2019 World Service Conference in Chicago was a huge success!!

Friday:

1. Submission of Voting Roll

2. Roll Call

3. Adopted Standing Rules of Order

4. Adopted the Agenda

5. Accepted minutes for 2013, 2014, and 2016 minutes as corrected.

Saturday:

1. Accepted Treasurer’s Report

2. Passed Motion to Elect Board Candidates

3. Passed Motion to adopt approved 12 Concepts of AA adapted with permission

4. Passed Motion to publish report of the GS Committee (Clarification of GreySheet Abstinence)

5. Archives Committee motions were withdrawn

6. Passed Motion to make Website Committee stand-alone

7. Passed Motion to create a GreySheeters Anonymous World Service Style Guide

8. Passed Motion to have the Structure Committee review and work on GreySheeters Anonymous World   Service Conference Charter

9. Passed Motion to have the next World Service Conference October 16-18, 2020

10. Passed Motion   have the next World Service Conference at the Cenacle in Chicago, IL

11. Passed Motion to approve the Process for Reading, Amending, and Approving Draft Minutes for the 2019 and Subsequent Word Service Conferences

12. Failed Motion to schedule future World Service Conferences only when reserve is saved

13. Failed Motion to cap individual contributions to less than 10% of operating budget

14. Failed Motion to consult the fellowship when budget changes exceed $1000 or 25% of total budget

15. Passed Motion to develop Financial Policies and Procedures in conjunction with Service Manual

Sunday:

1. Passed Motion for the concept of long-form literature Living Abstinent

2. Passed Motion to define short-form literature as less than 2000 words and long-form literature as 2000 words or more

3. Passed Motion for the concept of long-form literature One Day at a Time in GreySheeters Anonymous.

4. Motion rescinded to remove the proposed Tagline

5. Passed Motion to make Nominating Committee stand alone

6. Passed Motion to approved method of nominating candidate to the GS Board of Trustees

7. Installation of New Board of Trustees

8. Committee Reports with questions and answers

9. Closing Ceremony and Adjourn

The next conference will be held October 16-18, 2020, so we have one year to get ready for that!! Please, if your group was not able to attend this year due to lack of funds for the GSR’s expenses, start saving money from your 7^th tradition to save for next year’s conference. And if anyone has the desire to do service at this level, please stay tuned to the November issue of Service Matters which will be chockful of ideas on how to get involved.

Quotes from the delegates: At the end of the conference all delegates were asked to think of one sentence to describe what was most meaningful to them from our time together. Here is a sampling of their thoughts. The first is a haiku!!   

"We make the motions
While sitting down: we are still
God moves and shakes us"
 
“Not only did I survive the WSC, I thrived.”
 
"Wellness starts with ‘we’--Illness starts with ‘I."’
 
"Every delegate had a chance to be heard. The debate was often passionate, but ultimately productive."
 
"Doing service at the level of a GS CONFERENCE.. raises the level of my recovery!!"
 
“So many ideas, so little time. Creating the infrastructure to carry the message takes so much work and that work is being done by a very dedicated and hard-working 5% of our fellowship”

"We cannot do anything alone!  Service is truly what matters as GreySheeters Anonymous grows and continues to carry the message."
 
"It was as if I found a family I never knew – a fellowship of those who were able to listen and hear one another."
 
"One of the Committee leaders referred to their members as "PASSION-ISTAS."  I love that!  May we all stay passionistas for living a beautiful, abstinent life in recovery!"
 
"There's something very special about spending a weekend with people with backgrounds vastly different to mine, that nevertheless share my disease and are just as passionate about this solution. Listening to various arguments for different issues, my mind was changed repeatedly by new points of view that hadn't occurred to me. I return to my world with a refreshed feeling that people really are wonderful."
 
"Service!Service!Service! I slumber in addiction; together we can thrive with abundance to be shared. Having attended two previous WSC's, I was very moved to see how our program has grown in professionalism and purpose." 

"My first conference has further energized me not only to carry the message to the compulsive eater who still suffers, but to carry the message to our GreySheet community of what exciting and vital work our World Services is doing!."

October 2019 - Monthly Board of Trustees Column

Note: Each month, Service Matters will publish a column written by a different trustee on the Board. Each column will include the name of the trustee, a departure from most Service Matters articles, in order to help members get to know their trustees better. Our first column is written by Grainne M, newly elected President of the Board of Trustees for GSAWS.
 
Please meet your 2020 Board of Trustees nominated by the 48 delegates of the 2019 World Service Conference in Chicago and elected by the 2019 Board of Trustees. 

After three years of diligent service, seven Board of Trustees members rotated off the Board of Trustees at the conference. I am sure I speak for the entire fellowship when I say that we are incredibly grateful to them for their stewardship of our organization since the last World Service Conference in 2016.

• Mary M., President

• Yael A. Vice President

• Sue S., Secretary

• Nicole A., Treasurer

• Joy C., Assistant Treasurer

• Bennie T., liaison to the Conference Committee  

• Gulla B., liaison to the Website Committee

We are lucky that Ofer L. and Sara S. agreed to serve another year to help the new members find their feet and ensure continuity. 

Thanks also to the Nominating Committee. The committee worked hard to fill so many positions in one year. Linda GS and her committee (Leigh F., Raina D., Susan B., and Theda S.) met twice a month and reviewed a lot of potential candidates. The Nominating Committee is going to work to return the board to its original 13 members and to continue the rotation of one-third of members each year. If you are interested and qualified, please volunteer via the website (or suggest another talented and willing GreySheeter).
https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees/nominating-committee

The incoming board is already transitioning the business of the not-for-profit corporation. We are working with the conference committees to implement the decisions of the delegates and to continue their existing projects. And we are supporting the Intergroup Service Representatives in ensuring that every member of our fellowship hears the results of the conference and has a chance to ask questions. We are excited to get started supporting members, groups, and intergroups in our primary purpose – to stay abstinent and carry the message.
Stay tuned for monthly updates from your board and get in touch: gsawsbot@gmail.com. We want to hear from you.

Board of Trustees Town Hall on October 27, 2019 at 10:00 AM EST

The incoming Board of Trustees of GreySheeters Anonymous World Service will continue the wonderful innovation of the outgoing Board of Trustees and host a Zoom Town Hall quarterly. All GreySheeters Anonymous members are invited, especially those who serve the fellowship as trusted servants. We ask all Intergroup Service Representatives and WSC Committee Chairs to encourage their members to participate.

The first quarterly Town Hall will be October 27th at 10 am ET. Subsequent Town Halls will be in January. April, and July 2020.
 
We will report on the just-completed World Service Conference – informing you of changes approved by your delegates. We will also introduce your new Board of Trustees and outline projects the conference committees will be working on in 2020.
 
We welcome your questions before the Town Hall to the chair of the Communications Committee at southwestintergroup@gmail.com. We welcome your questions and suggestions during the Town Hall, too! Come meet your new board and hear the exciting work your committees will be undertaking so we can all fulfil our primary purpose – to stay abstinent and carry the message to the next compulsive eater.
 
The meeting will be recorded and the audio published in Service Matters in November. We will record and publish the Questions and Answers as well as your suggestions.
 
GSAWS BOT is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.
 
Topic: GSAWS Town Hall
Time: Oct 27, 2019 10:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Join Zoom Meeting
https://zoom.us/j/717731799 
Dial by your location
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
        +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)
        +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
Meeting ID: 717 731 799
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ag7TOBn9z

The post-conference version (committee chairs only) of Committees Connecting will take place on Tuesday, October 22, at 8:00 PM EST as committee chairs meet to gear up for our very busy new year in anticipation of WSC 2020.  The usual Zoom meeting of all committee members will start up again soon.
 
