Service Matters - June 2022

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

What service Means To Me

For the longest time, my service in GS consisted of being a sponsor, going to meetings, being a GSR in a very tiny in-person group that couldn't afford to participate in World Service, and staying abstinent. That served me well when I lived in the Boston area, where meetings were plentiful, and I had plenty of GS friends to call and learn from. I thought I was one of those people who just weren't very good at service, because I wasn't so inclined, as if people who volunteered to participate at the more organized levels of GSA were born that way.

Truly, I took my abstinence for granted, and I too GSA for granted. It wasn't clear to me until I moved to New Mexico, where it took hours to get to a meeting and then drive back, which was not safe in the winter. I was a sole GSer for the first couple of years in Taos, and then, gratefully, a GSer moved here, and we became a solid 2-member group.

After nearly twenty years of b2b abstinence, I had a very scary relapse, taking my will back and going back to Day One, 7 years ago, and thankfully got right back on the abstinence wagon and held on for dear life. I went to two GS retreats, one in Dallas and one in Malibu, met new people, got more phone numbers, and realized that I needed to get involved, to expand my net and my connection to this wonderful fellowship. I didn't want GSA to drift away to nothing, and for that I was responsible to do more.

I stepped up to service, which started by going to phone Intergroup meetings as a GSR. Then we started meeting on Zoom, even before the pandemic started, which really helped our participation and our harmony as a group. The phone is better than nothing but faces really made a difference. I learned that as a GSR, I was expected to get on a committee, so I chose Communications, which I am still on today. I met really neat people from all over, and I started to use my gifts to help GSA as a whole. That's what everybody does on committees and in intergroups. It's an extension of my primary purpose, and it helps my commitment to my own abstinence as well as I can see the effects of my service in the forward movement of our fellowship. Not only that, but the World Service also conferences I've attended allow me to vote on new proposals and changes in GSA. It's awesome!!

It's too easy to fall prey to my own boredom and inactivity unless I have deadlines and scheduled meetings and can hold myself accountable. Structure helps me with the food; structure helps me in every area of my life, including service.

Come join us!! The only experience I had prior to this was in business and group conscience meetings in other fellowships, where sometimes I would need a meeting after attending, because I did not like conflict, and I did not go to many healthy meetings. But this perception is now changed permanently. At committee and intergroup meetings, concept, and tradition meetings, Committees Connecting meetings, and Town Halls, I am surrounded by people who love their food, love their lives, and are learning how to thrive in GSA. I want to thank everyone I know in GSA—for helping me to create a sustainable, contented, and growing life in abstinence.

World Service Conference Resolutions—Available NOW!

Our working resolutions for the 2022 World Service Conference are available on the website.

World Service Conference 2022 Working Resolutions
World Service Conference 2022 Working Supporting Documents

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.

• Committees Connecting meeting ID: 663 470 166 on Sunday, June 12, Noon PM ET
• Concept 8 meeting ID: 791 453 380 on Sunday, June 19 at 1:00 PM ET
• Tradition 8 meeting ID: 791 453 380 on Sunday, June 26  at 1:00 PM ET

Board of Trustees Column - June 2022

My name is Dan, and I am a non-abstinent Class B Trustee. That means I am a trustee who is not a GreySheeter. A Trustee who is a GreySheet member would be a Class A trustee. Boards of other 12 step groups and many other business and civic organizations I am familiar with often have members who are from outside the organization. These outside board members provide diversity and operational expertise to the Board function.

My background is primarily through my 43 years as a member of AA. I have held many service positions in AA over the years. My sponsor told me never to say no when offered an AA service position and that guidance has served me well over the years. Besides making me feel a useful member of the group, it has given me lifetime friends all over the world, including the friend who suggested I volunteer to serve in the open Class B Trustee position of this organization. It has given me a better appreciation for the 12 Step process and how effective it can be.

My initial service position was to set up and put away the chairs. This gave me a reason to show up at every meeting. I asked my sponsor early on how I could know which were the good meetings, so I could make sure to attend those. He said the easiest way to make sure that I attended them all. He also advised that meetings were more meaningful when I went to contribute rather than just get. During those times before and after the meetings I met the most positive people I had ever met. These people had one purpose; to make the program succeed.

Then I got involved with chairing meetings. I am an introvert by nature, so this was somewhat intimidating. However, I found the time commitment to be minimal, a lot of people knew my name and introduced themselves to me at meetings.

My sponsor took me to a few business meetings. Again, not a major time commitment, a way to meet more committed program people. I started to learn how the "business" end of the program. This included finances, meeting scheduling, acquiring books, interaction with other groups and the group structure. I learned a lot about group operations and got to know the people who really made the program work.

Later I moved to a place that had no group. My prior experience in service allowed me to get in touch with my area, get meeting materials and later, connect to World Service, as our group conscience wished to do so. We elected a Group Service Rep. (GSR). As I was the only one who had any background in service, I helped her as her Service Sponsor, and Alternate GSR. She proved quite unreliable, So I wound up the true GSR and served on several committees. Committees are groups of members that help in areas such as Literature, Archives, Website, ETC. A list of GreySheet Committees can be found on your website. Usually, the committee chair is an elected or appointed position. The members are volunteers.

Service has proved to be rewarding and inspiring in my program, in my professional and in my personal life.

World Service Conference 2022 - Key Dates

Revised February 20, 2022