Ocean and Bay Intergroup logo
WAVES of HOPE













Serving OA in Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts 

JULY 2017
In This Issue
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PHONE SUPPORT AVAILABLE ON 
MAJOR HOLIDAYS

July 4th - Independence Day

MARATHON PHONE MEETINGS ARE HELD ON  ALL MAJOR HOLIDAYS  EVERY HOUR ON THE HOUR BEGINNING AT 8 A.M. AROUND REGULARLY SCHEDULED MEETINGS. EACH MARATHON HAS A TOPIC FOR THE DAY.

DIAL  712-432-5200
ENTER PIN  4285115#
 
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Meeting List
Updated May 2017  

IMPORTANT!
GROUP CONTACT INFORMATION: Please check your group contact name and phone number on the local Ocean and Bay Meeting List. Send changes to  oceanandbayoa@yahoo.com.

Also, check your meeting listing and contact info on the Overeaters Anonymous website meeting list at oa.org. The oa.org website listing is different than the local meeting list and must be updated by your meeting contact person.

 
* Please call ahead to verify meetings are taking place, especially during holidays. 
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LINKS

New England Intergroups














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Please note that every effort has been made to adhere to OA's policy for newsletter publications. 

Opinions and experiences expressed within are those of the individual writer and not OA as a whole. 

REMINDER: This is your newsletter, so please feel free to submit your writing contributions to: oceanandbayoa@yahoo.com.

You are also invited to be one of the members who provides answers for a Q&A. Again, just send us a note to: oceanandbayoa@yahoo.com.
Dear OA Member: 

Recently, I went to an OA meeting that I hadn't been to in many months. I was about 15 minutes early, so I waited in the parking lot for someone to come and unlock the door. Three fellow members showed up, but no key holder. Waiting and chatting, just after the scheduled start time one member invited the rest of us to her house that was only a few blocks away to hold a meeting  there. We could have waited longer  -- not sure how long you are "supposed" to wait for the person with the key to show, but for some reason we all jumped at the opportunity to meet on her backyard patio, after all, none of us wanted to go home without a meeting. Once there, I grabbed a couple Big Books out of my trunk (yes, I really do keep them there -- heck, you never know when you'll need them). At first, we chilled and touched based with each other. Then, recognizing it was time to start and feeling moved, one of us suggested we read the part of Step 11 that talks about what to do upon retiring at the end of the day (it seemed appropriate since it was evening). After reading it, we meditated.  It was heavenly -- the connection between four compulsive overeaters, the sun beginning to set, a soft breeze, and birds chirping. All that and a special feeling of the presence of God. After the meditation, each of us shared on the reading. Then the surprise. The last share was from a woman who has been in search of a higher power for some time (as in years). She told us that just within the past day she made a commitment to herself to read Step 11 and understand Step 11 more. So, of course that is why we were reading Step 11, meditating, and praying together. God shot! Wow! Who knew when each of us drove to the meeting that night with visions of being in a church basement that we would meet elsewhere and experience such evidence of God. We left feeling both amazed and energized. Yet again proof positive that we were not in charge that night -- God was, and is! It was all exactly as it was supposed to be. 

My hand in yours, 
Leslie
Ocean & Bay Intergroup News
 
All OA members are welcome to attend Ocean & Bay Intergroup (OBI) meetings held the first Tuesday of the month at St. Patrick Church, 2068 Cranston Street, Cranston, RI. The next meeting is TUESDAY, JULY 11th at 7:30 p.m., with literature sales at 7 p.m.  

PRIOR TO THE MEETING -- THE MINI WORKSHOP, "ACCEPTANCE IS THE ANSWER" will start at 6 p.m.  FLYER   Come get a special boost to your program. You are welcome to stay for the Intergroup meeting after the workshop. 

Intergroup has been working to create a solid budget that provides for a prudent reserve and earmarks funds for anticipated expenses such as travel to Region 6 assemblies and OA World Service for our delegates. Along with that, Intergroup is assessing which groups donate to Region 6 and OA World Service directly versus relying on the local Intergroup to dispense a percentage of its donations. A policy is being developed.

CALL FOR SERVICE: Intergroup would like to sponsor another workshop this fall. Last year more than 80 members attended the summer workshop. Volunteers are needed to help organize this year's workshop. If you are interested, let your Intergroup rep know or send an email to oceanandbayoa@yahoo.com. Thank you! 

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TUESDAY
JULY 11th
ACCEPTANCE
OCEAN & BAY INTERGROUP  presents
 
ACCEPTANCE  Is the Answer

TUESDAY, JULY 11th @ 6 p.m.
 
