The concept, guidelines, format, & readings for this meeting were all created through group conscience.
Concept: Inspired by the line from Bill’s Story on page 12 in the Big Book, “Why don’t you choose your own conception of God?”, the mission of this meeting is to be as inclusive as possible regarding spirituality and language, while staying firmly rooted in the program of recovery outlined in The Big Book. Multiple meetings/speakers on every chapter/step allow for access to multiple perspectives on our common solution.
Guidelines regarding inclusive language in readings: This meeting has
decided to link a gender-neutral version of the 12 Steps & Traditions, and since “God” is the word used in the Big Book, that’s the word used in the linked document. For these readings, a reader may choose to instead use Power, Higher Power, or HP. They may also read “alcoholic” as “compulsive overeater”, and read the text using gender-neutral language. They may also choose to read any of the above as written. These guidelines apply for anyone reading during this meeting. Their purpose is to remove barriers to our focus on the study of The Big Book and the 12-step program of recovery - that’s why we’re here.
decided to link a gender-neutral version of the 12 Steps & Traditions, and since “God” is the word used in the Big Book, that’s the word used in the linked document. For these readings, a reader may choose to instead use Power, Higher Power, or HP. They may also read “alcoholic” as “compulsive overeater”, and read the text using gender-neutral language. They may also choose to read any of the above as written. These guidelines apply for anyone reading during this meeting. Their purpose is to remove barriers to our focus on the study of The Big Book and the 12-step program of recovery - that’s why we’re here.
Meeting format - Mondays and Tuesdays, 8-9pm EST
- Each week covers one chapter/step, with reading from the Big Book and 3 minute shares over that part of the Big Book
Meeting format - Wednesdays, 8-9pm EST
- Each week covers one chapter/step, with a different speaker each week. A recovered speaker has up to 20 minutes to share on the week’s chapter/step, followed by 3-minute group shares and/or questions for the speaker on the chapter/step.
All Wednesday meetings are recorded, beginning with the speaker section, and also the first part of open sharing/questions. 10 minutes will be reserved at the end for unrecorded sharing.
Meeting format - Thursdays, 8-9pm EST
-Each week begins with celebrations of lengths of abstinence, a five minute meditation over a promise or sentence from the same chapter/step as previous nights, followed by extended 5 minute shares.
- Attend multiple nights a week to hear more perspectives and take a deeper dive on the chapter/step, or attend once a week and still never miss a chapter/step. There are opportunities for service in each meeting.