I am extremely grateful for virtual meetings. I love virtual meetings and I’ve been slow to return to face to face. I was all ready to give it a try a few months back and then I heard a person from that meeting tested positive for Covid the day after the previous meeting. “Nope, not going there yet!”
The virtual business meetings have actually been a mechanism for my intergroup to grow. Pre Covid, we’d have 12-15 and now there are sometimes 20 people. It seems a bit less intimidating for visitors and new group representatives. More new people and young people have started attending and hopefully, they will not only come but eventually get even more involved in service.
I am now attending 1 virtual, 1 hybrid (I remain virtual) and 1 face to face meeting. I do love being back together and sitting around the table but I feel the same sense of community when I see their bright happy faces on my “Hollywood Squares” computer screen. That comment sure shows my age!
The lack of pre and post meeting chats encourages me to make more phone calls to catch up one on one.
I really hope my intergroup continues to support virtual attendance in some form. And as far as meetings, there are some members that have great difficulty going completely back face to face, for all kinds of reasons. And I want to continue to hear their dear voices.
I truly believe that HP is happy at all the ways we continue to share our recovery and carry OA’s life saving message.
Pam L.
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The technology of todays virtual meetings and phone meetings has been a huge boon to my program and to my success of reaching a normal BMI. I love face to face meetings and find incredible power there as well. The combination of face to face and virtual is important for my program and lay a firm foundation of strength for my recovery.
Through this broad base of support I have found that love and understanding “tastes” much better then food treats.
Christine C.G.
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As a fear based person I’ve struggled with fear my entire life. But since coming to OA, I have learned about tools and resources that help me handle my anxiety and to not turn to food or exercise.
Fear rises up in me almost daily. As I anticipated coming to Region Assembly I thought “What if I don’t know anyone? What if I don’t connect? What if fI don’t know what I’m doing there and everyone else knows what to do?” But I know I can and I did address these concerns with tools from our program. I journaled about my anxiety. I did 10th steps, turning my fear over to HP to handle and remove. Asking him “How would you have me be?”
Now I sit here at assembly and I have another major tool and that is service. In service I can get my mind off my fears. I can reach out to another Region Representative and ask how they are doing. I can serve on a committee and a sub-committee.
I am attending assembly as a voting member and I can contribute to important decisions within OA and contribute to the future of this program. All of these acts of service come together to get my mind off myself, onto others and out of fear.
I no longer have to eat to push down the fear. I can move through it. This program works when we work it! And we’re worth it!
Anonymous
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My home meeting is on a virtual platform. It’s easy to attend in difficult weather and I am grateful to not have to go out some days. Sometimes we get people from different parts of the country looking for a meeting. Our attendance is about the same as our persons to person meetings. But many people are very comfortable with the virtual format. We get newcomers and visitors as well. Our sharing is good, the same as face to face meetings. We’ve been able to get speakers easily from different areas which is great. I am really grateful for virtual meetings.
Kevin F.
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During the pandemic I found myself needing a meeting every night just to manage the anxiety and fear of not becoming exposed to Covid. In addition to my own on line meeting I discovered “Better Together”, an online meeting that met every night at 8 PM This meeting along with my program helped me remain abstinent and sane. And I made it through until vaccinations and boosters were available.
My home meeting decided they wanted to return to face to face. I wasn’t ready and preferred to stay with my virtual options.
I returned to face to face at the fall Regional Assembly in Chesterton IN. I let go of my fears and left my mask off. This wasn’t too bad and I was able to see people I had only seen virtually and many people I hadn’t seen in 3 years. This assembly was a great opportunity and helped me with my decision to eventually return to my face to face meeting.
Preston F.
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Service has always been an important part of my recovery. On reflection, I see three main reasons. Often a commitment gets me off the couch and connecting with my recovery family. My closest bonds with people in program have been formed when working together, there’s nothing like trying to accomplish a goal with someone to get to know them. Finally, I want to pay it forward to ensure that OA exists for the future.
The many adaptations we’ve gone through with virtual, hybrid and phone meetings were smoothed by the levels of service already in place.
Our responsibility pledge emphasizes that it is my responsibility to ensure OA be there when someone reaches out for help. I take that responsibility very seriously.
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What do I say when someone in program asks me to give a lead, join a committee or be a sponsor? Each of these have been very scary at one time or another. But I have learned that taking on a scary task stretches me and allows me to learn about myself. Some opportunities were easier and some were harder then I expected. One book I read suggested that to build self esteem, one must do esteem-able things. And I do feel richer when I say yes. Today someone asked me to give a lead (no problem) in a meeting with 150 attendees (Oh my!). I think I’ll say yes.
Cecilia S.
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Like all intergroups, for the last 2 years we were meeting virtually. Willing representatives were comfortable and safe in their homes, in their PJ bottoms and even eventually comfortable with technology. It was easy, convenient and safe.
As the chair, I eventually longed for their hugs and smiling faces. I started suggesting that we meet face to face at least 2 or 3 times a year…just because…it’s good for us and that’s what I wanted.
The feedback wasn’t very positive. Virtual had become routine and a habit. But we finally decided to hold a face to face workshop and it is our custom to have our workshops the same day as our intergroup meetings. So it was agreed for intergroup to meet face to face that Saturday.
When it was time to wrap up the meeting and I asked about the next meeting format it was overwhelming how excited and happy everyone had been with the meeting. We decided to meet again in person. We’ve been meeting face to face since and we have added technology for a hybrid option.
Anonymous
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Our transition from virtual to face to face is still in process. We have a Friday AA Big Book meeting that is virtual. This meeting was started during the pandemic. Our Monday meeting (Recovery from Relapsed: A New Beginning) is still virtual. Previously this meeting also went through Beyond Our Wildest Dreams during the pandemic. Another Monday and a Tuesday meeting are still virtual due to members preference.
We have a Saturday and a Wednesday meeting that are meeting face to face and there is also a virtual meeting running at the same time. They are separate meetings due to inadequate internet connection to conduct a hybrid meeting. We have a true hybrid meeting on Thursdays and our intergroup meetings are virtual.
Shirley L