Secretary Meeting Prep:
Members can log onto Skype by following the details below here.
The co-Sec will log into the Skype profile 10 minutes before the start time to greet and select members to give service as follows:
The 12 Steps of SLAA
The Characteristics of SLAA
The HOW concept and tools
The reading/Chair for the appropriate week of the month.
Signs of recovery
A time keeper.
MEETING STARTS
SECRETARY:Hello everyone and welcome to our People of Colour in SLAA HOW SKYPE meeting. My name is:__________, I am a ______________and the Secretary for this meeting.
Would you please keep your microphones muted and join me in the Serenity Prayer:
God, grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.
Would all members please observe the following courtesy’s.
- Please put principles before personalities, this is not a meeting to disrespect members any particular race, culture, gender, sexuality, and/or beliefs.
- Please make sure your phones are switched off or on silent.
- Meetings will start promptly as stated in the timetable. However, the Secretary will call the group 10 minutes before the scheduled start time to greet newcomers and select members for the readings.
- If you arrive late, please IM the Technical Secretary and you will be brought into the meeting. Please enter quietly with your microphone muted. If you wish to leave early, please leave quietly.
- To maintain call quality, please keep your SKYPE microphone on mute unless you are invited to speak. This is done by opening the ‘call’ drop down menu, then selecting the mute option. If the call drops out for technical reasons, please do not call. Wait for the Secretary to redial the whole group back into the meeting.
- If you wish to participate in the meeting, you will need a copy of the SLAA 12 steps, the characteristics, the SLAA basic text, the non-conference approved ‘People of Colour in SLAA’ pamphlet and the SLAA Signs of Recovery. All of the documents can be found in our website link http://www.pocinslaa.org in the IM box. Elit post
- Please respect the ‘No IM cross talk’ boundary. You may briefly acknowledge each speaker in the IM box with ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ but please do not engage in sending messages to other members. If there are any issues, please IM the Secretary directly but also be mindful that the Secretary is also attending the meeting for his/her own recovery.
- There is a SKYPE limit of 25 members permitted in each session, so please accept our apologies if the meeting is full.
Would ……… please read the Twelve steps of SLAA …….. Thank You. Elit post
I will now hand you over to this week’s chairperson……….. Thank you.
CHAIRPERSON:
Hi, my name is:__________, I am a ______________and the chairperson for this meeting.
PREAMBLE
Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition oriented fellowship based on the model pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous. The only qualification for S.L.A.A. membership is a desire to stop living out a pattern of sex and love addiction. S.L.A.A. is supported entirely through the contributions of its membership, and is free to all who need it.
As People of Colour, we experience our recovery journey through an additional prism impacted by historical legacies and current issues of racism, discrimination and prejudice. In this space, we explore the connection between racism and our S.L.A.A. behaviour. We share our experience, strength and hope to empower ourselves and find racial sobriety in our relationships. Racial sobriety means that we have a deep intimate connection, awareness and acceptance of our identity. We live in the present, maintain perspective, seeing ourselves and others as equal members of the global human family.
To counter the destructive consequences of racism and our SLAA addiction, we draw on five major resources:
1. Sobriety. Our willingness to accept ourselves and stop acting out in our own personal bottom-line addictive/anorexic behaviour on a daily basis.
2. Sponsorship / Meetings. Our capacity to reach out for the supportive fellowship with other People of Colour within the S.L.A.A community.
3. Steps. Our practice of the Twelve Step program of recovery to achieve racial, sexual and emotional sobriety.
4. Service. Our giving back to others within our community, what we continue to freely receive.
5. Spirituality. Our developing a relationship with a Power greater than ourselves which can guide and sustain us in recovery.
As a fellowship S.L.A.A. has no opinion on outside issues and seeks no controversy. S.L.A.A. is not affiliated with any other organizations, movements or causes, either religious or secular. We are, however, united in a common focus: dealing with our addictive sexual and emotional behaviour. We find a common denominator in our obsessive/compulsive patterns which renders any personal differences of racial, sexual or gender orientation irrelevant. We need protect with special care the anonymity of every S.L.A.A. member. Additionally, we try to avoid drawing undue attention to S.L.A.A. as a whole from the public media.
