💙 IDEA DAY 📞 Virtual Meetings & Events 💻 a new book from OA!

Dear OA Members,

This is your July 2020 newsletter...arriving on the eve of August 2 in your inboxes. Progress not perfection! C.O.LA. met in June and July. Please scroll through the news and share with fellows at your meetings. In this newsletter,
- LOTS of info about virtual meetings during COVID-19
- virtual IDEA Day workshop save the date!
- Concept 7
- a new book in the OA Bookstore!

All About Meetings During COVID-19

Conference Line Available

C.O.LA. has a free telephone conference line. If your meeting would like to use it, email oa.cola@yahoo.com. A C.O.LA. member will respond to let you know if the line is available and provide the necessary information.

Meeting List Reminder

Please check the meeting list here at oaneworleans.org for recent updates and to verify your meeting's information. Email oacola@googlegroups.com with any changes to C.O.LA.'s meeting list and edit your meeting listing at OA.org.

Virtual Meetings & Events

Did you know that there is a Virtual Region? They put on events and also have a great list of how to attend many types of OA meetings that are not in person meetings. You can also attend Region 3's Recovery Convention and Business Assembly on next Friday-Sunday, August 7-9, 2020.

Unity with Diversity

One of C.O.LA.'s committees is Unity With Diversity. We have some exciting ideas in the works, and for now we want to share a few links to two special focus meeting lists below. More on special focus meetings at OA.org here.

Special focus meetings for Black People and People of Color

Special Focus meetings LGBTQIA+

SAVE THE DATE!

Pearls in Formation:
A Spiritual Program in Action
Gulf Coast Virtual IDEA Day Workshop

Saturday, November 21
1:00-5:00pm

We'll be sharing more information about the format and how to join via internet or telephone in the coming months. Please invite your fellow meeting goers to save the date! Cheers for the Retreat Planning Committee who are reimagining our annual fall event.

What is IDEA Day? It is International Day Experiencing Abstinence (IDEA), celebrated the third weekend in November, encourages OA members worldwide to begin or reaffirm their abstinence from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors.

At each C.O.LA. meeting, we discuss OA Concept of Service of the month. Similar to the Steps and Traditions, there are 12 OA Concepts of Service.

Concept Seven:
BALANCE

"The Board of Trustees has legal rights and responsibilities accorded to them by OA Bylaws, Subpart A; the rights and responsibilities of the World Service Business Conference are accorded to it by Tradition and by OA Bylaws, Subpart B."

Before Program, balance seemed impossible--both when it came to the food of course but also in my unmanageable life. In fact, one line in Step 2 of the 12 Steps & 12 Traditions of Overeaters Anonymous puts it very clearly: "Compulsive overeaters are often people of extremes." Thanks to a Higher Power and the Steps, I can now walk the tightrope that is balance. I even think of the saying "keep coming back" as a reminder to come back to center regularly.

Concept 7 explains balance where service is concerned. There are two parts to the bylaws of Overeaters Anonymous, Inc.

- The first part (Subpart A) explains how we meet the legal requirements placed on nonprofit corporations by the United States government.
- The second part (Subpart B) lays out our structure and procedures in keeping with the group conscience of the World Service Business Conference (WSBC).

This year, because of the pandemic, WSBC was not the fun, active week in hotel conference rooms in Albuquerque where motions to change the bylaws are heard and voted on by our representatives. Rather, the Board of Trustees identified the only two things that needed to be done in order to exist for the next year until we can all gather again from our various parts of the world. On video conference, delegates (including ours from COLA) voted on the election of new trustees and passed new literature.

There's no telling what WSBC will look like in the next few years but the worldwide group conscience is such an important part of our program that I know we will find the balance to get our business done while also keeping all of us safe.

Yours in service,
Sarah
COLA Chair

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The C.O.LA. Treasurer disperses 30% of the 7th Tradition we receive to OA World Service and 10% to OA Region 8, keeping the remaining 60% for our intergroup. We accept financial contributions via Paypal or mail.

The next monthly C.O.LA. Intergroup Meeting will be held on Saturday, August 15 at 9:00am CST via this zoom meeting link. All are welcome.

All About Meetings During COVID-19 Conference Line Available

Concept Seven: BALANCE

All About Meetings During COVID-19

Conference Line Available

Concept Seven:
BALANCE