[Businessmtg] OLA-IS Question

[Steve Rankin]

Jerry et al,

Who said that OLA-IS is non-Al-Anon?

Tradition 3 states: "The relatives of alcoholics, when gathered together for mutual aid, may call themselves an Al-Anon Family Group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. The only requirement for membership is that there be a problem of alcoholism in a relative or friend."

OLA-IS is every bit as much a part of Al-Anon as ASP is.  Perhaps even more since unlike ASP, OLA-IS has met face-to-face.  FYI, there is no requirement for the frequency of face-to-face groups meeting - some registered f2f groups meet annually for the sole purpose of hosting a conference.

Being registered with WSO is not a requirement for being an Al-Anon meeting or group.  It never has been.  There were many Al-Anon groups prior to the formation of WSO and they were no less Al-Anon then than after WSO was formed.  Similarly, ASP was no less an Al-Anon meeting before we registered with WSO than afterwards.  Interestingly, there are Al-Anon and AA groups that take a group conscience to NOT register with WSO/GSO.  

Likewise, there is no requirement that a group be registered before members of Al-Anon can contribute to the group's 7th Tradition.  Furthermore, it has been my experience that Al-Anon service entities, such as Districts, Areas and WSO routinely accept funds from Al-Anon groups that are not registered.  

Unlike Districts that have geographic boundaries specified by the Al-Anon service structure, Intergroups may have other geographic boundaries that do not correspond to any District or Area boundaries.  The only proviso I know of is that an Intergroup should not interfere with the geographic coverage of another Intergroup.  Since there is no Intergroup that services the online community, OLA-IS does not conflict with any existing Intergroup.  

What I have been told by WSO is that some of the leadership of Al-Anon is afraid that some member from some other country besides the USA & Canada will get into a position of leadership in online Al-Anon, hence their denial that online meetings are groups.  Now why that's a big deal escapes me because International members are routinely allowed to attend the WSC - you & I aren't, but folks from other countries do attend.  

Groups are not supposed to elect GRs that are members of AA, but they do.  Likewise, Districts are not supposed to elect DRs that are members of AA, but some do.  And so goes some Areas.  The protocol for such situations at the WSC is to not seat any Delegate that is also a member of AA.  Simple & effective.  However, rather than deal with that potential issue when & if it ever arose, they decided that we are not an Al-Anon group & therefore the leadership at WSO the WSC don't have to deal with the issue.  

As for comparing the online meetings to the Lone Members?  While I guess it's possible to compare us to the Lone Members, it certainly seems a whole lot more logical to compare us to the face-to-face meetings.  

A thought . . . I'm heavily involved in salmon recovery in the Pacific Northwest.  We have regular monthly meetings of both the technical experts and the representatives of the governments (city, county & tribal).  At most meetings there are some members of the organization that attend the meeting via Skype.  While not physically present at the meeting, the individuals are considered present both figuratively and legally.  Back when I was an Area Officer there were occasions when the officers 'met' via a conference call.  While we preferred to meet in person, sometimes it just wasn't feasible.  Pretty much like how we suggest that ALL members of Al-Anon attend face-to-face meetings, but sometimes it just isn't feasible so our members attend ASP instead.  

Does that mean that the members of ASP are less of a member of Al-Anon than the folks that attend face-to-face meetings?  Well, I guess if you buy the interpretation that online meetings are not groups, then it does follow that the members of the online meeting are somehow less of a member of Al-Anon than the member of a face-to-face meeting.  If you don't think that isn't the case, then I'd like to know who our GR is and how we go about carrying OUR message to the folks at WSO & the WSC.  See, it's been well over 15 years since I started ASP and I with one small exception roughly ten years ago, EVERY contact I have received from WSO was a directive from them.  Doesn't our Service Manual tell us that WSO should NEVER attempt to direct the fellowship?  

Bottom line?  OLA-IS is just as much a part of Al-Anon as ASP is.  And OLA-IS has a history of providing much better service to the online meetings than WSO has ever even attempted.  So, why wouldn't we support OLA-IS?

Love and SERENITY,
Steve