[Businessmtg] Service

[Sarah]

Hi Business Meeting,
Here are my responses to the questions regarding service.

What does service mean to you?
To me service is an essential part of Al-Anon and our Legacies.  Service
provides a safe place for me to grow in relation to others.  Service also
teaches me how to be a good leader and a good follower in a functional
setting.

What does service mean to the health of our group?
Service is critical to our well-being both personally and as a group as we
navigate recovery. A meeting place survives or dies based on members who
attend and members who serve.  It dies when it no longer exists or it dies
because it is no longer Al-Anon.

What keeps me from volunteering?
I am not eligible to serve ASP, but if I were, I do not think I would
serve.  I am in Al-Anon and on ASP for recovery, and based on what I have
observed about service at ASP, I don’t believe my recovery would be safe if
I were in service here. Those in service at ASP do not share in the
recovery meeting, and I’ve never seen that occur in any Al-Anon face to
face or online meeting I’ve attended. Service members don't seem to
complete their term and several former trusted servants no longer appear to
be at ASP at all. There have been empty service positions for extended
periods of time and it makes me concerned about what is happening at ASP
that members are not willing to serve.   The tension I have felt in
previous meetings among those in service, also gives me pause to consider
my safety to speak what I think and feel here.  I’m not willing to lose my
serenity or the place where I receive some of my recovery by serving.

I have also noticed that while several service positions have not been
filled, the meeting still runs anyway.  This seems to be, IMHO, a lack of
reliance on HP to allow this meeting to close if that is what is needed.
What I have seen is that leaders rotate positions, but the same players
occupy the seats. This seems to be a problem with dominance and lack of
rotation of leadership.

I could see myself possibly serving at ASP if the traditions and concepts
of Alanon are being honored, entirely.  I can’t serve Al-Anon if the
suggested guidelines are not followed as they are written.  ASP has its own
service structure that hasn’t proven to be trustworthy or reliable and is
in direct conflict with the Al-Anon traditions and concepts as indicated in
the Service Manual. I can’t see how I could serve and trust ASP’s process
when we know Al-Anon’s process works.

Email communication?
This is an email meeting and I appreciate being able to receive ESH at any
time of day. However, email communication makes it difficult to reach a
consensus in a Business Meeting on an issue when we don't know who is
present in the meeting and who is not, though their name is displayed as a
participant. Case in point, the January meeting, when there were those that
did not vote or forgot to vote on an important issue.  There is no
indication when someone has left the meeting and yet they are counted as
part of the 2/3 vote anyway.  In a face to face, or phone meeting, it is
clear who is present and who is not.

Thanks for reading.

Hugs,
Sarah