St. Patrick Catholic Church
2068 Cranston Street
Cranston, RI 02920

UPCOMING MINI WORKSHOPS 
NOT TO BE MISSED! 
Sponsored by Ocean & Bay Intergroup

FIRST TUESDAYS (except July) @ 6 p.m.

July 11  - ACCEPTANCE is the Answer

August 1 - SPIRITUALITY: Discovering, Defining, Uncovering, and Refining Your Relationship with Your Higher Power

September 5 - STEP 4 INVENTORY: Using the Worksheets in the New OA Workbook

October 3 - CHARACTER DEFECTS: Chipping Away at the Fears and Revealing the Strengths that are Within Me

November 7 - ABSTINENCE: A Plan of Eating and Going Further

December 5  - CARRYING THE MESSAGE to Those Who S till Suffer
 
St. Patrick Catholic Church
2068 Cranston Street
Cranston, RI 02920


OA MEETING RESOURCES

OA.ORG has resources for meetings including suggested formats for different kinds of meetings and even group conscience guidelines. 





Reg ion 6 Con vent ion
TORONTO
Stepping 
Up For 
RECOVERY
October 20-21
2017
Sheraton Parkway Toronto North Hotel and Suites
Richmond Hill, Ontario
 
Hotel Reservations Open
Early Bird Convention Registration through August 15th


  
Tools of Recovery

"In working Overeaters Anonymous' Twelve-Step program of recovery from compulsive overeating, we have found that a number of tools are available to assist us. We use these tools ... on a regular basis, to help us achieve and maintain abstinence and recover from our disease." The Tools of Recovery p.1

TOOL OF THE MONTH

ACTION PLAN

An action plan is the process of identifying and implementing attainable actions that are necessary  to support our individual abstinence. Just like our plan of eating, it may vary widely among members and may need to be adjusted to bring structure, balance, and manageability into our lives.

Treasure Chest
Little gems and pearls of wisdom from meetings  and literature. 
 
If GOD is everything, then GOD is in everything.  

Pause, pray, proceed
STEP 7 - 
Humbly asked Him to remove 
our shortcomings. 
 
" In step seven we began to understand the meaning of humility. We practice this principle today by continuing to let go of status-seeking and of thoughts and actions by which we belittled ourselves and others, and to humbly trust God for the removal of our shortcomings." 

"OA Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions" Page 105

NEW THIS YEAR! 
SPONSORSHIP DAY! 
SATURDAY, AUGUST 19th

OA's newest event day,  Sponsorship Day, begins this year  and will be held annually on the third Saturday in August. Groups and service bodies are encouraged to plan local events to  celebrate the role of sponsorship in recovery.
    Last month's WSO News Bulletin erroneously stated that Sponsorship Day would begin in 2018. We apologize for the error, but we're glad to see Sponsorship Day start this summer.
Acceptance 
" A nd acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. 
When I am disturbed, It is because I find some person, place, thing, situation -- 
Some fact of my life -- unacceptable to me, 
And I can find no serenity until I accept 
That person, place, thing, or situation 
As being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. 
Nothing, absolutely nothing happens in God's world by mistake. 
Until I could accept my alcoholism, I could not stay sober; 
Unless I accept life completely on life's terms, 
I cannot be happy. 
I need to concentrate not so much 
On what needs to be changed in the world 
As on what needs to be changed in me and in my attitudes."
 

Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition p. 417 
Copyright  1976 A.A.W.S. Inc.

Q&A

Q: How do you use the tool Action Plan? 

I usually don't know what to do first -- where to start, what to start with, how to be at peace, or what God's will is for me.  An action plan answers all those questions. In the morning, and also whenever else in the day I get stuck, I draw up an action plan with my higher power guiding me as to what to put on it.

Q: What does acceptance mean to you? 

Acceptance is the answer to my problems. The Serenity Prayer tells us to accept the things we cannot change. I have much more energy not fighting circumstances. I can focus on what God wants me to do when I am still. When I don't accept, I make a commotion and get nowhere.

So, I've learned to just take it easy relax and let God lead.

Faith P.


WORDS
OF
WISDOM


"Summertime and the livin' is easy." 

What makes it easy you ask? For me, it's when I implement an action plan. That makes everything uncomplicated, tranquil, and easy because I have a strategy and structure to my day. 

Each morning I make conscious contact with my Higher Power, commit my food, and I put on my calendar what meetings I will attend. 

My action plan is especially helpful during the summer when my schedule becomes unstructured and carefree. My prayer for all of you is that you enjoy an abstinent summertime that is easy and free from  dis-ease. 

For your listening pleasure, enjoy this soulful rendition of "Summertime" by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.) 

Kara M. 
Ocean & Bay Intergroup 
P.O. Box 41273, Providence RI, 02940
Tel: 401-438-1301 | Email:   oceanandbayoa@yahoo.com