[Businessmtg] OLA-IS Question

[David Whittleton]

I vote that we approve both!

On Sat, Oct 15, 2011 at 12:25 AM, Steve Rankin <steve at serenitysys.com>wrote:

> 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
>
>
>
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-- 
Regards,

DPaul
Tampa, FL