, LIVING ABSTINENT, contains all the information that I want to pass on to a sponsee, but may forget.  I encourage everyone to get your copy today and maybe get additional copies for future sponsees.

In order to get your copy, please go to the publisher, Xlibris.com.  GSAWS gets more royalties when the book is ordered from the publisher.  The book can also be obtained through Amazon.

For more information about the LIVING ABSTINENT book, please contact: literature@greysheet.org

Wishing you yummy abstinent weighed and measured meals, ODAAT,

Eunice M

---

 

Links to Notes of Meetings

If you missed attending these meetings, never fear. Click on these links to see notes from these meetings; Notes are also available at https://bit.ly/2RSoD6E
 
Notes from June Committees Connecting meeting:  https://bit.ly/3630qxT
Notes from May Concepts meeting: https://bit.ly/3y09q2Q
Notes from May Traditions meeting: https://bit.ly/35UwXWS

Welcome to the June 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the June 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Breaking News!

The Board of Trustees has revised two of their resolutions based on your input at May’s Committees Connecting meeting. Click here:  https://bit.ly/3pcLxlu for all the Q&A from May’s Committees Connecting and the revised resolution. The revised Supporting Document will be published along with all other additional and revised resolutions in September.

Attention GSRs:

This month, the Structure Committee will be presenting their resolutions. They include:
 
   1. Registering Groups (including criteria to be a GSA Group)
   2. Creating Intergroups (including criteria to be a GSA Intergroup)
   3. How WSC Approves Policies and Procedures
   4. WSC Delegates
   5. Sustaining Committees
       and
   15S. WSC Committee Chair Role Description/Role of GSR?
 
The first five resolutions will be debated and voted on separately on October 17. The final one listed will be included in the Consent Agenda with several other resolutions from the various committees.
 
Delegates need to read the resolutions and the supporting documents before discussing them at the Committees Connecting meeting on June 13^th.  Download resolutions and supporting documents  at this link: https://greysheet.org/world-services/world-service-conference/world-service-conference-2021. The Structure Committee will be available to answer questions, listen to suggestions, and explain what is unclear to delegates in that one-hour meeting. If your group has a Group Conscience meeting before June 13, please go over the resolutions with them and solicit their input. There is time between now and the conference to have an impact on the final wording of resolutions, but it would be best to mention ideas now or be in contact with Staci L, chair of the Structure Committee.
 
Many people have questions about whether the Clarifications of GS Abstinence document is part of these resolutions, and the answer is no. The document was submitted and accepted by the Board of Trustees at the last GSAWS Conference, but there has been no action taken to incorporate these guidelines into whether groups are registered or not.
 
One important note: In the last two years, GSA has been putting many of these policies into effect. Resolution 3, “How WSC Approves Policies and Procedures” outlines clearly how committees have submitted policies, gotten approval from voting members of their own committees, and then brought them to the attention of Intergroup Chairs and Committee Chairs and the Board of Trustees, https://greysheet.org/world-services/world-service-conference/world-service-conference-2021 all of whom sign off on them. Once all these people sign off, the policies are considered official on an interim basis until the next World Service Conference, which is happening on October 17^th! It is an inclusive, transparent process that allows for questions, explanations, and input as we grow and change as a fellowship.
 
It would be incorrect to assume that these resolutions are the result of a top-down management style. They are the works in progress of ongoing, deliberate and painstaking service, month after month, that is freely given by the people who step up and get involved.  And any interested GreySheeter is welcome to join the process!!

---

Upcoming Meetings

All interested GreySheeters are welcome!

Have you joined your GS sisters and brothers at one or more of these meetings? Each one is an opportunity to expand your recovery by learning more about the framework that guides our work together. If you’re a delegate, you’ll definitely want to clear your calendar and attend each of these meetings. This is how we get essential information and guidance for giving our best to the groups we serve.

1. Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166
    Sunday, June 13, at Noon ET

2. Concept 8 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, June 20, at 1:00pm ET
 
3. Tradition 8 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, June 27, at 1:00 pm ET

---

Go the website to get information on how to buy it or go to Xlibris.com, click Bookstore, type in Living Abstinent in the search box. GSA gets the most royalties when the book is purchased through the publisher. Can also use www.bookshop.org which supports independent bookstores.