ISR’s (Intergroup Service Representatives) will be meeting on Sunday, October 13, at 12:00 PM EST to discuss how best to communicate the results of WSC 2019 to the entire fellowship. Intergroups are encouraged to send their alternate ISR, ISR-elect, or vice-chair or other officer if they can’t make it.

Upcoming Events

*** Please check https://greysheet.org/events for details and contact information.

• European Intergroup Retreat, October 18 - 20, 2019, Newmarket, England

• 29^th Annual NYC GreySheet Roundup:  November 9  - 10, 2019, New York, NY

The September 2019 World Service Conference in Chicago is nearly here!!

Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Meeting

Town Hall Meeting Next Month!

The next Board of Trustees (BOT) Town Hall meeting is scheduled for Sunday, July 21^st at 11:00 AM EDT. Groups with questions or concerns they would like the Board to address should send them to southwestsintergroup@gmail.com before June 13^th.
 
The Zoom Link for the Board of Trustees Town Hall Meeting July 21 at 11:00 AM EST is: https://zoom.us/j/555523493.
You can attend by telephone using the following numbers.
 
Dial by your location
        +1 646 876 9923 US (New York)
        +1 669 900 6833 US (San Jose)
        +1 408 638 0968 US (San Jose)

Meeting ID: 555 523 493

A Friendly Reminder from the Conference Committee to Delegates of the 2019 WSC

Regarding Minutes and Transcripts

June 15, 2019 is the deadline to submit in writing to the Conference Committee (wscregistration@greysheet.org) any questions, concerns, inconsistencies, etc. between the proposed Minutes and the Transcripts for 2013, 2014, or 2016. As noted in the documentProcess for Approving Draft Minutes WSC 2013, 2014, 2016 of GreySheeters Anonymous(previously provided), remember to include the following information:

1. The year of the Minutes (2013, 2014 or 2016);
2. The year of the Transcript (this will match the year of the Minutes);
3. The page number(s) in the Minutes;
4. The page number(s) and line number(s) in the Transcript;
5. Your recommended correction to the Minutes; and
6. Your reasoning for the correction.

Committees Connecting Meeting!

The May 5^th Committees Connecting meeting began at 2:00 PM EST on Zoom. Two committees shared their motions and recommendations: the GS Committee and Archives Committee.
 
GreySheet Committee 
First, the GS Committee Chair explained the mandate from the Board of Trustees for the GreySheet Committee, how the committee has been working, and the two motions that we publish two pamphlets.
 
Comments from 2019 delegates included questions about the Conference Approved Literature process, concern that members get to read the GS Committee report before voting on its approval at the World Service Conference, a desire that more time be given for members to look at the content of the pamphlets and not just the concepts for them, a question as to whether the pamphlets are needed by the fellowship and follow the principles of the program; specific situations that the GS Committee, e.g., members counting days, members under a doctor’s care, instances of religious practices observance, etc. Please listen to the audio version of the meeting for the entire content of the meeting.
 
Archives Committee
Archives Chair explained the role of the Archives Committee and the work she has been doing to archive documents and to interview people about the history of GreySheeters Anonymous. She described the two proposed pamphlets. Comments and questions included: are interviews available for people to listen to or read? Were interviews edited by the Literature Committee before publication? The chair responded that some of the interviews would be edited for publication in the Oral History book that the Literature Committee is working on, and that it would be great to have them archived on a website that members could search. The Literature Committee has access to all of the interview recordings.
 
Note: For complete audio recording of this Committees Connecting meeting, go to the following link:
https://zoom.us/recording/play/y4Rw8LJtZthVWTcWdrsxd7U7J288-fRK3uq3KvC3VplRhoCh2pJL84kG5EvVu58S?autoplay=true
 
The next Committees Connecting meeting will be held on Sunday, June 9 at 2:00 PM EST. All GSR’s, ISR’s, and delegates to the World Service Conference are especially invited to attend, but all GreySheeeters are welcome. Please use this link:https://zoom.us/j/524747067. Note: this is a new meeting ID.  Committees set to present motions in June are: Communications Committee (Website Subcommittee) and Conference Committee. We suggest that you read the motions before the meeting, which can be found on pp. 8-12 of Motions Worksheet on the GreySheet.org webpage at this link:https://www.greysheet.org/images/WSC2019/GSAWSC2019_Motion_Worksheet_03222019.pdf

Audio recordings of Preparation for Delegate Meetings held on April 28 and April 30 explaining the role of delegates and discussing concerns and questions are available – here are the links!!
Note: There will be another meeting scheduled for August to address delegate concerns as well.

It's Not Too Late to Introduction to Traditions and Concepts!

Delegates to the WSC Conference and other GS members are invited to attend two sets ofZoom meetings on Traditions and Concepts. More information on the GreySheet.org under World Service Conference 2019. 

Most recent Traditions 3&4 meeting held May 5: audio link here:https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6jEY-jK2sLaRWFtaGlQVFYtcERjS2ZiVy1NWWtpS1FNY3ZR/view
 

If you missed last month’s traditions and concepts meeting, here are links to the audio:
 
Most recent Concepts 3&4 meeting held May 12: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6jEY-jK2sLaM0FhNExEaGZPSGQ1bjVlTFc0LTVtRGpFd0tj/view

• (Please fast forward to  minute 7:15 to start at the beginning of the meeting.)

Most recent Traditions 3&4 meeting held May 5:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6jEY-jK2sLaRWFtaGlQVFYtcERjS2ZiVy1NWWtpS1FNY3ZR/view

Openings to New Board of Trustees Members

The Board of Trustees has openings for new Board of Trustees members. Nominating Committee Procedures are located at this link on our greysheet.org website:https://www.greysheet.org/world-services/board-of-trustees/nominating-committee

If interested, please check out the info at this link, along with nomination forms and the email address for the forms.

GreySheet Committee Report

• We are currently answering questions about GreySheet abstinence under various circumstances like eating out, traveling, pregnancy, illness, surgery, hospitalization, maintenance, etc.

• On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we presented the two Board of Trustees/GreySheet Committee WSC2019 motions at the May Committees Connecting meeting. Many GreySheeters Anonymous Groups and Intergroups began discussing the 20 motions for WSC2019 at their May meetings and started with the BOT/GSC motions. As a result of this and the Committees Connecting meeting, we have received many questions and suggestions to our email address (GreySheetCommittee@GreySheet.org). We have added these to the list of topics we are working through.

Once we have addressed all the questions that the fellowship has submitted to us about weighing and measuring from the GreySheet under different circumstances, we plan to review the entirety of our work to make sure that all the clarifications and statements are consistent with each other and to make sure we have covered all the areas where questions and variations have arisen.

Please share these regular updates about our work with your group or intergroup. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email GreySheetCommittee@greysheet.org

Connecticut GreySheet Report

The GreySheet Connecticut Retreat took place May 17-19, 2019 at the Incarnation Center of Ivoryton, CT. The leaders truly gave of their Experience, Strength and Hope to take us farther down the Road of Happy Destiny. The main theme was “Surrender to Win,” and the speakers elicited such honesty and wisdom from the group of sixty-three attendees. The leaders gave of themselves and their own inspiring journeys of recovery. They prepared powerful, exciting, fun exercises to help us form deeper bonds with ourselves and each other. Add to that the gorgeous setting in nature, friendships, new and old, and three rather wonderful GreySheet meals a day, and this Retreat was just extraordinary. Many thanks to the organizers for their expert and loving planning. The swag and raffle provided abundant, clever and beautiful mementos for all.

