Central Ohio Service Intergroup of Overeaters Anonymous July/August 2019 |
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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 foo 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. |
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Columbus-area OA news Intergroup will be participating in a number of events in coming months. Save the dates. |
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OA Day of Sharing is a day of fellowship, insight and fun with members of the Cleveland Central, Central Ohio, Greater Dayton and Greater Cincinnati intergroups. The suggested donation is $8. Bring a bag lunch or go out with friends. - Saturday, Aug. 3. 8:30 a.m. registration with the event beginning at 9 a.m. and usually ending around 3 p.m.
- Faith Covenant Church, 3607 Dempsey Road, Westerville. (Please note, this is a new location.)
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A Sponsorship Workshop for OA members and guests will provide everything you've ever wanted to know about sponsorship but were afraid to ask. The suggested donation is $5. All sponsors, would-be sponsors, sponsees and would-be sponsees are welcome to attend, as well as anyone interested in an afternoon of fellowship and recovery. - Sunday, Aug. 18, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
- St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, 1150 W 5th Ave, Columbus, OH 43212. Enter in the back of the building. Parking in church lot and on Virginia Avenue.
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The Region 5 Convention is a recovery-filled weekend in Milwaukee, focusing on the theme of Ride the A Train: Awareness, Acceptance, Action. |
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Newsletter sponsorship list For recovery to flourish in Central Ohio, Intergroup wants to make it easier for members to find sponsors. The sponsor-sponsee relationship is mutually beneficial: Sponsees have a guide to working the steps and navigating a new life in recovery; the sponsor's program is reinforced and seen with a new perspective. The following OA members are available to sponsor: - Barb W.: (740) 452-5350
- Theresa M. (614) 738-7559 (Available to get someone started.)
Add your name to the list by contacting laurainrecovery@yahoo.com. |
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Submissions from fellows How do I define my Higher Power in a way that works for my recovery? Thank you for your submissions to the newsletter. We selected the topic based on a recent issue of Lifeline (October 2018.) The 12-step program of recovery, according to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, is for everyone -- regardless of background or belief. Please write and encourage your sponsees to submit their writing to the newsletter. It's a wonderful way to do service! - “When, therefore, we speak to you of God, we mean your own conception of God. We think it no concern of ours what religious bodies our members identify themselves with as individuals. This should be an entirely personal affair…” (Page 28, “There is a Solution”)
- “In our personal stories you will find a wide variation in the way each teller approaches and conceives of the Power, which is greater than himself. Whether we agree with a particular approach or conception seems to make little difference.” (Page 50, “We Agnostics.”)
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| | I grew up in a church and learned about a very specific understanding of God that I found to be both frightening and confusing. I mostly felt as though I was trying to figure out the rules so I could stay out of trouble. I did not understand what I was taught to believe. My excessive weight, inner chaos and addiction to food led me to OA and then into a new experience of a spiritual relationship. I very simply asked for help with eating 3 meals and no red foods. To my amazement, this helped! And then it helped again! I continued to do what was helpful even though I did not really understand it. I worked the steps with my sponsor. My weight dropped and my serenity grew. I felt the physical, mental and spiritual healing taking place. I began to relax more...and trust more...and fear less. My Higher Power is an experience more than an intellectual understanding and it seems to lead me toward my best option (and my best self!) if I am willing. I hope to continue to grow in my awareness and trust in this Power, one day at a time! -Anonymous Next month's topic: Describe something in program you've been unwilling to do -- maybe it's getting a sponsor, maybe it's working the steps or do service or greet newcomers at meetings. Anything that is a block to recovery. And make a commitment to change. What is something you do to that can change this? Submit to laurainrecovery@yahoo.com. Deadline: Aug. 10. | | |
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| | How do I define my Higher Power in a way that works for my recovery? For me, it means I do not define my HP in any way. My HP is revealed to me, through me, through everyone and everything around me. When I try to "define" my HP it feels like my brain trying to control, trying to understand, trying to get a handle on and comprehend. But what my HP is teaching me is that I cannot define, I cannot control, I cannot understand HP. That way of thinking, of acting, of believing is what leads me to compulsive and crazy thinking. It is the source of my suffering. All I can do is TRUST. I can ask my HP (my Source Of Life & Love) to make me willing and able to trust the Mystery of Life. And if I do so, and if I "keep coming back", it will be a mystery of not just Life, but Life in Recovery. I used to imagine that recovery was a like an epic boxed gift from HP that I would get to open. That once I "figured out" my disease / myself / my HP the shining "gift" would be unwrapped and I'd get to pull it out of the box and place it on a shelf to admire and worship and use to achieve inner peace. Like the world's most brilliant trophy or best desktop zen fountain! Today I experience recovery as an ongoing process of opening. And it's not a gift box but more like a moving box with varying layers of tissue paper, and newsprint, and bubble wrap around each piece. This container is full of "gifts" alright, but they aren't fancy or shiny or even things. They can't be bought or even owned. They are lessons I learn and get to continue to learn. They are sudden ah-ha moments. They are slow unveilings. They are deep intuitions. They are hard-earned revelations. They are miraculous moments of clarity. They are whispers of knowing. They are hunches. They are exercises in faith. Each is to be unwrapped and examined and treasured and lovingly put down and laid out all around me where they create a cornucopia of color and comfort and connection. They can be picked back up to be re-examined. They are precious but aren't mine to keep alone. They are called to be shared. Perhaps to become part of someone else's box of treasures to unwrap. -Anonymous | | |
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Intergroup Vice Chair: A member of the Central Ohio Service Intergroup executive board, the vice chair steps in when the chair is absent or otherwise unable to serve. The vice chair maintains a current list of meetings in our intergroup, among other responsibilities. If interested, please contact our Chair Theresa M. Contact information is at the end of the newsletter. Region 5 Representative: A member of the Central Ohio Service Intergroup board, the rep travels to Region V Assembly meetings twice a year and participates in a region conference call once a year that address behind-the-scenes OA business of an area that includes groups and intergroups in Ohio and five nearby states, plus Southwestern Ontario. The rep then reports the business to our intergroup. If interested, please contact our Chair Theresa M. Contact information is at the end of the newsletter. Event planner: The Central Ohio intergroup is scheduled to host the 2021 Region V Convention. If you have experience planning events, please call Craig R. |
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Intergroup representative: Represent your home group – aka the weekly meeting you most regularly attend – as an intergroup rep if your group doesn’t currently have one. This is a great way to see how OA operates behind the scenes. If interested, please contact our Chair Theresa M. Contact information is at the end of the newsletter. PIPO committee: Members of the Professional Information/Professional Outreach Committee inform the military and health care institutions about OA's program of recovery. They send out press releases when necessary and organize public information events, among other duties. For more information, contact Theresa M. Contact information is at the end of the newsletter. "Transformations" service: If you enjoy writing, editing and design, please consider helping on the newsletter committee. There are no abstinence requirements, although a Mac or PC and past experience with layout software is necessary. The time commitment is 5 hours a month -- or less. Service is slimming! Contact: laurainrecovery@yahoo.com |
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The 12 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.