Welcome to the May 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the May 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Attention GSRs: Preparing for the World Service Conference 2021

Q: How does a GSR inform his/her group about resolutions for the World Service Conference October 2021? I know it’s my job to inform, explain and listen to my group members/ ideas, but how does that actually work?

A: Each group can decide how to do this between now and October. One group may hold a special monthly group conscience meeting from May – October 30 minutes before their regular meeting begins so that any members who want to discuss the resolutions can have their voices heard. Other groups spend their business meeting/group conscience (15-20 minutes at the beginning or end of a meeting once a month). Some groups spend 5 minutes at each meeting discussing 1-2 resolutions at a time.
 
Some resolutions are more important to members and groups than others. The Finance Committee’s policies and procedures, for example, may not garner as much interest as the Structure Committee’s criteria to be registered as a GS group. Nevertheless, as a GSR, you want to do your best to let people know what will be voted on at the conference and give them a chance to discuss it.
 
GSR’s need to become familiar with the resolutions that will be voted on at the WSC. You can find each one, with back-up information, on the GreySheet.org website using this link: https://greysheet.org/world-services/world-service-conference/world-service-conference-2021
 
Download, print and read all of them. It’s a good idea to follow the same schedule as the Committees Connecting meetings. So, at the May 9 Committees Connecting meeting, the following 9 resolutions will be discussed by the Board of Trustees:

27.  Distribution of GreySheets
28. GSA and AA Intellectual Property
29.  World Service Vision and Four Core Functions
30. Website Privacy and Terms of Use
31. Board of Trustees Functioning (Contractor and Trustee Travel Expense, Meeting Attendance, Rules of Order, and Standing Rules, Role of Liaison)
32. WSC Minutes and Transcript Correction Processes
33. Plan to Improve Seventh Tradition Donations
34. Personal Safety Guidance
35. Interim Style Guide

 
While all of these are important, resolutions 31-35 will be brought to a vote together in the Consent Agenda. Only #27-30 in this group will be discussed and voted on separately at the conference. By all means, make sure you discuss this topic and get your group’s questions and concerns about it, so that you can bring them to the Committees Connecting meeting on May 9.
 
At the June 13^th CCing meeting, the following 6 resolutions will be presented by the Structure Committee. #26 will be part of the Consent Agenda. #21 – 25 will be discussed and voted on separately. Start with the resolutions in bold.

   21. Registering Groups (including criteria to be a GSA Group)
   22. Creating Intergroups (including criteria to be a GSA Intergroup)
   23. WSC Approves Policies and Procedures
   24. WSC Delegate Requirements
   25. Sustaining Committees
   26. Committee Chair Role Description
 
If your group’s questions and concerns are not addressed at the Committees Connecting meetings, GSR’s are encouraged to contact the committee chairs by Email to let them know how your members feel and perhaps make suggestions about how the resolutions can be modified. Revisions to resolutions will be discussed at the October 10 Committees Connecting meeting, the final one before the conference on the 17^th.

Upcoming Meetings

All interested GreySheeters are welcome!

1. Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166
    Sunday, May 9, at Noon ET

Board of Trustees Column

My name is Lee, I’m a compulsive eater, and my abstinence date is March 23, 2000.  I joined the BOT as Assistant Secretary in September, 2019.  One of the things I love about GSA is that while we are worldwide, we are also still small enough that we can be part of the process of helping it grow at the World Service level.  Though I had never thought of myself as the “type” to do this kind of service, I was asked, and felt guided to step up my service.  It has been an honor and a pleasure.
 
It has been very exciting to watch our GreySheet community grow worldwide.  As Liaison to the Literature Committee, I took on the “special project” of overseeing the process of getting our literature translated into other languages.  We currently have translations of the GreySheet into Spanish (Latin American), Dutch, Polish, Hebrew and Icelandic.  Also in process are translations into Castilian Spanish, French, German and Bulgarian. 
 