Service Matters Audio Versions

Service Matters audio versions now available on YouTube. Subscribe to this channel and listen to qualifications and more... 
https://www.youtube.com/user/SoWestIntergroupGSA
 
Link to Service Matters Audio May 2019 issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBl42b8E-0I&t=5s
Link to Service Matters Audio April 2019 issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9cWVEkEr6dM
Link to Service Matters Audio March 2019 issue: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JurazphN8Ro&t=150s

GreySheets Available at the 2019 WSC

The Conference Committee of the GSA WSC 2019 will have GreySheets available for purchase at the conference for $1 each, which will save groups and sponsors the cost of shipping and handling.

Coming Events

Here are some 1-3-day retreats and roundups coming up soon.  Details available athttps://greysheet.org/events:

• 8^th Annual Northern California Roundup July 26-28
• Chicago, IL: August 9-11
• Dublin, Ireland Roundup: August 17^th
• Newmarket, UK retreat October 18^th -20^th

A Friendly Reminder from the Conference Committee to Delegates of the 2019 WSC regarding Minutes and Transcripts

Openings for New Board of Trustees Members

Audio Version of Service Matters Now Available on YouTube!

Preparing for the 2019 World Service Conference (WSC)

Registration Packet

Preparing for the 2019 World Service Conference (WSC)

Registration Packet

Preparing for the 2019 World Service Conference (WSC)

Registration Packet

March 1st is the Deadline for Board and Committee Reports & Motions!

On April 1st, delegates will download your reports, motions, and submitted materials from greysheet.org. Will your committee be ready?

WSC2019 is September 20th – 22nd  2019 in Chicago.

Delegates from intergroups, groups, and the board will be considering motions from the board and all seven conference committees:

• Archives
• Communication
• Conference
• Finance
• Literature
• Public Information
• Structure

Grainne M. will offer two Zoom sessions for the board and committee members to review the Guide to Preparing Your Report.

Come hear issues raised by other committees and ask your own questions.

Please read the four-page Guide beforehand (but come to the session even if you don’t!)

Click the appropriate link to register for either or both sessions and receive the link to join:

Saturday December 15th  11:30 am ET            https://zoom.us/meeting/

Monday December 17th  8:00 pm ET               https://zoom.us/meeting/

Questions? Contact  grainneam@yahoo.com

Board of Trustees Town Hall Zoom meeting

The next GSA Board of Trustees Town Hall Zoom meeting will be held on Sunday, January 20, at 11:00 AM EDT. This is an hour later than previous Town Hall meetings to accommodate members who found it conflicted with their Sunday morning commitments. We hope these members can come to the meeting!!

Please submit any questions you’d like the board to consider by Wednesday, December 12 to ekwiard@gmail.com, so that they can be discussed at the December Board meeting on Sunday, December 16^th.

Anyone and everyone can attend this Zoom meeting. The Meeting ID and time will be announced in the January 2019 Service Matters.

2019 World Service Conference Deadlines

 Registrations and full payment needs to be submitted by February 15, 2019. GSR’s and ISR’s who are attending our World Service Conference (which is a fellowship-wide business meeting)  need to make sure they are informed and ready to vote on issues.

Update from the Literature Committee

We meet once a month usually the third Sunday at 2:30pm EST on the Zoom platform.

We have about 12 permanent members and most come to every meeting.

Current Projects:

--the History Book which was CAL* in 2014.  That will probably not be finished for quite awhile.  Many of the members are doing interviews of GSers who have been around for a long time.  We feel strongly that we want to preserve our history.  The Archives Committee is helping us and we are helping them.

—a book “Living Abstinent” (using Living Sober” as a model).  We hope to have 4 or 5 chapters written to present to WSC 2019 as a motion to have it CAL.  The intention of the book is to present as many questions as possible that a newcomer might have for getting through the first year or so.

—a bookmark to sell at meetings or handout to newcomers.  We hope to have it finished and get permission to use money to have it printed in time for WSC 2019.  GSRs can bring a lot back from WSC 2019 to their meetings.

—Translations of the GS: We are encouraging other countries to translate the GS into their own language.  There is a CAL process to go through.  At present, a Polish translation has been approved for the growing Polish GS community and a French translation is in the works and may be approved within a couple of months.

* Conference Approved Literature

Update from the Greysheet Committee

The GreySheet Committee, an ad hoc committee convened by the Board of Trustees to capture in writing the oral tradition of the original Cambridge GreySheet community, continued its every-other week meeting in October and November.

The ten members, each with over 20 years of back to back GreySheet abstinence and several from the original Cambridge community, continue to clarify areas of the GreySheet where varied interpretations have developed over the years.

In October and November, we covered Fruits, Vegetables, and began Proteins. As we work through the GreySheet itself, we address other questions and issues related to these areas as well.

Our goal is publish a Guide for Sponsors with Clarifications and Explanations, i.e., a thorough and comprehensive list of clarifications of potential misinterpretations of the written GreySheet food plan plus additional explanations for how we have traditionally followed the GreySheet, for example, when eating out, traveling, ill, maintaining a healthy weight range, pregnant, etc. We will also recommend how GreySheeters Anonymous World Service might use the Guide.

Please share these regular updates about our work with your group or intergroup. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email GreySheetCommittee@greysheet.org

Update From the Conference Committee 

The 2019 GreySheeters Anonymous World Service Conference
Friday, September 20th - September 22nd, 2019
@ the Cenacle Retreat and Conference Center.
Chicago, Illinois

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services (GSAWS)

Board of Trustees - Announcements

Sunday, September 16 TOWN HALL Meeting Summary

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services (GSAWS) - Board of Trustees

Announcements

NEXT Meet the Board Zoom Town Hall Meeting: 
Sunday, September 16 at 10:00 AM EST

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services (GSAWS) - Board of Trustees

Announcements

NEXT Meet the Board Zoom Town Hall Meeting: 
Sunday, September 16 at 10:00 AM EST

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services (GSAWS) - Board of Trustees

Announcements

Meet the Board Zoom Town Hall Meeting - 50+ in Attendance!

The GSAWS-open-to-all Town Hall meeting held on June 17th was a wonderful thing to participate in, as 50+ GreySheeters can attest.  While several of the people on the meeting were only using their phone for connection, at least half of us were able to see ourselves face to face, and to meet the board members who are working on our behalf to handle the business of GreySheet world-wide.

The Board members introduced themselves and explained the purpose of the GSAWS Board of Trustees, which is to manage the business of the GreySheet community internationally in matters such as maintaining 501.c.3 status, copyright issues of the GreySheet, and the conferences we hold.

In addition, the questions that were sent in through the Communications Committee prior to the meeting were addressed, one by one, by individual board members. Here is the link to those questions sent to the Board: 

http://greysheet.org/images/pdf/Questions_for_June_17_Zoom_Meeting.pdf

Just as the difference between live face to face meetings and phone meetings cannot be over-emphasized, so too the ability to be together in this cyberspacial way, to have the benefit of nonverbal cues such as facial expressions and hand gestures, added greatly to our understanding each other, emotionally as well as with content. In this way, members could voice their questions and concerns and experience that these were received with humility and respect. Board members often, when tackling a question, affirmed that they were ‘just one GreySheeter, not a spokesperson for GreySheeters Anonymous, and then proceeded to give their best response to the questions.



