The group secretary is a link in a chain that disseminates important information in two ways: from the World Service Office to group members and from the group to the World Service Office.
Sending current group information or changes to the World Service Office is a job that usually falls onto the broad shoulders of the group secretary. The secretary also has the responsibility to distribute information from the World Service Office and service body, such as newsletters, surveys, and other mail, to members of the group.
Has this two-way flow of information been running smoothly in your group? If not, the place to start is to make sure your meeting is registered correctly with the World Service Office. These are some important points to remember when registering or making changes:
Use the Group Registration/Change form to make any changes to your group information. On the OA website, click on Edit a Meeting to make changes to your meeting. Contact the World Service Office if you have any questions.
When your group chooses to affiliate with an intergroup or national service board, include the intergroup’s/national service board’s number or at least the correct name of the intergroup/national service board.
With ANY change it is important to give complete information. The critical areas to complete are those marked “*required.” Make sure all information is accurate, and check that apartment numbers are included, as these are often overlooked.
Use your group number on all correspondence to the World Service Office. Once a group is registered, its group number will remain the same, regardless of changes to the meeting information.
Update the World Service Office with meeting detail changes as soon as you can, no matter how small the change. It is the group’s responsibility to do this. Some groups assume the intergroup/national service board will pass changes on to the World Service Office, and this is not always the case.
The group secretary can work with other members to make sure pertinent OA information reaches everyone. For instance, the secretary can make sure someone reviews OA News from the OA website and makes it available to members in the meeting. A group may also receive mailings from the intergroup/national service board with information that needs to be distributed. Each OA group should be sure the secretary receives adequate help and materials to do their job. The smooth flow of information between the World Service Office and the group depends on the secretary.
Other tasks of group secretaries are outlined in the OA Handbook for Members, Groups, and Service Bodies. The secretary’s tasks may include presiding at group conscience and/or steering committee meetings or seeing that the meeting place is ready each week.
If you have any questions about registering or recording changes for your group, please call, write, or send an email to the World Service Office’s group registration coordinator (info@oa.org). We are interested in hearing your ideas on how we might improve the group registration process and on group registrations in general.
Revised March 2023
We of Overeaters Anonymous have made a discovery. At the very first meeting we attended, we learned that we were in the clutches of a dangerous illness, and that willpower, emotional health, and self-confidence, which some of us had once possessed, were no defense against it.
We have learned that the reasons for the illness are unimportant. What deserves the attention of the still-suffering compulsive overeater is this: There is a proven, workable method by which we can arrest our illness.
The OA recovery program is patterned after that of Alcoholics Anonymous. As our personal stories attest, the Twelve Step program of recovery works as well for compulsive eaters as it does for alcoholics.
Can we guarantee you this recovery? The answer is up to you. If you will honestly face the truth about yourself and the illness; if you will keep coming back to meetings to talk and listen to other recovering compulsive overeaters; if you will read our literature and that of Alcoholics Anonymous with an open mind; and, most important, if you are willing to rely on a Power greater than yourself for direction in your life and to take the Twelve Steps to the best of your ability, we believe you can indeed join the ranks of those who recover.
To remedy the emotional, physical, and spiritual illness of compulsive eating we offer several suggestions, but keep in mind that the basis of the program is spiritual, as evidenced by the Twelve Steps.
We are not a “diet” club. We do not endorse any particular plan of eating. In OA, abstinence is the action of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight. Once we become abstinent, the preoccupation with food diminishes and in many cases leaves us entirely. We then find that, to deal with our inner turmoil, we have to have a new way of thinking, of acting on life rather than reacting to it — in essence, a new way of living.
From this vantage point, we begin the Twelve Step program of recovery, moving beyond the food and the emotional havoc to a fuller living experience. As a result of practicing the Steps, the symptoms of compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors are removed on a daily basis, achieved through the process of surrendering to something greater than ourselves; the more total our surrender, the more fully realized our freedom from food obsession.
Here are the Steps as adapted for Overeaters Anonymous:
We admitted we were powerless over food — that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
“But I’m too weak. I’ll never make it!” Don’t worry, we have all thought and said the same thing. The amazing secret to the success of this program is just that: weakness. It is weakness, not strength, that binds us to each other and to a Higher Power and somehow gives us the ability to do what we cannot do alone.
If you decide you are one of us, we welcome you with open arms. Whatever your circumstances, we offer you the gift of acceptance. You are not alone anymore! Welcome to Overeaters Anonymous. Welcome home!
Permission to use the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous for adaptation granted by AA World Services, Inc.
Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength, and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating.
We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues.
Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps of OA to those who still suffer.
It is suggested that a neutral, experienced OA member facilitate an inventory for a group or service body. Region boards can assist with finding members who can provide this type of support.
