Service Matters • May 2021

Welcome to the May 2021 Issue of Service Matters!

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

Attention GSRs: Preparing for the World Service Conference 2021

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

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

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

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

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

Upcoming Meetings

All interested GreySheeters are welcome!

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

Board of Trustees Column

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

GSA Special Events - Zoom Style 

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

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

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

April 2021 - Monthly Board of trustees Liaison Report

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