NEXT Board of Trustees Zoom Town Hall Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, September 16, at 10:00 AM EST. All are invited to attend. We encourage all GSR’s and ISR’s to collect questions and concerns from their groups and send to the Communications Committee at ekwiard@gmail.com by August 15, 2018. These will be compiled and forwarded to the Board of Trustees so that they can respond to them at the September 16 Zoom meeting.  

If GreySheeters would like to attend but are unfamiliar with the Zoom platform and attending video face to face meetings, please feel free to contact ekwiard@gmail.com by Aug. 15 for help downloading the Zoom application on your computer, tablet or phone to be ready for the meeting. Telephone (audio only) connection is also possible.

NEXT GSAWS Conference: Third week of September 2019, Sept 20-22, in Chicago. Details as to conference place are being worked out now! Stay tuned in upcoming Service Matters issue to know how plans are progressing. In the meantime, it’s never too soon to start directing contributions in your groups to help GSR’s and ISR’s get registration, flights and hotel accommodations for the conference.

Q & A Corner

Question: What are the requirements to be a voting member on a Committee or at the World Service Conference?

Answer:  While anyone can attend the World Service Conference and participate in committees, whenever a vote is taken, only those members with one year of back to back abstinence who represent a GreySheet  group or intergroup as a GSR (Group Service Representative)  or three years of service and is active in service as an ISR (Intergroup Service Representative)  may vote. This is to insure the validity and participation of our upside-down pyramid structure where the groups are the most important part of our community. So please, step up to service and get involved, so that your group’s ideas and concerns can be counted!!

The GreySheet Committee Report    

The GSAWS Board of Trustees created the GreySheet Committee to clarify the definition of GreySheet-abstinence as passed down to us from early Cambridge GreySheeters and to draft guidance for sponsors who wish to sponsor GreySheet-abstinence. The intent is for our fellowship to unite again around a common understanding of GreySheet-abstinence.

The twelve members and our Board of Trustees liaison have met twice a month since February. We agreed that our copyrighted GreySheet food plan itself has areas that are ambiguous. We reviewed the GreySheet document to identify those areas that might have led different members of our fellowship to different interpretations of GreySheet-abstinence. Now we are going through these areas one by one.

Each member shares what we had originally been taught when we first got abstinent. Then we agree on a statement that captures our common understanding of that item on the GreySheet. Each statement has “substantial unanimity,” that is, at least 75% of members vote “yes” AND those who vote “no” or abstain (the “minority opinion”) do not have any serious disagreement. In this way, we will have a set of clarifying statements with which the entire committee agrees.

The first set of items we covered was “fats,” i.e., how does the Cambridge GreySheet community interpret the GreySheet when it comes to adding or using butter, oil, and dressing, etc. Now we are working on what the GreySheet says about vegetables. Once we finish our item by item review of the GreySheet itself, we will go back to make sure our statements are consistent and that a substantial unanimity of the committee members still supports them as a totality.

 As you can see, we are working slowly, deliberately, and with consensus. The GreySheet was first published in the late 1960s. The GreySheet community was born in Cambridge, MA in the late 1970s. GreySheeters Anonymous was incorporated in New York in the late 1990s. It took a while for us to get where we are; it will take a while to get back to true north.

Please watch this space for regular updates about our work. If you have any questions or suggestions, please email GreySheetCommittee@greysheet.org. And thanks to those who have already emailed.

The Archives Committee Report    

Since we reported in Dec 2017 Service Matters, the Archive Committee has been busy interviewing people who’ve given service over the years.  The committee is interviewing current and former GSers and support staff from around the world.  Most recently committee chair interviewed a few folks at the London Roundup.

The Archives Committee is interested in what it was like to set up a committee in the early days when our community was small and we didn’t have social media.  Some observations include a small percentage of members take on service positions.  Some have kept the same position for several years while others have changed positions. In addition, the committee is interested in how members extended our reach by adding retreats/roundups, phone bridge, SWIG YouTube channel and Zoom Meetings.

While many are not born leaders, they have stepped up to give service, to carry the message around the world, to support their abstinence, and to build the community.  

Call to Action: GSR’s and ISR’s, please note the following service opportunity and let members in your groups know how they can participate. If you’re interested in being interviewed or assisting with archive activities such as scanning, summarizing and indexing documents send an email to dottie301@hotmail.com. 

The London Roundup   

The 20th Annual London GreySheeters Anonymous Roundup, June 2-3, 2018 was held in a beautiful venue, the Light Centre Monument building, 36 St. Mary at Hill in London.  Since the rooms we used were in a yoga studio, we took off our shoes during the talks! 

Each of the speakers used “Let It Begin With Me” as the theme for their talk.  One member shared in honor of her 37th anniversary of Greysheet abstinence, using questions as a guide for her talk.   How is life when I take “Let It Begin With Me” seriously?  What does it mean to take full responsibility?  Do I believe I am responsible for my thoughts? What have the 12 Steps taught me about this topic throughout my life? 
 
A GSAWS Board member shared and also taught everyone present how to use Zoom. Other shares included experience, strength and hope on staying abstinent through losing a job and a marriage; the trauma of being fat in childhood and the corresponding gift of GreySheet abstinence; trusting in a Higher Power instead of trusting in fear; radiating the joy in abstinence, and the amazing down-to-earth example of service in supporting and sharing this abstinent way of life. 
 
Members enjoyed fellowship while eating the abstinent lunches we brought outside in a lovely courtyard. Many thanks to those whose service made this experience of sharing with GreySheeters from all over the world possible. 

GreySheeters Anonymous World Service (GSAWS) - Board of Trustees
Announcements 

 MEET THE BOARD!

What a wonderful outpouring from the fellowship we have had in response to a request for members to send in questions and topics to be included in the first ever Meet the Board Zoom meeting on Sunday, June 17th at 10:00 AM EST.

The Communication Committee received input from seven groups from Queens, Toronto, Worcester, Taos, Chicago and the Southern Serenity Zoom meeting as well as a few individual members.  Thank you to all for contributing to this effort.   Please attend the meeting on the 17th and encourage fellow GreySheeters to attend. All GreySheeters are welcome!!

Listed below are several of the items mentioned. Similar concerns are grouped below in the interests of space. Please know that the Board has received all questions sent:

• Highlight and increase the offerings of face to face zoom meetings as more become available.

• Concerns about definitions of GreySheet abstinence.

• Questions about literature and the approval process— where and how to get approved pamphlets.

• Suggestion that thank you notes be sent when donations are made.

• Questions about how meetings get listed and changes made in a timely way on the website.

• Concerns about the phone bridge and its connection to GSAWS.

• Concerns about rumors and controversy — that is, when things are said with seeming authority, how does one check for accuracy?

On Sunday, June 17th, at 10:00 AM EST, all are invited to a special Zoom “MEET THE BOARD” video meeting. If you wish to attend, first download the Zoom.us app (free for anyone attending), if you haven’t done so already, and enter the meeting ID at the time the meeting begins. The Meeting ID is:

Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: https://zoom.us/j/690802497
Or iPhone one-tap: US: +14087403766,,690802497#  or +16468769923,,690802497# 
Or Telephone:
    Dial (for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location): 
    US: +1 408 740 3766  or +1 646 876 9923  or +1 669 900 6833 
    Meeting ID: 690 802 497
    International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/Xy5IBSNy

 Q & A Corner

Question: What is the GreySheet Committee and why was it started? What are they actually doing?

