Leader

No Abstinence requirement needed to chair a meeting.

Meeting Script

Version 5: Approved at the Group Conscience Meeting on 10/1/2023., Updated 6/3/2024, Updated 10/6/2024

WELCOME to the ___________ (Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Saturday/Sunday) Meeting of “The Bridge”— a meeting intended to be a bridge between experience in OA and other 12-step recovery. 

My name is _______________, and I am a ________________ and your leader for this meeting.

THE BRIDGE is an open meeting of OA. An open OA meeting allows everyone to visit—compulsive eater or not, no matter who you are.

OA meetings welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. Many of us have experienced the power of recovery through the 12 steps in another program.

We believe we can benefit from our foundations in other 12-step programs as we recover from compulsive eating.

OA also recognizes the Big Book and other AA literature as official literature of the program of OA.

After a moment of silence will those who wish to, please join me in the “we” form of the serenity prayer…

PAUSE

God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.

If you are here for the first, second, or third time, or if you are returning to OA, please introduce yourself so we can welcome you. 

[Welcome each person by name]

Please note that mentioning alcohol, drugs, or any other compulsive behavior, is permitted if it relates to your recovery in Overeaters Anonymous. 

The following is the OA Preamble:

Overeaters Anonymous is a Fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength, and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating and compulsive food behaviors. We welcome everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions, neither soliciting nor accepting outside donations. OA is not affiliated with any public or private organization, political movement, ideology, or religious doctrine; we take no position on outside issues. Our primary purpose is to abstain from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors and to carry the message of recovery through the Twelve Steps of OA to those who still suffer.

[If possible, ask someone in advance to read the following.]

The Twelve Steps of Overeaters Anonymous

  1. We admitted we were powerless over food—that our lives had become unmanageable.
  2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
  9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
  11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
  12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to compulsive overeaters and to practice these principles in all our affairs. 

(Optional: Leader may follow 12 steps with)

“But I’m too weak. I’ll never make it!” Don’t worry, we have all thought and said the same thing. The amazing secret to the success of this program is just that: weakness. It is weakness, not strength, that binds us to each other and to a Higher Power and somehow gives us the ability to do what we cannot do alone.”

From OA’s invitation to you. 

These are the Tools of the Program of OA. The tools of the program assist us as we work and live the 12 steps.

The nine tools are: (1) A plan of eating, (2) Sponsorship, (3) Meetings, (4) Telephone, (5) Writing, (6) Literature, (7) Anonymity, (8) Service, and (9) Action Plan.

OA defines abstinence as quote: the action of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight.

All Pertinent Information regarding 7th Tradition, PayPal and Venmo instructions, WhatApp and Group Information will be posted in the Chat.

SEVENTH TRADITION:

According to our 7th Tradition, we are self-supporting through our own contributions. 7th Tradition for this meeting will go to the Zoom room, as well as regular contributions to our Intergroup, Region, and World Service to help carry the message to other compulsive overeaters. The PayPal and Venmo information will be shared in the Chat.

FELLOWSHIP AND OUTREACH: 

We encourage you to share your contact information. in the chat, and to take numbers to connect with each other for outreach and Fellowship.

Sponsorship is one of our keys to success. Sponsors are OA members committed to abstinence and to living the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions to the best of their ability. To find a sponsor, look for someone who has what you want, and ask them how they are achieving it.

Will all available sponsors please write their contact info in the chat,  Thank you.

There is also a WhatsApp group chat for Fellowship, and the information to join will be posted.

All information about the Bridge can be found at oabridge.org.

Are there any OA announcements?

INTRODUCE READING ( Per Group Conscience please only use OA or AA Conference approved literature for Tuesday and Thursday)

If Tuesday or Thursday

Tonight, we will be…

If Saturday

Today we are discussing the tool of ________

If Sunday

Tonight, we are reading Step _____ from The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous. We’ll read from the book and share afterward.

We will now share.

Please confine your sharing to your experience with the disease of compulsive eating or any other compulsive behavior that may be part of your past, the solution offered by OA, and your own recovery from this disease.

Raise your hand by clicking “Raise Hand” on your Zoom controls, or click “More” if you don’t see it. Cross-talk and advice-giving are discouraged. If no one raises their hand, I will call on people. You will have 3 minutes to share. Please keep your eye on the timer.

The meeting is now open for sharing. Who would like to share first?

[Closing the meeting two minutes before the hour.]

The Bridge welcomes new members! We believe that having a home group strengthens our commitment to ourselves, each other, and the program.  Consider making this meeting your home group!

The BRIDGE meets on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday are sharing meetings, Saturday is focused on the tools, and Sunday is a step study. All meetings have the same zoom id and passcode. 

Please remember our commitment to honor each other’s anonymity. ‘What you hear here, whom you see here, when you leave here, let it stay here.’ 

Let us all reach out to each other.  Together we get better. Thank you for allowing me to be your leader.

After the meeting closes please stay online and join us in the Parking Lot for fellowship and support members who are in need. Thank You for your service.

After a moment of silence for the compulsive eater who is still suffering, and has no idea that there is a solution, will those of you who wish to unmute, and join me in the Serenity Prayer.

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