About a year ago, we developed a more formal approach to approving translations. There are two main reasons for this.  1) We want to make sure that whatever is translated is equivalent to the English version 2) We were told by our legal expert that we have to protect our copyright.  While anyone is welcome (and encouraged) to propose a translation, there is a short and simple application which must be approved by both the Literature Committee and the Board.  The translator needs to share his/her qualifications, and there also needs to be a reviewer.  Once approved, an Agreement is signed stating that the copyright remains with GSA.  Finally, there needs to be a plan for distribution, usually through the associated Intergroup.  The process is the same for any piece of GreySheet literature being translated.
 
It should be noted that while this Translation Approval Policy has been a working policy since 2020, it has not yet been voted on at the World Service Conference.  That is one of the Resolutions to be voted on at WSC in October 2021.  For more information, you can read the full description here under Working Resolution R.  https://greysheet.org/images/WSC2021/GSA_WSC2021_Working_Resolutions.pdf
 
I read recently that AA’s Big Book has been translated into 67 languages.  While we are not anywhere near that in scope, it is inspiring to observe the energy and enthusiasm of our members working to carry the message to as many compulsive eaters as possible, in whatever language they speak.

GSA Special Events - Zoom Style 

FIRST SATURDAY Speaker Meeting
This is an OPEN meeting of GSA, meaning that anyone who would like to learn more about the GreySheet solution is invited to attend. There are two speakers, and in-between the speakers we celebrate anniversaries - years, months, and a day - with virtual chips!! So if you have an anniversary between March 1 and April 3, come get your virtual chip and let us celebrate your abstinence.
Saturday, May 1st
Start time is 7:30pm UK time; 2:30pm ET
Zoom ID: 873 5002 0806
No password, there is a waiting room

Groovy GreySheet Gatherings  - Western States Intergroup FUNdraisers
Monthly workshops to gather in fellowship, creativity and connection
First Sunday of Each Month, 3:00 PM ET 
Sunday, May 2, 2021, 3:00 PM ET
Discover your Sacred Path through Native American Teachings 
Hosts:  Rose D. & Annette T. 
Supplies suggested:  Pen & paper for notes
Zoom ID: 968 3976 2598
PW: Universal

WE ARE ONE IN 2021 – Belonging to a Home Group
3 – 10-minute speakers from 3 countries
Date and time: Saturday, May 15, 12 noon ET 
Zoom ID:  846 8518 1548

April 2021 - Monthly Board of trustees Liaison Report

Whenever anyone, anywhere realizes they have a problem with food, they think if GreySheet.

Welcome to the April 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the April 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Question and Answer - World Service Conference

Welcome to the March 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

Keeping it Green During COVID-19

Welcome to the February 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the February 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

As Valentine's Day approaches, many of us reflect on the nature of love. It is all too easy sometimes to get pulled into the marketing of love presented by advertising and the media. These can include being "completed" by a significant other or general fuzzy feelings towards the people in our lives. In the past, if we felt like we did not measure up, we may have tried to seek comfort from foods not on the GreySheet. This always led us back to powerlessness and unmanageability. We might have attempted to change this by using our own willpower, but we inevitably found ourselves pulled back into the cycle of the phenomenon of craving and the mental obsession that comes with taking the first compulsive bite. 

In GreySheet, we learn that love is a verb, and we begin to practice loving actions toward ourselves and others. We stay abstinent, we sponsor, and we are sponsored; we participate in fellowship and outreach; we protect anonymity, and we do service. Our dignity and self-respect are restored. Eventually we learn to not beat ourselves up with our character flaws, and instead to finally accept ourselves as human; to embrace the parts of us that are awesome; and to provide care and understanding to the parts of ourselves that are still growing and changing. We learn that a Higher Power can restore us to sanity and give us the strength to remain abstinent a day at a time, no matter what.

Upcoming Meetings

All interested GreySheeters are welcome!

Have you joined your GS sisters and brothers at one or more of these meetings? Each one is an opportunity to expand your recovery by learning more about the framework that guides our work together. If you’re a delegate, you’ll definitely want to clear your calendar and attend each of these meetings. This is how we get essential information and guidance for giving our best to the groups we serve.