Answer: As announced in March, our Board of Trustees of GreySheeters Anonymous World Service, in response to increasing concern about varying interpretations of what we mean when we say we are “GreySheet-abstinent,” convened a committee of GreySheeters with at least 20 years of back to back GreySheet-abstinence. Two of our members have over 40 years and four have over 30 years. Four of the Committee members got abstinent in the early days of the GreySheet community in Cambridge. The committee includes members from all over the USA and from Israel.

The Board asked this GreySheet Committee to clarify the definition of GreySheet-abstinence as passed down to us from those early Cambridge GreySheeters and to draft guidance for sponsors who wish to sponsor GreySheet-abstinence. The intent is for our fellowship to unite again around a common understanding of “GreySheet-abstinence.”

The Committee has been meeting twice a month since February. They agreed that the GreySheet pamphlet itself has areas that were ambiguous or open to different understandings and so they decided to start by reviewing the GreySheet to identify those areas that might have led different members of our fellowship to different interpretations of “GreySheet-abstinence.”

Once they identified these ambiguities, they agreed to review them one by one. Each member shares what he/she had originally been taught when they first got abstinent. It has been quite amazing how much commonality there has been. Then, they agreed on a statement that captures their common or agreed understanding of that item on the GreySheet. For the statement to carry, it must pass with what AA calls “substantial unanimity,” that is, at least 75% of they committee voting “yes” AND those voting “no” or abstaining had to be able to live with it, i.e., they did not have any serious disagreement. In this way, the committee members want to produce a set of clarifying statements with which the entire committee is comfortable. The committee is working slowly and deliberately because they know how important this is to the survival of the GreySheet message. 

Any input or questions, please forward to GreySheetCommittee@greysheet.org"

Connecticut's Annual GSA Weekend Retreat, May 18-20, 2018

This vibrant GSA community just had their 18th successful retreat at the Incarnation Center in Ivoryton, CT,  with approximately 60 participants from all over the United States and International communities.

“RETREAT INTO ACTION,” this year’s theme, started with our pulling back from the individual demands of our everyday lives, allowing space and time to concentrate on being present, without needing to prepare, plan, or cook. What a gift to be with fellow greysheeters weighing guilt-free meals deliciously prepared by the staff.

The breakout group topics focused on: Don’t Eat NMW; Greysheet Abstinence and Health Issues; Letting Go of Fear; and To Thine Own Self Be True.

It was heartening to have the full range of abstinence represented, from 1 day to multiple decades of back-to-back recovery. Being able to show newly abstinent folks the practical NMW hands-on actions was satisfying and heart-warming. The speakers’ and group shares certainly showed how this 3-fold disease has a 3- fold solution through the 12 Steps and the GSA Tools.

The balance between serious and fun, interactive and reflective, relaxing and active was just right. For the creative spark, a crafts table was set up for designing inspiring slogan signs. There was time for Step 11 prayer & meditation, writing exercises, and resting. Connecting with self and each other truly made this weekend restorative and healing.

GreySheeters Anonymous World Service (GSAWS) - Board of Trustees - Announcements

Announcements from the GreySheeters Anonymous World Service (GSAWS) Board of Trustees

Happy GSA 20th Anniversary!!

Every one of us gets to celebrate this milestone of our fellowship!!

Make sure you see our GreySheet Counts results on our website
beginning April 6!

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services - 2018 Operating Budget

The 2018 budget was approved by the Board of Trustees, now available for review on the GSAWS website. Main budget highlights:

Income:                     $12,150
Operating Expenses:   $13,445
Net Income:               $(1,295)

Prudent Reserve: (50% of expenses): $6,800

Click here for detailed review of the planned 2018 budget, compared to 2017 Actual budget.

GreySheeters Anonymous World Services - 2013-2017 Profit/Loss 

Following is the 5-year P&L (in Quickbooks):

Total donation income:                  $77,990.18
Other income (WSC registrations): $13,000.00
Total income:                                $90,990.18

Total WSC expenses:                     $76,975.39
Total operating expenses:              $32,619.66
Total Expenses:                           $109,595.05

Income/Expenses difference:        $(18,604.87)

Click here for detailed review of the 2013-2017 Profit/Loss.

Focus on Literature Committee

The Literature Committee of GreySheeters Anonymous is a group of men and women who are committed to living the GreySheet steps, traditions and concepts. Our primary purpose is to stay abstinent and to carry the message of recovery to compulsive eaters. It is our duty to create clear and concise pices of long and short form literature, spiritual in nature, that is helpful to and speaks the language of both compulsive eaters and food addicts that still suffer and those who are maintaining their abstinence (from the Literature Committee Charter).

The Literature committee has created short-form literature such as the newest, located on the GreySheet.org Home page, “Definitions and Slogans,” as well as public information brochures also available on the GreySheet website, “Young People’s Pamphlet,” and “A Solution for the Compulsive Eater.” The committee is currently working on a GreySheet History Book.

The Literature Committee, in conjunction with the Archival Committee who will record the oral history of GreySheeters Anonymous, will provide a volume to supplement the project with extensive interviews from our old-timers and how countless lives were saved from compulsive eating and food addiction.

The committee is reaching out to the GreySheet community for volunteers in conducting interviews and transcribing with the history book. Anyone interested in serving as a volunteer
on this committee should contact Jmelmore.jm@gmail.com for further information.

Q & A Corner

Question: What does No Matter What mean?

Answer: GreySheet abstinence is saving my life, one day, one meal at a time. No matter what means it doesn't matter what else happens in my day; it doesn't matter who does or doesn't understand why I must do what I must do to stay abstinent; it doesn't matter how graceful or bumbling I am when weighing and measuring my food in public; it doesn't matter how I feel in between my meals.

What matters is staying abstinent today so that I can make that choice tomorrow. What matters is asking for help when I'm confused about something while getting my meal together so that I can have clarity about the food I am eating. What matters is putting my abstinent head on my pillow at night and waking up abstinent. What matters is that three times a day, no matter what kind of day I am having, good, bad or indifferent, I will do what it takes to weigh and measure my food off the grey sheet, food that will nourish me, satisfy me, taste delicious and take care of what my body needs. And then, no matter what happens after that, when my next meal comes, I do the same
thing.

I don't have to be able to explain or prove why GreySheet abstinence works, but my life and the lives of all of us in this community are witnesses that it does work. It really does. How does GreySheet abstinence work? Very well, thank you, one day, one meal at a time.

Seventh Tradition: Every GSA group ought to be fully selfsupporting, declining outside contributions

The following is an excerpt from October 1967 Grapevine, by Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous:
AA's far-flung Twelfth Step activities, carrying the message to the next sufferer, are the very lifeblood of our AA adventure. Without this vital activity, we would soon become anemic; we would literally wither and die.

Now where do AA's services – worldwide, area, local—fit into our scheme of things? Why should we provide these functions with money? The answer is simple enough. Every single AA service is designed to make more and better Twelfth Step work possible, whether it be a group meeting place, a central or intergroup office to arrange hospitalization and sponsorship, or the world service Headquarters (now the General Service Office) to maintain unity and effectiveness all over the globe.

Though not costly, these service agencies are absolutely essential to our continued expansion—to our survival as a Fellowship. Their costs are a collective obligation that rests squarely upon all of us. Our support of services actually amounts to recognition on our part that AA must everywhere function in full strength—and that, under our Tradition of self-support, we are all going to foot the bill.”