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Intergroup Meetings OA members are welcome to attend the intergroup’s monthly meetings in person or on the telephone, regardless of whether they hold an official service position on IG. At meetings we discuss business pertaining to the fellowship. All meetings begin at 11 a.m., generally on the fourth Saturday of each month. Months that include holidays may affect the date, in which Intergroup meets on the 3rd Saturday of that month. Please reach out to your Intergroup representative with questions. Location: North Community Lutheran Church, 114 Morse Road, Columbus. Intergroup will continue to meet at this location, until October 2019. We are currently searching for a new space. If you have any suggestions, please reach out to any of your Intergroup board members. If you would like to attend Intergroup but you cannot do so in person, please dial-in: Telephone dial-in: (712) 775-7031 Access Code: 182225 Leader Code: 9075 Upcoming meeting schedule: - July 27
- Aug. 24
- Sept. 28
- Oct. 26
- Nov - TBD
- Dec - TBD
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Sunday 4 p.m. St Luke’s Methodist, 1150 W. 5th Ave., Grandview, back entrance, basement. Contact: Beth L. (614) 477-0295 Monday 9:30 a.m., Northwest Christian Church,1340 Fishinger Rd., Upper Arlington, Big Book meeting, Big Book, ADA accessible. Contact: Edna: 614-451-4707 5:30 p.m., Grace Fellowship Church, 365 Straub Rd. E. Back Bldg., Mansfield. Contact: Lynn 419-522-9554 5:30 pm, Salvation Army Building, 221 Dewey Ave., Cambridge. ADA accessible. Contact: Ester 740-432-3338 6 p.m, Lutheran Student Center, 69 Mill St., front door, Athens. Newcomers meeting. Contact: Janet P 740-592-4284 6:30 p.m., St Luke’s Methodist, 1150 W. 5th Ave., Grandview, back entrance, basement. Twelve-step study. Contact: Melissa 614-588-4230 7 p.m., Faith Covenant Church, 3607 Dempsey Rd., Westerville, ADA accessible. Contact: Linda P 216-392-2644 Tuesday 6 p.m., Lutheran Student Center, 69 Mill St., front door, Athens. Lit study, speaker. Contact Steph 740-698-3404 Stangsteph5636@yahoo.com 6:30 p.m., St. John’s Lutheran Church, 3220 Columbus St., Grove City. Contact: Kelly 614-270-3101 Wednesday 7 p.m., Overbrook Presbyterian Church, 4131 N. High St., Columbus. ADA accessible. Contact: Paul W 614-432-2273. |
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7 p.m., St. Paul’s Catholic Church, parish office, 369 N. State St. (Rt. 3), Room 1, downstairs, Westerville. Contact: Julie M; 614-634-8320. Thursday 9:30 a.m., Northwest Christian Church, 1340 Fishinger Rd.,, Upper Arlington, ADA accessible. Contact: Lou W. 614-777-8014 Friday 12:10 p.m., Old Trinity Lutheran Church, fellowship hall, 404 S Third St Corner of Fulton & Third, Columbus. Jen 614-286-4292 6 p.m on the 1st, 3rd, and 5th Fridays only. David's United Church of Christ, 80 Columbus St, Canal Winchester. Contact: Brenda 614-235-7711 Saturday 9:30 a.m., Ascension Lutheran Church, 1479 Morse Rd, Columbus. Contact: Judy 253-503-9144. 9:30 a.m., St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, 2151 Dorset Rd., Second floor, Upper Arlington. Contact: Martha 614-581-8381 9:30 a.m., Lutheran Student Center, 69 Mill St., front door, Athens. Contact: Carol 740-818-6418 10:30 a.m., Brighton Presbyterian Church, 771 Lexington Ave., Zanesville, Enter through the back door; the meeting is upstairs. ADA accessible. Contact: Ann K. 740-814-5976 Visit www.centralohiooa.org for details such as meeting topic, and OA.org for phone and online meeting information. |
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Committees: Public Information/ Professional Outreach - open Phone: Mary M. 614-546-8160. Media: Sarah T. 614-961-0565. Transformations: Laura H. 801-309-1021, laurainrecovery@yahoo.com Special Events: Robbin 614-947-9147, Robbin@zolozen.com |
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All photography used in this newsletter obtained from unsplash.com. |
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