Welcome to the January 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the January 2021 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

This past year has been hard for many of us, and may have been full of illness, financial hardship, and separation from friends and loved ones.  However, 2020 has been enlightening in other ways, helping us realize how important our connections are in our lives, and in the world around us. We can hope that 2021 will be better. Perhaps the pandemic will lose its hold on the planet in 2021.  Perhaps we will learn to value each other across the globe and across racial divides. If so, we can truly become one in 2021. 

Videoconferencing has helped connect us in this socially distanced time, and we GreySheeters are practiced at using the phone and video to connect across the world. Exciting things are planned for 2021. The GSA Communication Committee is launching a Podcast! Many GSA intergroups across the world are doing exciting work and Service Matters hopes to focus on those Intergroups.  We can join one another in carrying the message, sharing recordings of speakers, putting on virtual conferences, and learning to juggle time zones.  As a young 12-step group, we are still learning to function on the world stage and be less USA-centric.  The Communication Committee will be hosting a Global Speaker Series every other month this year, featuring speakers from all over the world. Unity is the first GSA tradition for a reason. Unity is foundational.

Upcoming Meetings

Welcome to the December Issue of Service Matters!

Welcome to the December 2020 issue of Service Matters, your answer to the question, “What’s Up in GreySheet?” regarding all the work done for GSA as a whole to carry the message to compulsive eaters who still suffer.

As compulsive eaters, we have a disease of perspective. For many during the holiday season, with family get-togethers and lavish spreads of indulgent glut, this can be a more commonly encountered reminder than other times of the year. Sometimes we need extra help to know what’s too much and what’s not enough. Miraculously, with the aid of our Higher Powers and our trusty scales, we find that in GreySheeters Anonymous we’re given exactly what we need--all that’s required is the simple act of surrender. But we don’t have to face these holidays alone. In the fellowship of GSA, we have the benefits of being both a widespread international community and the warmth of a tight knit communal village. As the thread of our common GreySheet abstinence binds us together, we can take time to learn about one another’s lives, our different traditions and customs, the rituals we are still able to observe and what we have had to adopt and avoid as we protect our abstinence and put it first in our lives, on holidays and every day. Whether we are in Reykjavik or Redondo Beach, Tel Aviv or Teluknaga, we all have a common solution to compulsive eating, and we all have more to share with one another to deepen our connection and strengthen our recovery one day at a time.

Upcoming Meetings

1. Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166
    Sunday, December 13, at 12:00 Noon ET
 
2. Concept 2 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, December 20, at 1:00pm ET
 
3. Tradition 2 meeting ID: 791 453 380 
    Sunday, December 27, at 1:00 pm ET.

Board of Trustees Column

Hi GreySheeters,

I am Ofer L, a member of the Board of Trustees from Israel. It is an honor for me to meet you all here and to serve the Israeli and world communities of GreySheeters.
 
I joined GSA at the beginning of 2002 and I’ve been abstinent since Jan 25, 2002. I joined the Board of Trustees at the end of 2016 to advance our main goal - helping our organization reach those compulsive eaters who still suffer. My involvement with the board isn’t surprising since the business world, organization development, and implementation of projects have always been easier for me than healing my eating addiction!
 
As a board member, I served as the board liaison to the GreySheet Committee from 2018 to 2020. It was my mission to improve our unity and represent the international community voice: different cultures, different languages, different foods, different weighing and measuring systems, etc. We worked for over 30 months on GreySheet abstinence clarifications and sponsor guidelines. I would like to thank and praise all the members of the committee for their ability to survive this Sisyphean, long mission. They reviewed every line on the GreySheet, they addressed every question of our community members, they reviewed each issue at least 3 rounds (sometimes even 5), and the most important thing for all GreySheet Committee members was our community UNITY.
 
Last year I joined a new committee of the Board of Trustees, the BOT Seventh Tradition Committee. Why? Because World Services needs resources to accomplish our primary purpose - to stay abstinent and carry the GreySheet message to the next compulsive eater! We can achieve this target through upgrading our web presence, publishing new literature, and building a presence on social media networks – which we cannot achieve without financial resources.
 
I invite you all, my fellow GreySheeters, to join us, each in his or her own way – through a Seventh Tradition contribution to World Services, through serving on a committee, and most importantly, through strengthening our unity.