New York Metro Intergroup News

The Fourth Annual Long Island Speaker Jam will be held on Saturday, April 14 at Levittown Hall, 201 Levittown Parkway, Hicksville, NY 11801. Details under the Event tab of greysheet.org or at www.greysheetny.org/events

New!! NY GSA Information Line 336-447-3974 or (336-4gr-eysh)
This number is listed on GSA Meetings – Metropolitan New York Area & Long Island, GSA NY Metro Intergroup website as well as upcoming events documentation and flyers i.e.
Speaker Jam. This new Google number was set up for the purpose of people finding us, to find out where to go, what number to call etc. We are using it as public information tool to attract new people or to let people know that there is hope out there versus a helpline for existing members.

Intergroups - mail us your news and we will publish it in the next Service Matters edition!

Inspiration Corner

I am a hopeless compulsive overeater who has found the answer to my problem. Before GreySheet, I was prey to any new diet, any new fad that promised to help me lose the weight that made me so miserable. I believed if I were thin, I would be happy. I lost the weight; I saw the number on the scale that was supposed to qualify me as lovable, capable and worthy of happiness. I bought the skinny jeans, and I was so convinced I would never be fat again, I celebrated with my favorite things: carbs, sugar and grains, of course! And I boomeranged back up the scale, crying into my cartons, boxes and bags and unable to stop. I couldn't stop more than temporarily. I couldn't stay stopped.

I needed more than a food plan, but I needed the right food plan. GreySheet is the right food plan for me. I love food more than most people. I don't have to give that up in GreySheet, but I do have to give up certain foods that are poison for me and set me up to have cravings. Then I have to weigh the right amounts, commit my food to my sponsor, and don't eat in-between no matter what.

I need a fellowship. I need to know that I'm not the only one carrying my scales with me, that I'm not the only one on the planet doing this. And I need to know that every single day. I can't do this alone. I never could. Thank you, GreySheet, for helping me get abstinent, stay abstinent, and help other compulsive overeaters achieve abstinence.

Announcements from the GreySheet World Service Board of Trustees (GSAWS BOT)

* Regarding the GreySheet Committee

In the Fall of 2017, the Chair of the Board of Trustees consulted with our copyright attorney to see if the “Extended GreySheet” constituted an infringement of our copyright. The attorney suggested that, since certain aspects of GreySheet abstinence were not spelled out on the GreySheet, a document be prepared to clarify the foods, measurements, and instructions without changing anything on the copyrighted GreySheet.

A committee of 14 GreySheeters Anonymous members, each with at least 20 years of back to back GreySheet abstinence, has been commissioned by the Board of Trustees to address the situation of variation in our common interpretation of GreySheet abstinence.

The BOT asked the committee to consider two tasks:

1. Clarify GreySheet abstinence as interpreted by a sponsor. This may include elaborating on the existing GreySheet pamphlet by writing down those practices commonly understood to be part of GreySheet abstinence
but which are not included on the original pamphlet. It will not include altering the GreySheet itself in any way.

2. Draft a document - Guidelines for Sponsoring GreySheet Abstinence - to help sponsors pass on this common definition of GreySheet abstinence.

The committee will also consider recommendations to the Board of Trustees and the World Service Conference for how these documents may be used.

Historically, we have had a certain amount of minor variation in what sponsors deem GreySheet-abstinent. In recent years, a growing number of people have been changing the definition. In addition to more people making changes, there is also an increasing degree of variation, including adding foods not listed and adding meals.

GreySheeters Anonymous World Service Board of Trustees and the GreySheeters Anonymous World Service Conference have previously adopted a “hands-off’ approach to these developments because of traditional GreySheet community principles such as, “Your abstinence is between you and sponsor.”, “Keep your eyes on your own plate.”, “There are no GreySheet police.”

However, more and more GreySheeters are expressing increasingly serious concern about these changing interpretations of GreySheet abstinence. Their concerns include:

• Other interpretations of GreySheet abstinence may not be as effective in arresting compulsive eating.

• It may be confusing and disheartening to newcomers to have multiple interpretations. Part of the effectiveness of GreySheet is that we know that others have been abstinent using the same interpretation through whatever “No Matter What” situations arise. This provides faith that each of us can also be abstinent through similar challenges. If we are all doing something different, we may weaken the belief that we can maintain our abstinence. Splintering into multiple “lines” of the fellowship which used to be united around one common interpretation of GreySheet-abstinence may lead to the breakup of GreySheeters Anonymous as a fellowship. This would make it more difficult to carry the GreySheet message to the next compulsive eater seeking a solution.

In November 2017, the Board of Trustees voted to authorize a committee to address these concerns and recruited members from the USA and Israel with more than 20 years of GreySheet abstinence. The new GreySheet Committee had its first meeting in February 2018 and will continue to meet every other week.

Questions or Comments: GreySheetCommittee@greysheet.org

* Regarding the World Service Conference

After significant work done by the Conference Committee and considerable discussion, the Board of Trustees voted at their last meeting to postpone the World Service Conference from October 2018 to the Fall of 2019 for the following reasons:

1. To provide the GSA Committees enough lead time to develop well thought out motions that the Fellowship can review and comment on prior to the Conference.

2. To give the GSAWS BOT and the Conference Committee more time to determine the exact cost of the WSC for those GSRs and ISRs who will be attending; the BOT is determined to keep the Fellowship solvent and not allocate the entire operating budget to the WSC.

3. To allow sufficient time to collect donations to send GSRs/ISRs to the Conference.

GreySheet Counts!  The Census Closes on March 31st, 2018!

GreySheeters Anonymous will celebrate its 20th anniversary as a separate 12-step fellowship on April 6th, 2018. To mark the occasion and in the spirit of the 12th step, to carry the message, we will publish a map on www.greysheet.org on our anniversary. The map will show the number of people weighing and measuring without exception from the GreySheet in every state and country and the amount of GreySheet-abstinence we have.

This will demonstrate to the newcomer that there is a solution to compulsive eating that works, that GreySheet can work everywhere, and that they can reach out and find GreySheet wherever they are.

634 GreySheeters have counted themselves in so far. The preliminary results show the strength of our fellowship.

The census closes on March 31st. To strengthen our message with your abstinence, Count Yourself In.

You will have the option to join the GSA Phone List with over 650 members or you may participate anonymously. If you are a trusted servant for a GreySheeters Anonymous meeting or Intergroup, please announce this service opportunity at your meetings in March. Members can go to www.greysheet.org / Events / GreySheet Counts for the link to the census or, if they do not have internet access, call 713 594 1728.

GSA Phone List

The GSA Phone List is a service of GreySheeters Anonymous World Service available to members who join the list. To join this list of 693 GreySheeters in 22 countries and 44 US states and territories, register here.

You will receive a User Name and Password and be able to access the list online on your phone, tablet, or computer or download a copy. The list is updated weekly with new members and all members are verified at least once a year so you can be sure that you are calling committed, active members.

Members report using the list to:

• Make three calls a day to other GreySheeters
• Find GreySheeters when they travel
• Start or grow a meeting in their area
• Invite members to GreySheet events like Round Ups, Retreats, and Gatherings
• Find a new sponsor.

The members of the GSA Phone List constitute an amazing source of Experience, Strength, and Hope about living in the GreySheet solution.

Reflections After a GSA Retreat

Held at the Bishop Molloy Retreat House on February 2-4, 2018, the 2nd Annual Queens Weekend Retreat was a success and a great experience for the eighteen people who attended (six more than attended in 2017). They came from Seattle, Atlanta, Massachusetts and NYC Boroughs Tri-City and Tri-State regions.

The event flyer highlighted prosperity, abundance, success and gratitude, which provided a powerful foundation. The theme for the weekend was “The Promises,” focusing the attendants on recovery and working on ourselves together, and one retreat planner reported, “We did lots of activities designed to do just that.”