Use an entire meeting for an honest and fearless discussion of the group’s weaknesses and strengths.
This inventory is divided into two parts. A is an inventory of the group as a whole; B is a personal inventory of a member’s behavior in the group.
A. Group Inventory*
Does our meeting start and end on time?
Are all attending, including newcomers, greeted and made to feel welcome and accepted?
Does our meeting focus on OA recovery through the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions?
Do we offer our own experience, strength, and hope, sharing the solution we have found?
Is the group contributing financially to all levels of OA service as per our Seventh Tradition?
Are sponsors available and identified at the meeting?
Does our group practice anonymity by reminding members not to repeat who is seen or what personal sharing is heard at a meeting?
Does our group follow a meeting format?
Is only OA-approved literature on display and for sale?
Does our group welcome and support individual members who use a variety of OA-approved literature?
Are group conscience meetings held regularly?
Are all service positions filled, and is rotation of service practiced?
Is our meeting information readily available, and is the World Service Office informed of all meeting details and changes so that newcomers and visitors can find our meeting?
Are cross talk and advice-giving avoided?
B. Determine your part in the group
Do I make a point to welcome new members, talk with them, and offer my phone number? Do I sponsor new members?
Do I interrupt speakers or other members who are sharing?
Do I give my full attention to the speakers, the secretary, and other group members?
Do I ever repeat anything personal I have heard at meetings or from another member?
Do I put pressure on the group to accept my ideas because I have been in the Fellowship a long time?
Do I take part in meetings, or do I sit and listen?
Do I volunteer or willingly accept a group office (e.g., secretary, treasurer)? Do I offer to help set up, clean, etc.?
Do I criticize others in the group or gossip about them?
Do I insist on requirements other than those in Tradition Three, including telling others that they should use only specific literature, or they can’t be in the Fellowship, or that they cannot use the services of health care professionals, such as psychologists or dietitians?
Do I try to give advice?
Is it difficult for me to realize that my point of view may not always be the group conscience? Can I accept disagreement?
Do I use the telephone or electronic communication to help myself and others, not just for complaints and gossip?
Do I make it a point to speak with newcomers who are having a difficult time in the program? Do I let them know they are welcome?
Do I monopolize the conversation and explain every Tool, Tradition, etc.?
Do I feel no one can lead a meeting as well as me?
Do I go to meetings to learn instead of teach?
Do I cross talk and cause meetings to go off on tangents?
Do I wait until announcement time to make proper OA announcements?
Do I have a topic so everyone can participate at meetings I chair?
Do I try to cause dissension?
Do I follow the meeting format completely?
Do I commit myself to the OA program?
Do I have a sponsor and work the Steps?
Do I give service to promote group growth and benefit my own growth as well?
Am I only interested in my own welfare, or am I concerned for my fellow OA members as well?
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
Starting an OA meeting in your area is easy.
The World Service Office is here to support you in your efforts to carry the message of hope and recovery. This form of service will add to your own program of recovery! All you need is a desire to stop eating compulsively and the willingness to start the meeting.
Order the “Starter Kit”, item #730 at US$20 (plus shipping and handling).
It contains items to help get your meeting off to a good start. The kit also includes Where Do I Start? and the Suggested Meeting Format. You will also receive a sampling of our pamphlets. (Note: Your service body may offer these materials for a lower cost.)
Purchase the OA Handbook for Members, Groups, and Service Bodies, item #120 at US$13 (plus shipping and handling).
The OA Handbook will come in handy with ideas for spreading the news in your community about the meeting and as a guide to your group as it grows. The OA Handbook is also available in e-book format. Visit bookstore.oa.org for more information.
Find a meeting space.
Be sure to check out churches, community centers, schools, and libraries, as well as the hospitals. Each group ought to be self supporting, so be sure that your group considers a donation, should the facility you choose not charge you rent. For virtual meetings, there are many audio and video conferencing platforms that offer services for free or at a nominal fee.
We suggest you do this as soon as you start your meeting so it can be listed in our Find a Meeting database and people searching for a meeting in your area can find you. Please be sure to keep the World Service Office informed of any changes that occur regarding your meeting. Contact name (first name only) and phone number are important. This is how the newcomer or traveling member gets more information about the meeting. Each meeting must have a contact name and number. If there is no one in your group who wants to be listed as the contact, you can use the intergroup or service board name and number should you choose to affiliate with one.
We strongly suggest that your group affiliate with an intergroup or national service board.
An intergroup/national service board is made up of several groups in a locality or a virtual community. Its purpose is to serve and represent the groups of which they are composed and act as the guardian of the Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts of OA Service. Affiliation gives the group access to this support. At some point, your group will need an intergroup/national service board representative to attend the intergroup/national service board meetings and be part of the OA community in your area. The intergroup/national service board can be helpful in supporting your meeting during this initial phase of your development. Please contact the World Service Office if you need assistance in locating an intergroup or national service board.