Stay abstinent and carry the GreySheet message to the next compulsive eater.

GSA Special Events

Gifts Of The Season
European Intergroup Newmarket Retreat

  Sunday 13 December 4-6pm GMT, 11am-1pm EST- Meetings
  6-7pm GMT 1-3pm EST - Meal together
  7-8pm GMT 3-4EST - Entertainment
  Zoom ID: 747 5025 4803
  Password: universal
   
SAVE THE DATE! GSAWS Communication Committee: 
From Isolation to Connection 

Q & A

Q: I have seen people from all over the world on Zoom meetings in the last several months. I know that we refer to GSA as a world-wide community, but how do we carry the message in different languages?

A: In the years of its existence, the GreySheet has been translated to different languages, and we are currently in the process of making sure that these translations are formally approved by a process headed by the Literature Committee. We want to ensure that no matter what language the GreySheet appears in, the copyright always belongs to GSA. There is an application process to follow if and when a new translation is done. Not only is accurate translation important, but also distribution of hard copies from one GSer to another, since the GreySheet always comes with a sponsor.

Currently, the GreySheet is translated in the following languages: Hebrew, Icelandic, Polish, Dutch, American Spanish, Castilian Spanish and French.  It is in the process of being translated to Bulgarian and German.

If you would like to get a GreySheet, please contact your Intergroup Representative who will see to it that one is mailed to you.

December 2020 - Monthly Board of Trustees Liaison Report Highlights

Whenever anyone, anywhere realizes they have a problem with food, they think of GreySheet.

Starting in November 2020, the Liaison Report has a new alternating format: One month we will continue our reports on the four core functions to achieve our vision, Integrity, Website, Literature, and Public Information. One month, we will report on general World Service news.

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services

1. Service Opportunity
   GSAWS is looking for new chairs for two committees:
   1. Website
   2. Public Information

         Neither position requires technical expertise; your role is to facilitate the work of, and represent, the committee.
         Email greysheet@greysheet.org if you are interested in learning more about this service opportunity.

2. What in the World is World Service?
   In November, the Communications Committee restarted the annual cycle of Committees Connecting monthly meetings. The purpose of these meetings is to facilitate communication between committees and to update delegates about interim policies and procedures. Everyone is welcome to attend.
   The officers of the Board of Trustees presented What in the World is World Service? The presentation will be on the website under World Service Conference 2020.
3. Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts for GSRs and ISRs
   The Communications Committee also restarted the Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts meetings for GSRs and ISRs to prepare for the conference meeting. Each GSR and ISR will choose at least one of each meeting at which to represent their intergroup and committee.
4. Committee Chairs / Intergroup Service Representatives
   The chairs and ISRs meet monthly to review suggested policies, procedures, and materials from other committees and the board. Once approved by this group and the Board of Trustees, we implement these on an interim basis until the entire assembly of the conference ratifies them. Some of the most important interim policies include:
   1. GSA and A.A. Intellectual Property: Steps, Traditions, Concepts, Preamble, and Group Purpose
   2. GSA and A.A. Intellectual Property: Promises
   3. Distribution of GreySheets
   4. Translation of Copyright Material
   5. Personal Safety Guidance
   6. Responsibility Statement
   7. GSA Group Treasurer Pamphlet
   8. Registering GSA Groups
   9. Sustaining WSC Committees
   10. Communication with Trusted Servants
   11. Delegate Participation in Traditions and Concepts

These are all available on the website under World Service Conference 2020.

Board of Trustees

5. Eunice M. from Ohio is the newest trustee elected to the Board of Trustees. She will serve as a backup liaison to the MidWest Intergroup with Joyce S. and as a backup liaison to the Communication Committee with Lee T. 
   We are still looking for a trustee from Europe. The requirement is five years of back to back GreySheet abstinence. You can nominate yourself or someone else on the website under Board of Trustees.
6. Delegate Training - Rochelle K., Trustee, will coordinate delegate training workshops for World Service Conference 2021 in Spring and Fall
7. Personal Safety - Laura L., Vice President, is assembling a committee to research and recommend personal  safety guidance to the fellowship. Interested? Email greysheet@greysheet.org

   ---

Help Wanted! Service Opportunities