The weekend was winter cold, with back-to-back sessions, abundant and delicious food prepared by a chef attentive to GreySheet needs, and meetings with qualifying speakers and others sharing their experience, strength, truth and hope about life in No Matter What abstinence. There was little time for relaxing, but it all contributed to getting to know each other deeply and well.

A debrief on Sunday cited the outreach efforts used to promote the event: mentioning the retreat on phone meetings, using all the email lists to send the flyer out; posting the flyer on the Greysheet website and sending out emails to participants who had attended GreySheet retreats in the past.

Upcoming Events

We invite you to refer to our full list of events on our constantly updating and informative Events Page!

Message of Hope - Keep Coming Back and STAY!

While the newcomer to GSA is often heartened to hear the words, “Keep Coming Back” from members, once a period of abstinence is attained, whether it's 30, 60, 90 days or a year, the message from longer-timers to the not-so-newbie is, “Stay.”

Stay when you're at your goal weight and wondering if you really need meetings and daily contact with your sponsor.

Stay when your abstinent life has delivered you to wonderful relationships, challenging and rewarding jobs or a career.

Stay when you wonder if the GreySheet food plan is really healthy for you after all this time.

Stay when you think you have the discipline now to do this on your own.

Stay when you just can't imagine being an old person in a nursing home doing what it takes to stay abstinent.

Because all of these thoughts are not simply thoughts. They seem reasonable, especially to those outside of our community. But they are the voice of the disease.

Stay until your head clears; until the stress or the lack of stress in your life renders you sane again.

Stay while you pick up the phone and call someone, perhaps a newcomer, who is struggling to have what you have worked so hard to achieve.

Stay to be eligible to lead a meeting, handle the treasury, or represent your group at World Service or Intergroup meetings.

Stay till you know in your bones that you're part of the “We” of this program.

We hope you stay!

Upcoming Events

Sign up soon for any of these events!

Question of the Month

Q:  How do I access meetings through the Zoom platform?

A:  Generally speaking, your computer/phone needs to have a camera and a microphone.

You can download the Zoom app at no cost by going to their website, zoom.us.

Press the Sign up, It's Free button; type in your email address; you will receive a message at the address you've given; confirm and follow the instructions to download the app. It's that simple.

If you have the Meeting ID number (these sometimes change every week), you can open up zoom.us and press Join a Meeting, then typing in that Meeting ID number at the time the meeting is supposed to start. That's it! You're in!!

If you receive an invitation on email message, it will contain a meeting ID that you just click on to enter the meeting.

Once in, you can mute and unmute yourself, and click either on Speaker or Gallery View (top right) to see only the person speaking or everyone who is attending the meeting. Laptops and notepads because of their larger screens are generally better than smart phones so you can see everyone who's attending.

Experiment with different ones to see what feels best for you. The list of video meetings (both Zoom and Skype) are on the greysheet.org website on: http://greysheet.org/meetings/skype-meetings 

12 Steps and 12 Traditions of GreySheet Anonymous

Now available for $19.99 (20% discount) softcover and $29.99 (20% discount) hardcover at:  greysheet.org/literature.

Donations always graciously accepted to support the work of the GSA World Service

– and every donation counts!  Go to: greysheet.org/donations 

GreySheet Counts!

The 20th anniversary GSA census called Greysheet Counts! launched on October 1st 2017 and will run until March 31st 2018. The results will be posted on www.greysheet.org on April 6th 2018 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the founding of GSA as a separate 12-Step fellowship. We hope that the world map produced showing 1) the number of GreySheeters weighing and measuring without exception; 2) the average length of GS abstinence in each state and country, 3) how different GreySheeters have found GSA for the first time and 4) where Trusted Servants are holding service positions will show that this program works no matter where you live and will help connect GreySheeters and carry the message.

But we need YOU to Count Yourself In!  Click here  http://eepurl.com/c61zx9 to provide your information. Questions? Contact  GreySheetCounts@greysheet.org or 713-594-1728.

Giving So We All Can Live in the Solution

Our Seventh Tradition states: Every GSA (GreySheeters Anonymous) group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions. What does that mean to us as GreySheet individuals, groups, intergroups and our world-wide community?

It means we value the work that we do in our communities to reach out and support fellow sufferers. It means we contribute to the basket (or zoom/skype PayPal alternative) so that our meetings can continue, that the rent be paid, (or subscription fee for video and phone meetings). This is the minimum required to make sure our groups continue.

But what of the wider fellowship and the world-wide community?

GSA became an organization twenty years ago this April. We have met at World Service Conferences, have become a 501.C.3 organization, and are creating our own literature. While many of us are not as connected to that world-wide organization as the trusted servants who meet regularly as members of the Board of Trustees, Intergroup and GSA reps, it is still our primary purpose to stay abstinent and to help other compulsive eaters to achieve abstinence.

Many are doing service locally by sponsoring, leading meetings, and taking on service positions in their local home groups as treasurer, secretary, and speaker seekers, and this is a wonderful thing. But what of those in outposts who are still in the dark about the resources that are available, such as the GSA phone list and round-ups and retreats?

We in the Communications Committee would like to urge every Greysheeter to look into your heart and think about how you can further support our world-wide community, either by offering service as GSR's (Group Service Representatives), ISR's (Intergroup Service Representatives), or as volunteers working on the conference committees, by giving generously to ensure the successful World Service Conference in 2018, by getting yourselves counted by registering in GreySheet Counts! on the website and by reading Service Matters and becoming more informed.

Here are some suggestions for financial contributions:

1. In 2015, a creative, innovative GreySheeter came up with an idea she called Club 164. The idea was for individual GreySheeters to contribute a monthly sum of $10 to GSAWS (GreySheeters Anonymous World Services) via PayPal. It was a great success, but contributors have dwindled of late. Let's resuscitate Club 164 now! Just donate a small and regular amount (monthly) through PayPal to GSAWS. The address is on the website and you could put your name and Club 164 in the memo to be sure it is counted as such. (Note: 100 GreySheeters contributing $10/month = $1000/month and $12,000 a year.) We have approx. 600 currently on the revamped GSA Phone List.

2. On your GS anniversary, donate $1 for every year of abstinence in gratitude to the program that has given us our lives back!

3. As a group that meets regularly, make sure that your treasurer contributes to the Intergroup and the GSAWS office whether as a regular monthly or quarterly amount, or as a percentage whenever you make a distribution. The percentages should always be set by your own group conscience.

We are small in number compared to AA, but we are mighty!! Let us each take responsibility for the well-being and the future of our fellowship. If you are curious about how GSAWS is spending its money, by all means check out the monthly Treasury Reports under Donations on the web page. Knowledge is power!

Southwest Intergroup (SWIG, formed 2012)

In April 2012, all of the GreySheeters in the SWIG Area (Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas) were asked about forming the Southwest Intergroup. A GreySheeter in Phoenix asked to have Arizona included as there was no Pacific Intergroup yet. In 2014, we were asked if we would include the Southern Serenity meeting (Louisiana and Mississippi) until the SEIG forms. As of October 2015, the SWIG includes Arkansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The first meeting of the SWIG was held May 20, 2012 and we continue to meet monthly since that time.

SWIG Mission Statement - the purpose of the SWIG is to support GreySheeters Anonymous (GSA) groups and outposts (individual members without groups) in attaining and maintaining GreySheet abstinence from compulsive eating and carrying the message to others that GSA offers a solution to this addiction.

