Service Archives - Overeaters Anonymous

New ‘Inside OA’ Podcast Explores Giving Service to OA Websites

Kevin McGuire — Tue, 10 Mar 2026 22:08:15 +0000

Are you interested in helping to maintain your service body’s website? Are you curious about what goes into building an OA website? Join host Meg M. and trustee Cyndy in this episode of Inside OA where they discuss the questions, concerns, and details involved—you will even learn some history of what it was like to carry the message in the “good old days” of the world wide web. “Back in the 90s,” says Cyndy, “I had no comprehension of what a website would entail. Today it is a very important part of OA’s working presence to bring people to our doors and get to a meeing and find out what Overeaters Anonymous is about.”

Find more Inside OA podcasts on our Podcasts page. Or listen to OA podcasts on your preferred platform:

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Can Service Improve Your Life? Listen to Our Latest ‘Inside OA’ Podcast

Kevin McGuire — Mon, 02 Feb 2026 22:36:43 +0000

If you’re hesitant to give more service in OA, you may be surprised to learn the benefits that await you, both to your recovery and your everyday life.

Listen to this episode of Inside OA, where host Meg M. and OA trustee Laurie share the surprising ways OA makes service roles approachable for anyone and show us how stepping up to service can provide each of us with lasting benefits and fuller lives. For example, Laurie shares how her perspective on service changed from “What am I already good at?” to “What have I learned in OA? What can I do now that I wasn’t very good at before?” Through simple acts of service, Laurie has learned how to overcome destructive habits of isolation and procrastination, and further into her recovery journey, she even learned how to capably represent the interests of others. What’s more is OA gave her a safe space to practice these skills that now carry over into to her relationships with family, friends and colleagues.

Meg agrees. “My career has advanced because of those things,” she says, citing how service has taught her how to truly live Tradition Twelve.

Find more Inside OA podcasts at https://oa.org/podcasts/inside-oa/. Or listen to OA podcasts on your preferred platform:

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Service Bodies! Use Our Cozy Virtual Welcome Room to Educate Newcomers

Kevin McGuire — Tue, 20 Jan 2026 18:59:47 +0000

OA’s newest interactive PDF can help service bodies welcome newcomers into a relaxed and inviting virtual setting and acquaint them with aspects of the OA program. The Virtual Welcome Room interactive PDF and its supporting document, Virtual Welcome Room Procedure, are now available in the Document Library. Together, they can help us give memorable guided tours of the OA resources most relevant to the newcomer, including:

the Twelve Steps
the Twelve Traditions
the Twelve Concepts of OA Service
OA literature
the OA Quiz
Find a Meeting
the OA Promise and Responsibility Pledge
OA regions

The Virtual Welcome Room was developed over a number of years by three successive Public Information and Professional Outreach (PIPO) Committees of World Service Business Conference (WSBC). Committee members spent many hours creating this design and persevered in spite of significant technical challenges and setbacks. As the project progressed, “keeping it simple” emerged as a great lesson of the endeavor and resulted in a Document Library asset that all service bodies can now use with ease. Thank you to the many WSBC delegates who contributed for your service!

To create a translated version of the Virtual Welcome Room in your language, please contact the World Service Office.

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New Workshop Asks Tough Questions to Strengthen Unity with Diversity

Kevin McGuire — Wed, 07 Jan 2026 19:28:40 +0000

A dynamic new resource, Tough Questions in OA Recovery Workshop, is now available for our OA members to view and download from oa.org! Tough Questions in OA Recovery is intended to spark meaningful discussions about inclusion, the definition of outside issues, and what it means to be truly welcoming today in OA.

The workshop, which can be held virtually or face-to-face, contains thorough preparation to-do lists, a workshop leader script, and an extensive list of recommended tough questions for your group to tackle during your workshop. Dive into Tough Questions with your fellow OA members today!