Check out other meetings!
If there are no OA meetings in your area and you are not very familiar with OA, you might want to consider taking a “field trip” with some other potential members to visit the meetings outside your area that are more established. It can be great fun traveling with a carload of compulsive overeaters and great for your recovery. It is also helpful for the groups that you visit. They may want to return the favor and bring members to your meeting once your group has started.
Get the word out!
A good idea is to investigate the Public Information and Professional Outreach Service Manual in the future. Its focus is on carrying the message in your community and offers several helpful suggestions and examples. It is item #765 and sells for US$20.
You are welcome to contact us at any time at info@oa.org or 1-505-891-2664. Thank you for carrying the message of recovery.
Have an OA group, intergroup, service board, or region sponsor the newsletter.
Keep it positive. Don’t allow editorial opinions on controversial issues or policies to dominate the newsletter.
Before printing, review the issue for observance of Traditions (for example, non–OA event advertising or other endorsements).
Traditions Six and Ten guide us to select only material from within the OA Fellowship. This may include OA publications and/or OA program-related submissions from members. Include a disclaimer that personal stories express the experience, strength, and hope of the individual member and not of OA as a whole.
Intergroup/service board newsletters can include a brief summary of minutes and financial statements, information about upcoming OA events, reports from loners or groups in outlying areas, and articles about personal recovery.
Do not print copyrighted material or the OA logo without permission. Check the Copy Requests page at oa.org or contact the World Service Office for information regarding OA’s copyright procedures and guidelines. The Copy Requests page also lists OA materials that registered OA groups and services bodies may reprint without written permission. For permission to use the OA logo, submit the Permission to Use the OA Logo form (PDF or DOCX), available on the Copy Requests page and in the Document Library, to the WSO.
Registered groups and service bodies may reprint individual articles from Lifeline, A Step Ahead, and the WSO News Bulletin for limited personal and group use, crediting the appropriate publication and Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. Material from these sources may not be revised. An example of “credit” would be to place “[source, date] Copyright Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. All rights reserved.” at the end of the article used.
OA newsletters often contain a statement that other OA groups and service bodies are welcome to reprint articles from them without permission. When reprinting from other OA newsletters, be sure to credit the source.
Review both the Newsletter page under Guidelines: Events & Outreach and the News & Events page at oa.org to find information about new OA policies and available resources.
Original sketches, cartoons, pictures, etc. add visual interest.
Determine through the group conscience whether to charge for the newsletter to, for example, offset costs or raise funds.
Investigate the most cost-effective way to distribute your newsletter. Many newsletters are published primarily online, for example, on the group’s or service body’s website.
Congratulations! Your newsletter will enhance the growth of Overeaters Anonymous in your area.
OA Responsibility Pledge
Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion; for this I am responsible.
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
Use this guide with suggestions of what to say and what not to say when speaking to someone about OA for the first time.
DOs
I am open to talking about my recovery.
I mention how much my weight has changed, and I may show my pre-OA photo.
I am positive and happy when talking about OA.
I am always willing to give out the New Prospect Card and my phone number.
I emphasize the peace of mind I have found in life around food.
I suggest that people come to a meeting and just listen. Nothing is required of them.
I mention OA to my doctor and other health care professionals.
I carry the message as part of my action plan.
I am concise when talking about the OA program, leaving room for curiosity.
I explain the concept of “just for today.”
I mention that OA is a nonprofit organization and there are no membership dues or fees.
I share how OA has helped in all facets of my life.
I explain some of the program’s Tools.
I give examples of my unhealthy eating behaviors from before OA (such as eternal dieting, starving, bingeing, constantly weighing myself).
I say that our program is modeled on Alcoholics Anonymous and that my problem is similar to alcoholism. OA is for people who use food just like alcoholics use alcohol.
I offer to meet them at their first meeting if at all possible.
DON’Ts
I don’t tell people that OA is the only way.
I try not to sound like a preacher or give a speech.
I don’t judge other people, and I don’t label them as compulsive overeaters.
I don’t talk about another’s shape or weight, only my own.
I do not mention specific spiritual or religious beliefs.
I don’t speak about OA to someone new unless he or she shows an interest.
I don’t try to “sell” the Twelve Step program or exaggerate about it.
I don’t promise anything.
I don’t put down diets or methods of weight loss; I don’t compare OA to other programs.
I don’t give too much information about meetings and how it all works; the best way to understand is to come to a meeting.
I don’t give unsolicited advice or suggestions.
I don’t rush people into making a decision.
I don’t argue.
I don’t shut the door. Even if someone is not interested now, he or she may be interested in the future.