Currently the SWIG meets via Zoom monthly to share ideas to strengthen groups and to carry the message to those who still suffer. We distribute the actual printed GreySheet to qualified sponsors in the SWIG according the mandate by GSAWS.  SWIG has participated in the past three GSA World Conferences with our intergroup and group representatives actively working on the GSA WSC committees for Finance, Literature, Structure, Public Information, Conference, and Communication. As part of “carrying the message to those who still suffer”, the SWIG decided to try posting videos on YouTube. The “videos” are audio recordings from individuals in the SWIG with the visuals being some of the GS questions about compulsive eating from “There Is a Solution” brochure moving across the screen. This format was chosen to help people decide for themselves if they are compulsive eaters and if GS might be for them. The YouTube videos are accessible via www.greysheet.org and YouTube or internet search and get between 1300-2000 views monthly.

The Europe Intergroup: Growing from Strength to Strength

From its humble beginnings in 2005, GSA Europe Intergroup now have members from England, Ireland, France, Poland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Slovenia and Slovakia, speaking a mix of 11 European languages.  There are currently 11 meetings to choose from offering a mix of face-to-face, Skype, Zoom and telephone formats.

This Intergroup meets quarterly face-to-face and uses Skype and the telephone to include members who cannot attend in person.  These meetings give GSRs (Group Service Representatives) an opportunity to report on how their groups are running, and also give ISRs (Intergroup Service Representatives) and World Service Delegates an opportunity to update the groups on what is happening at GSA World Services.  Members can ask questions related to service positions, share experience with each other and identify areas that need improving and expanding on.

In addition to receiving 7th tradition donations from its members, the Intergroup hold 2 main events per year to strengthen its ability to be self-supporting and pay for resources to carry the message to the still suffering compulsive eater. The dates for both the 2018 Summer and Autumn events, once confirmed, will be published on greysheet.org.  

Individual groups within the Intergroup, such as the London Group, the Slovakian Group and the Polish Group, hold their own round-ups and pop-up events. 

The Paris Group  schedule of round-ups for 2018:

Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018

Saturday, May 6, 2018

London Round Up is in June so no Paris summer round up:

Saturday, Sept 29, 2018

Saturday, Dec. 1, 2018

We hope to see many of you at these fabulous events.  The London Group are holding their Round-up June 2-3, moved from late March.

Email us at gsaeurope@gmail.com

Other News

We at Service Matters are delighted to bring recent reports from various GSA Service Committees. Here are the reports received so far.

Website Committee 

The Website (Sub)Committee has been working on putting together the requirements for a new GreySheet.org website, based on information gathered from the fellowship, the Board, and the different Committees.

OTHER NEWS

GSA World Services Working Hard to Make Improvements to the Website

GSA World Services wants to say a BIG thank you to all those GSA members who took time to review our website and share suggestions for how it can be improved. Since the beginning of May 2017 we have gathered all these wonderful suggestions together with what was suggested on the June 11 phone bridge meeting, where anyone who cared to called in to discuss these changes voice-to-voice and agree on the best way to proceed. 

GSA World Services Working Hard to Make Improvements to the Website 

GSA World Services want to say a BIG thank you to all those GSA members who took time to review our website and share suggestions for how it can be improved.
 
Since the beginning of May 2017 GSA World Services has been reaching out to the fellowship for suggestions for improvements to our website, greysheet.org.  We have now gathered all these wonderful suggestions together.  On 11 June at 1pm EST a phone bridge meeting was held, inviting all members of GSA to attend to discuss these changes voice-to-voice and agree on the best way to proceed.
 
A Website Update Committee was formed from this phone meeting. The volunteers are now working together to formulate a plan to begin to implement these improvements. There is a lot of work to do and GSA World Services are going to need a lot more volunteers to help carry out this work.
 
The Website Update Committee has shared your suggestions for improvements with website design professionals qualified in the business of updating websites - to ensure greysheet.org is as efficient and user friendly as possible.  The current greysheet.org website suffers from usability issues. While it may be possible to make some improvements to the existing website, there is no getting around the need to re-organize and probably rebuild the site.
 
The job that needs to be done is a much bigger one than originally anticipated and is going to cost in the region of $25,000 to complete – as much money as it costs GSA World Services to host a World Service Conference. Visit Frequently Asked Questions link for more info on this cost.
 
While GSA World Services has a prudent reserve to host the 2018 World Service Conference – it does not have an extra $25,000 in the 7th tradition pot to pay for the redevelopment of the website.
 
This is where GSA World Services is reaching out to you, the members of GSA, to ask for help to raise the funds for the upgrade of your website. The Website is the primary way for us to reach the sick and suffering compulsive eater!
 
In May and June 2017 GSA World Services received in the region of $550 per month in 7thtradition donations from meetings around the world.  This money is used to cover the monthly operating costs of GSA World Services including its Post Office box, monthly web hosting fee and Pay Pal fees (see attached June Treasury Report). This leaves a surplus of around $270 per month.  If just this surplus was put to one side to accrue for the redevelopment of the website – it would take us around 7 years to build up enough money to pay for the website with the current level of 7th tradition donations – and we’d have no money left over for any World Service Conferences.
 
If the update of the GSA website is important to you, please announce at your local meetings and Intergroups the need for extra funds to finance this vital project. Pass the pot a second time for a separate collection.
 
When making donations to GSA World Services Pay Pal account for the Website Update please make any payment reference Web Update and your group identifier. This way we can log each donation, where it came from and keep you informed of a running total - so you know where we are financially from month to month and how close we are getting to reaching our financial goal.
 
This is the only way we are going to be able to afford to update our website to the highest standards. Thank you in advance for all your support.

GSA Phone List Revived!

The International Phone List (IPL) of 800+ GreySheeters lapsed in 2015 after ten years of serving the community. Many people asked how we could make this resource available again. Thanks to GSA World Services (GSAWS), the old IPL has been transformed into the GSA Phone List and is now available on the GSA website, www.greysheet.org.

What is the GSA Phone List?

The GSA Phone List is a secure, members-only contact list for all GreySheeters in the United States and around the world. Access is by user name and password and is only available to those who join the list by providing their own contact information. Join the GSA Phone List here.

Who is on the GSA Phone List?

Over 300 committed GreySheeters have already confirmed their contact information or newly registered. More members join every day. The GSA Phone List has members in 38 US states:

GSA in Slovakia hosts its first roundup

GSA YouTube attracts new members 

Hi Greysheeters I am abstinent and grateful.  I commit my food to my sponsor - I weigh and measure each meal without exception and abstinence is the most important thing I do no matter what today. I was talking to a friend in AA yesterday.  In a cafe she had a soda with flavouring added that contained the stuff she is addicted too.  It slipped past her radar because she can normally purchase it without 'the stuff' at the corner store.  She was rebelling against her sponsor's suggestion she go back to day one.  The lesson I learnt from her, that had not sort of hit me before is that I need to grasp my abstinence a lot harder than I grasp my day count.  Clean abstinence is infinitely more important and useful to me than a long day count.  Goodness knows I've had my share of technical stuff ups (and not so technical also :-}) and each time struggled with the head talk that goes - "it's not a big enough deal to go back to day one with".  Today my abstinence is clean because 309 days ago I fessed up and let go of my day count to stay rigorously honest with this program - and I haven't stuffed up since - Thank you HP and sponsor and GS family!! Anyway, I am stoked to be abstinent as I head towards Christmas, the traditional time of physical, emotional and familial binges! Yay only 12 days to Boxing Day!!!!

IDCGSNMW
Anonymous, NZ
December 13, 2005