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Conference e-Documents #2 Posted, Including Translatable Agenda Questionnaire Summary

Kevin McGuire — Tue, 06 Jan 2026 19:15:17 +0000

Attention intergroups and service boards! The Agenda Questionnaire Summary is now translatable in 48 languages and can help you complete the World Service Business Conference (WSBC) Agenda Questionnaire by the February 19 deadline.

The Agenda Questionnaire Summary includes the strikethrough-and-underline language of each proposed New Business Motion and Bylaw Amendment and a description of what each proposed item is intended to accomplish. While it is important to note that each of the original Proposed New Business Motions (PDF) and Proposed Bylaw Amendments (PDF) should be reviewed, the Summary is written to provide a clear and concise understanding of each proposed change.

OA’s worldwide group conscience is strengthened with every additional intergroup and service board who participates in the Agenda Questionnaire. Proposed items are approved by 50 percent or more of participating intergroups and service boards will be placed on the WSBC 2026 agenda. With our new, translatable Agenda Questionnaire Summary, OA encourages everyone to spread the word across our many OA language groups.

Meet the Maker Virtual Session—January 24

Click or tap to download PDF flyer

Intergroups and service boards are reminded of the opportunity to learn more about each item on the Agenda Questionnaire and to ask questions by attending a virtual Meet the Maker session on January 24, 2026. See the flyer for details and read the Meet the Maker Session Agenda.

More Conference e-Documents #2 Now Available

In addition to the Agenda Questionnaire Summary, and the Meet the Maker Session Agenda, read the following Conference e-Documents #2 now available on the WSBC web page:

Upcoming Deadlines

February 19—Agenda Questionnaire Survey responses using the survey link.
March 2—Delegate registrations due to the World Service Office
March 5—Conference e-Documents #3 posted to the WSBC web page.
March 30—Hotel reservations due to the hotel venue.

See all Deadline Dates.

World Service Business Conference 2026 will be held April 20–25 in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. This year’s theme is “The OA Solution is for Life.”

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New ‘Inside OA’ Podcast: Face-to-Face and Online Meetings

Kevin McGuire — Thu, 01 Jan 2026 14:14:15 +0000

What are the benefits of face-to-face OA meetings? How about online meetings? Are the differences significant?

In this episode, host Meg M introduces Susan, an OA member from Australia who has been in recovery since 1988 and has served as region chair and trustee. Together, they discuss the differences and benefits offered by face-to-face and online OA meetings. If you are new to OA or if you only attend one type of meeting, we invite you to listen to the extensive experience of these two OA members.

OA members will generally recommend that newcomers attending six different OA meetings to find a meeting that works for you. Go to oa.org/find-a-meeting to search our database of 5,800 meetings worldwide or start your own meeting by looking up “How to Start a New Meeting” on oa.org.

Find more Inside OA podcasts at https://oa.org/podcasts/inside-oa/. Or listen to OA podcasts on your preferred platform:

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Meet the Maker Session January 24; Upcoming Deadlines for World Service Business Conference 2026

Kevin McGuire — Wed, 10 Dec 2025 19:40:42 +0000

Attention service bodies! We invite you to join us for a Meet the Maker session on January 24, 2026, to ask your questions and get a clear understanding of all New Business Motions and Bylaw Amendments that will appear on the Agenda Questionnaire for World Service Business Conference (WSBC) 2026. We need you to provide informed responses to the Agenda Questionnaire, and we think this Meet the Maker session will give you excellent information to make your decisions.

Download and share this flyer (PDF) with your service body fellows.

Click or tap to download PDF flyer

Upcoming Deadline Dates

Keep these deadline dates in mind as you prepare for WSBC 2026:

January 5, 2026

Conference e-Documents #2 available on OA website for delegates and service bodies (includes proposed New Business Motions and Bylaw Amendments, Agenda Questionnaire, and registration materials)

January 20

Trustee nominee applications due to World Service Office

January 24

Virtual Meet the Maker Session (see above)

February 19

Agenda Questionnaire due to the World Service Office (postmarked or time-stamped)

March 2

Delegate Registration Forms due to World Service Office

March 6

Conference Mailing #3 available on OA website for delegates (includes trustee nominee applications, Agenda Questionnaire results, manuscripts submitted for Conference Seal of Approval)

Find all documents on the World Service Business Conference web page and in the Document Library under category “Delegate.”

