Service Matters • January 2022
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.
Share for the New Year
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 1st, 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.
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.
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.
1. WSC2021 Minutes and Transcripts Corrections Deadline December 31st 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 1st.
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 28th 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 18th, 2022
a. Sunday January 16th 10 AM ET 896 6591 9622
b. Tuesday January 18th 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 30th 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.
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 31st 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 1st.
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 28th 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 18th, 2022
a. Sunday January 16th 10 AM ET 896 6591 9622
b. Tuesday January 18th 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 30th 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
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.
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 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
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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