“I don’t have to wait until I am perfect to do service.” (Voices of Recovery, Second Edition, p. 252)
“Service gives me practice at freeing myself from the bondage of self.” (Voices of Recovery, Second Edition, p. 284)
“Only by working with those who are not yet free [from the disease] do I fully realize that freedom.” (For Today, p. 252)
“We now have a message of hope to carry to other compulsive overeaters.” (The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, p. 81)
“When all other measures failed, work with another alcoholic would save the day.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 15)
“Most of us who’ve worked this program will be unable to keep the recovery we have unless we share our experience, strength, and hope with others.” (The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, p. 82)
“Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics.” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th ed., p. 89)
“Those of us who live this program don’t simply carry the message; we are the message.” (The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous, Second Edition, p. 87)
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Tradition Five
Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers.
OA Responsibility Pledge
Always to extend the hand and heart of OA to all who share my compulsion, for this I am responsible.
The Twelve Steps
We admitted we were powerless over food—that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Permission to use the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous for adaptation granted by AA World Services, Inc.
The Twelve Traditions
Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon OA unity.
For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
The only requirement for OA membership is a desire to stop eating compulsively.
Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or OA as a whole.
Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers.
An OA group ought never endorse, finance or lend the OA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
Every OA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
Overeaters Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
OA, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
Overeaters Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence, the OA name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television and other public media of communication.
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Permission to use the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous for adaptation granted by AA World Services, Inc.
Overeaters Anonymous, Inc. World Service Office Location: 6075 Zenith Court NE, Rio Rancho, NM 87144, USA Mailing address: PO Box 44727, Rio Rancho, NM 87174-4727, USA Telephone: +1 505-891-2664
The Spiritual Principles of the OA Program
The Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Steps, Twelve Traditions, and Twelve Concepts of OA Service have Principles related to them. They are listed here:
“Having worked the Twelve Steps, what did I learn about the Principles?
Honesty. I learned to look truthfully at ugly things that I am powerless over yet make my life unmanageable. It takes honest vision to fully understand there is a problem and that I have no way to solve it myself.
Hope. I came to believe I can have a relationship with a Higher Power who can do things for me that I can’t and that I can be restored to sanity. There is hope that the painful parts of my life can change and that HP has a better plan for me.
Continue reading
Faith. It was a leap of faith that something would sustain me when I stopped my way of doing things. But what I couldn’t imagine doing forever, I could do for one day. Those days added up to a miracle. Aligning my will with God’s and going through scary places in recovery is faith working in my life.
Courage and Integrity. Note the word “fearless” in “fearless moral inventory”; fear and faith don’t coexist. It takes courage and integrity to look back at unflattering moments and share them with another person. To overcome my fear, become vulnerable, and present my true self is the basis for real relationships and connection.
Willingness. It’s the whatever-it-takes clause in the contract with God and being ready, in God’s time, to let go not only of hurtful things we want to change but also defects we enjoy. That’s a scary concept. It’s also one filled with honesty, hope, faith, courage, and integrity – amazing how these Principles work together.
Humility. When I earnestly ask for help, God goes to work, but not necessarily in ways I expect. Humility is acceptance of who we really are and the need to live in harmony with God’s will to find serenity.
Self-discipline and love for others. Life is easier when I avoid doing things that make me owe amends and when I admit my part as soon as possible. The “my part” piece is a revelation – no matter what, I can act with a loving approach.
Perseverance. Even when God’s plan feels difficult, by saying “I can do it today” and doing the next right thing, the todays add up. If I turn back, I’ll never get to the destination.
Spiritual awareness. I came to understand that God is with us always. Spiritual awakening is having a living God in my life; I am taken care of and will get what I need. We are enough and are loved for who we are. I experience God in my connecting with God in others. Connection with God requires work and practice. To hear and understand God’s will, I need to clear my mind.
Service. I don’t only carry the message – I am the message. I don’t need to sell program. I just need to live these Principles. And to keep this recovery, I need to share my experience, strength, and hope with others.
I came to OA thinking I had a problem with food yet learned I had a problem with life. I’ve been blessed beyond anything I ever thought to wish for.” Lifeline, April 2015
(Reprinted from A Step Ahead newsletter, Fourth Quarter 2011) OA’s group conscience has decided we should display, sell, use and read aloud only OA-approved literature at OA meetings. This includes OA Conference- and board-approved literature and AA conference-approved literature.* Although OA has not reviewed and approved AA literature, we deem their group conscience approved its … Continued
Reprinted from Lifeline, Ask-It Basket, August 1999 Question What is cross talk? Are all responses and comments to another person at a meeting cross talk? Is thanking someone for something he or she shared cross talk? Or is it cross talk only if the comments are negative? Answer OA literature does not specifically define cross … Continued