WSBC convenes April 20–25, 2026, in Albuquerque, New Mexico USA. This year’s theme is “The OA Solution is for Life.”

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Ways You Can Make a Difference: an Invitation to You from the Board of Trustees

Kevin McGuire — Wed, 03 Dec 2025 18:51:32 +0000

Dear OA Member,

At this time of year, many of us are reflecting on how we can make a positive difference—whether through kindness, service, or supporting causes we care about. In OA, giving can take many forms, and each one helps strengthen our Fellowship and welcomes those who are seeking recovery.
Throughout December, we invite you to reflect on the ways you might offer support and connection within the OA Fellowship. Here are just a few meaningful ways members can “give” within OA:

❤️ Welcome a newcomer at a meeting or reach out to someone you don’t know yet.

❤️ Share a message of hope with someone who is struggling.

❤️ Offer service, such as reading, helping with technology, or staying after to clean up.

❤️ Share OA literature by sending a book or pamphlet to someone who might find it helpful.

❤️ Make a contribution to help OA carry the message worldwide.

If you feel moved to offer support through a financial contribution this month, know that your generosity will help OA provide essential resources around the globe. Contributions sustain tools like the Find a Meeting search, support the development and translation of OA literature, maintain worldwide service efforts, and ensure that newcomers everywhere can access the hope and recovery OA offers. Every gift strengthens OA’s ability to carry the message to those still suffering, no matter where they live.

Thank you for all the ways you give—through your presence, your service, your kindness, and your support. Together, we help keep OA strong, welcoming, and available to everyone who seeks recovery.

With gratitude,

Overeaters Anonymous Board of Trustees

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New Inside OA Podcast Explores Tradition Seven and Step Twelve

Kevin McGuire — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 23:00:47 +0000

In this episode of Inside OA, host Meg M. talks with BJ, an abstinent food addict and bulimic who has most recently been serving as an OA trustee and trustee liaison to Region Two. Together, they discuss their perspectives and practices of Tradition Seven and Step Twelve.

BJ cites her favorite quote from the OA Twelve and Twelve book, “Change begins with honesty” (p. 30), and relates how honestly looking at her varied charitable contributions led her to focus her contributions on OA. “You just do all you can for the nonprofits that you believe in and this is the nonprofit that I believe in,” she says.

When it comes to Step Twelve, BJ also made a decision to commit more broadly and deeply to OA service, including carrying the message in her community. “It’s really about stepping into the world again, among the living,” says Meg. Listen in as Meg and BJ share effective and practical ways to get the word out about OA.

Find more Inside OA podcasts at https://oa.org/podcasts/inside-oa/. Or listen to OA podcasts on your preferred platform:

Find resources related to Tradition Seven and Step Twelve by going to the Document Library and selecting the categories “Carrying the Message” and “Seventh Tradition.”

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Do You Care About the Quality of Your OA Group? This Podcast Can Help

Kevin McGuire — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 18:56:07 +0000

OA has 5,800 registered meetings worldwide. From among them, would you say your OA group is welcoming and strong? Is it struggling? Or is it a good group that could still benefit from a few changes? If you care about the quality of your OA group, let’s “get grounded in groups” in this episode of Inside OA!

Take a few notes as host Meg M. interviews Bruce from Ottawa, Canada, a former OA trustee who has been abstinent since April 2005. Listen in as Bruce unpacks and examines in detail the importance of the group in personal recovery and the questions a group can ask itself to determine whether “its message to the compulsive overeater who still suffers” (Tradition Five) is truly a message of hope, strength, and recovery through OA’s Twelve Steps.

Find more Inside OA podcasts at https://oa.org/podcasts/inside-oa/. Or listen to OA podcasts on your preferred platform:

Learn more about translation in OA by going to the Document Library and selecting the category “Translation.”

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