TRADITION OF THE MONTH
The Twelve Traditions of our program provides guidelines for running the group appropriately with regards to finance, public relations, donations, and our purpose within the global SLAA fellowship. Our current month is —————, so would someone please read the corresponding tradition of the month? (Elit post)
CLOSED GROUP (Elit post)
Our common welfare must come first and in order to protect the safety of the group, this meeting is only open to members who identify as a Person of Colour. We explore race issues just like men or women’s groups explore gender. If you do not identify as a Person of Colour, we respectfully ask that you leave this space and check the SLAA website at http://www.slaafws.org for alternative meetings. We hope that you find an appropriate meeting and keep coming back to the programme.
NEWCOMERS:
If there is anyone here at SLAA for the first time?
If there are newcomers: Please unmute your microphone and give us your first name so we can get to know you, then remute….…. We welcome you to this meeting. Some of what you hear here may seem strange, but we recommend that you try to listen to the similarities rather than the differences. We also recommend that you attend 6 meetings before deciding if SLAA is for you. We also suggest that you view our safety statement in order to keep yourself safe. (Elit post)
THE HOW PROGRAMME: (Elit post)
Would somebody please read the H.O.W Concept and 2 of the tools… Thank you.
CHARACTERISTICS: (Elit post)
Would …….. please read the 12 Characteristics of Sex and Love Addiction. Thank you.
STEPPING UP:
At this point, please unmute and reveal if anyone is stepping up today? (If yes)
At this point of the meeting we ask the group to join us as we celebrate another example of the miracles that abound in SLAA. This portion of the meeting is known as “Stepping Up”. The sponsor is asked to introduce a newcomer who has 30 days of continuous back-to-back sobriety, has taken the first three steps and is now ready to become a sponsor.
Sponsor and sponsee share for two minutes each. The timekeeper will keep time with a 2 minute time limit and will unmute his/her microphone and give a warning after 1 minute with one minute to wrap up. Thank you.
RACE STEPWORK SHARING.
For many of us, the racial power dynamics in our sponsor/sponsee relationships make it difficult to share our experiences honestly. For this reason, we give ourselves permission to write a separate race inventory, which can be read without feedback from the group. If there are several people wishing to share, the time will be divided up appropriately. Is there anyone wishing to read any race related step work?
(If yes) There is a maximum of 5 mins for step work to be read out to the group. The timekeeper will give a warning after 4 mins. Please begin reading your inventory.
MILESTONES:
Is anyone here celebrating their first 60 days of SLAA HOW sobriety?… 90 days?… 6 months?… 9 months or longer?… (If yes) Please un-mute and join me in celebrating this SLAA sobriety milestone. (Clapping for the member.) Please re-mute your microphone.
FORMAT:
The Format of this meeting rotates on a set monthly schedule.
(choose one of the 4 versions depending on the week number and skip the others)
Week 1 (1-7) = Non-conference approved People of Colour in SLAA pamphlet.
Week 2 (8-14) = SLAA Basic text step study.
Week 3 (15 – 21) = POC in SLAA questions.
Week 4 (22 – 28) = A guest chair speaker.
Week 5 (28 – 31) = Non-conference approved People of Colour in SLAA pamphlet.
Week 1, & 5: People of Colour pamphlet. (Elit post)
This week, we read from the non-conference approved ‘People of Colour in SLAA’ pamphlet for 10 mins. Would someone please be willing to keep time? Thank you. (Post link – The pamphlet section is read and then skip down to ‘Shares’ section below.)
Week 2: SLAA Steps.
We will now read Step ??….. From the SLAA basic text. (The respective step should correspond with the number of the appropriate month of the year.) Would someone please be willing to keep time? Thank you. The Step is read and then skip down to ‘Shares’ section below.
Week 3: POC in SLAA questions.
This week we share from the race and relationship questions. Each sharer will be given a random number chosen by the previous sharer between 1 and 24. The question will be posted in the IM box, then the chairperson will invite the next person to read and share their experience on that particular question, or choose to get current. Would someone please be willing to keep time? I will choose the number for the first sharer which will be…(Read the sharing section)
Week 4: Guest Chair Speaker
Today, I would like to introduce ________, our Guest Chair Speaker. S/he has come to share her/his experience, strength and hope with us for 15 minutes. The timekeeper will unmute his/her microphone and give a warning at three 5 minute intervals for today’s speaker.Would someone please be willing to keep time?
