[Businessmtg] Service

[Steve Rankin]

Barbara,

Partly because ASP is not an Al-Anon group, and therefore can't legitimately
be compared to an Al-Anon group in every way, and partly because ASP's scope
and range far exceeds any Al-Anon group, ASP has for many years compared
itself to a World Service Area. The gist of it is that ASP's structure
resembles an Area more than a group.  

Now, when I look at the tenure and service prerequisites for serving in an
elected position at the Area level, I see that many years of service and
prior service positions are required.

For starters, a member must first be elected as the Group Rep of their
group. While I have known a handful that get themselves elected GR within
just a few months of their first Al-Anon meeting, the majority have at least
a year or two before they are elected GR. Then, after having served as GR
for 3 years, they are one of the GRs in their District eligible to be
elected as District Rep. Then, after having served as a District Rep for 3
years, they are finally eligible to be elected to a World Service Area
elected officer position. 

While it is technically possible to achieve in 6 years, my experience is
that it typically takes members between 9 and 20 years to reach the point of
being elected as an Area officer. For myself, I was in Al-Anon for 13 years
and had served as an Intergroup Rep, Group Rep, District Rep. 

So, by comparison the tenure and service requirements to serve as an elected
officer of ASP are little if any more than the very basic entry-level GR
position and far, far less than an Area officer position. 

The GR service position requires merely attending a monthly District
meeting, and a few Area meetings/Assemblies a year, no administrative
duties, no daily or even weekly responsibilities, and no requirement to
perform in a leadership role. If the GR flakes, doesn't go to District
meetings or Assemblies, or even quits Al-Anon there is little if any affect
on the meeting. 

I attended a meeting in Oakland, CA for years that had zero trusted
servants. None. Not even someone with a key to the church - we met at the
same time as the AAs so we let them open the doors (AAs are always early
anyway) and they locked the place up. No GR, no treasurer, no nobody. Yet,
it was a good meeting. 

OTOH, our Steering Committee positions come with serious and time consuming
administrative and leadership responsibilities. If any one of four positions
flake, the meeting will suffer unless the other members of the Steering
Committee pick up the ball. 

On our Founding Principles page we talk about how ASP was founded with the
intention of providing a stable meeting that is a safe place for members of
Al-Anon to share their experience, strength and hope, and follows the
Al-Anon Traditions - no exceptions. It takes time and prior service
experience to develop not just an understanding, but an ability to apply the
principles of Al-Anon. So yes, the members of ASP made the decision to set a
boundary on who can serve. We did that to protect the sanctity of the
members and ASP itself. 

For those that are newer and want to serve, we have 10 service positions
that rotate relatively often. Ten service positions is far more than any f2f
meeting that I've ever known of. If that's not good enough for someone, then
frankly I probably don't want that person serving in a critical position on
the Steering Committee. Service is supposed to be about doing what ASP
needs, not what the member wants to do. 

Unlike any other Al-Anon meeting that I've ever seen, ASP lays it all out in
front of everyone to see. We are totally transparent; our structure, how we
do Business Meetings, our group consciences. Everything is available to
every member. As it says on the Founding Statement page that we require
every member to read before joining: "If you don't like what you see here,
you may want to continue your search for the right online meeting for you."

Love and SERENITY,
Steve


-----Original Message-----
From: Businessmtg On Behalf Of BJ
Sent: Monday, March 16, 2020 10:14 AM
To: steve at serenitysys.com
Cc: ASP Business <businessmtg at asp-afg.org>
Subject: [Businessmtg] Service

Hi All,

I totally agree with having meetings about program service as it is a
healthy way to learn about and work this program.

The problem I see in gaining volunteers is the high number/months of
qualifications this meeting requires for service.  In 50  years of program,
I  have never seen such a long, involved list for qualifying duties be it
f2f, OL, Area, District or Delegate and I have served all positions.

To me looking at that long list could be a put off to some who might want to
volunteer for service.  Have you ever thought about making changes to your
list of qualifications?

Thanks BM for all you do.
BJ 


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