SHARING:
A share is an experience that has helped us to grow. Cultural identification can open doors for powerful personal and community healing. When we are Honest, Open and Willing to share our truth, we experience a new sense of freedom where courage and community, replace fear and isolation.
Please respect our sharing code of conduct. Speakers should refrain from reference to non SLAA literature, authors or counsellors by name. We do not engage in cross-talk which is defined as, ‘members interrupting or directly addressing another person’s share. We also refrain from IM cross talk. You may briefly acknowledge each speaker with ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ but please do not engage in sending messages to other members.
This meeting is a space to promote healing, respect and spiritual growth and we honour these principles by not using racial slurs or racially abusive language, regardless of the context. Please keep profanity to a minimum. The secretary will repost this statement if necessary, in order to maintain the safety of the group. If you do hear something you believe to be unacceptable or racially triggering, you may wish to step out of the room for the duration of that share to keep yourself safe. Take what you like and leave the rest! Our full cross talk /sharing safety statement can be seen in the IM box. (Elit post)
Please send a message in the IM box if you wish to share today. Please include your first name and if you have 14 days SLAA HOW sobriety. It is suggested that members with 14 days or more of bottom line sobriety share first, sponsors who have slipped may share after 7 days of bottom-line sobriety.
When invited to share, please unmute and start speaking. The timekeeper will keep a 4 minute time limit with a warning after 3 minutes with one minute to wrap up. When you have finished your share, please re-mute. Please respect your time boundary so as many members as possible may share today. If you go over your time, the Secretary may ask you again to wrap up. The Chairperson will pick the sharers at random. The meeting is now open for sharing until 9.05pm London time.
9.05pm END OF SHARING
This brings us to the end of sharing for today, thank you for allowing me to be your Chairperson for today’s meeting. I will now hand the meeting back to _____________, the Secretary.
SECRETARY:
TOP LINE ACTIONS AND GRATITUDE SHARES: (Elit post)
The suggested top lines for People Of Colour are positive behaviours that can build self-esteem and enhance our recovery from this addiction. When we are grateful, it can bring clarity to our day and hope for peace tomorrow. I will now invite each member to share something they are grateful for, along with a top line which will promote your recovery today. You can choose one of the suggestions, or share your own. Please be specific and keep it simple. When invited, please un-mute, state your top line and re-mute.
Would…….… please start?
OTHER BUSINESS:
Our seventh tradition tells us that we must be fully self-supporting through our own contributions. There is no charge for this meeting but you can contribute by giving service.
Would all available sponsors post the length of your sobriety and the level to which you can sponsor? Anyone needing sponsors should make contact directly with those available after the meeting.
If you are available for outreach or willing to call newcomers, please IM members directly after the meeting.
Are there any service reports?
Are there any SLAA related announcements?
Can we please have a volunteer who has 14 days of continuous back-to-back SLAA HOW sobriety to chair our next meeting? Would_________ please read the signs of recovery.
I would like to thank the following people for making this meeting possible:
Co-secretaries:
Chairperson:
Chair finders:
G.S.R.:
eLiterature secretary:
Timekeeper:
(Speaker:)
And all those that read aloud and shared.
CLOSURE
In closing, we would like to remind you that the opinions expressed here were strictly those of the people who gave them and does not represent SLAA as a whole. Take what you like and leave the rest. ANONYMITY is the spiritual foundation of our program. If we are to recover, we must feel free to say what is in our minds and hearts. Therefore, whom you see here, what you hear here, when you leave here, please let it stay here.
Reason things out, talk to each other, but let there be no gossip or criticism among us. Instead, let the peace, love and understanding of the programme grow in you one day at a time. Your are welcome to join us for fellowship after today’s meeting. After a moment of silence for those still suffering, and for those who have died from this disease, please join…. (Chairperson or Speaker) in the Serenity Prayer. MEETING ENDS
People of Colour in SLAA 