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The Incredible Experience of the OA World Service Business Conference
In April Robin M. and I attended the OA World Service Business Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico as voting delegates to represent Ocean & Bay Intergroup. Over the next few months, we will report in the newsletter about important messages from that Conference.
One of the most important responsibilities was to vote on various motions that had been submitted from OA members around the world. But little did I know how personal this conference experience would feel to me. Even though 12 languages and 20 countries were represented, I felt right at home with everyone. Why? Because we all spoke a common language of recovery, of not being alone and isolated. We are recovering together.
In the boutique, OA intergroups sold items like t-shirts, pens, and various recovery items. We sold our Ocean & Bay Journals and stickers. An Iranian woman loved our Journals. She asked if it was possible to get the files that were used to create and print the Journal. Yes, I told her emphatically! Those files are being prepared to email to her so that the Journal can now be printed in Farsi (the official language of Iran is Persian, known locally as Farsi) for OA members in Iran. And I enjoy a new OA friendship from across the world. Together we carry a message of hope to those who are suffering from the illness of compulsive eating.
Nancy H., Chair, Ocean & Bay Intergroup
FACTS about the World Service Business Conference
- 162 total delegates eligible for voting attended the conference.
- 20 countries were represented: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, England, France, Greece, Holland, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Scotland, Spain, United States, Wales.
- 12 languages were represented: Danish, Dutch, English, Farsi, French, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Polish, Spanish, Welsh, ASL.
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“When we came to OA, we found a way out.”
— Overeaters Anonymous, Third Edition
I came to Overeaters Anonymous not because my eating was broken, but because my life was. Food had once been comfort, then it was armor, then it became my prison.
As a child, I learned early that the world could wound. In abusive relationships and painful family patterns, food became the one thing that did not leave, betray, or demand. It soothed. It protected. And in a strange way, it helped me disappear. After a time when being “desirable” felt dangerous rather than affirming, I used weight almost as a boundary, a buffer to keep people at a distance.
But the refuge became unmanageable. The eating was only one symptom. There were the compulsions, the fear, the isolation, the despair. My health faltered. Medications added weight and fatigue. Years slipped by, nearly twenty of them, until I felt trapped in a body I could scarcely care for, living smaller and smaller, alone with habits that no longer protected me.
By the time I found OA, I was desperate enough to try something I could not yet understand. I did not come in with great faith. I came in because I was out of options. And there, quietly, hope began. Not all at once. One step at a time.
My abstinence has changed over the years, shaped by my body’s needs and what recovery has asked of me. But through every turn, a Higher Power has guided me, often when I could not see the next step myself. I came seeking relief from food and found a way to live.
Today my life is no longer narrowed by isolation. It is filled with people I love, creative work that gives me joy, and service that gives my suffering meaning. Recovery was more than simply eating differently. I found a way out! I found the way back to my self and the life my Higher Power always dreamed for me! I have never looked back.
-- Anonymous
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Find connection, recovery, and growth at our Overeaters Anonymous events—Step studies, retreats, anniversaries, and workshops. Think fellowship, humility, relapse-proofing, and the occasional spiritual epiphany.
Ready to join a meeting that might change your day—or your life? Click here to see upcoming OA events and grab your spot: friendly faces, real talk, and tools for staying well.
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Did you know there are OA meetings just for ages 18-30?
Click Here for more info
| Request from Region 6 OA Delegate for help - New “Idea Committee” on supporting OA members in relapse and improving membership retention | As a newly elected Region 6 Delegate who attended the World Service Conference, I’m reaching out for your experience and practical ideas to help our new “Idea Committee” develop relapse-prevention supports and improve member retention across OA. Read more | Thirty questions for daily writing or sponsor discussion for members who want to stop “slipping and sliding” or recommit during relapse. | |
Please note: oa.org’s Document Library has changed its name to: Recovery Resource Library. For now, Ocean & Bay will continue to call this segment of our newsletter “What’s Up Doc?
oa.org has such extensive resources that we’ve decided to feature a new document each month. This month’s featured document is called: “Been Slipping and Sliding? A Reading and Writing Tool”
“Been Slipping and Sliding? A Reading and Writing Tool” (Twelfth-Step-Within Handbook, Appendix D) is an Overeaters Anonymous workbook to help members arrest relapse through structured reading, reflection, and daily writing. It offers 30 paired readings and reflective prompts drawing on OA literature and pamphlets, plus a checklist of early relapse signs (e.g., denial, complacency, dishonesty, exhaustion, bingeing). The tool guides users to revisit food plans, assess willingness to change, and renew commitment to abstinence and OA practices, encouraging sponsor or Twelfth-Step-Within support. Last revised October 1, 2023; OA publications referenced are available from the OA bookstore.
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I want to be with others as I am with myself. There are no pretenses or defenses or self-defeating attitudes. I am learning not to hurt myself, so I play no games. I don’t try to impress myself or act as if I’m important. I know better. I am closest to being myself when I am with myself. Nowhere do I follow a script or play a part or pretend to be something I’m not. Overeaters Anonymous encourages me to be myself when I am with other members. As I share at meetings, it gets easier to put aside the silly cloak of pride that doesn’t fool anyone and keeps my feelings locked up inside. For today: Being myself is like abstinence: it feels good.
Source: June 22, For Today
| 2026 Spring Region 6 Assembly — Summary for Intergroups | The 2026 Spring Region 6 Assembly convened April 11 in Albany (hybrid: in-person and Zoom) with 40 registrants, 18 intergroups represented, and 35 eligible voters. Officers’ reports were distributed in advance and presented; seven committees met. Key actions included passing amendments to Policy 26, adopting new Policy 48 (Convention Scholarship), and approving a September–December 2026 gap budget to bridge the fiscal-year change. The Assembly spotlighted “The Power of WE,” encouraged scholarship applications and PI Blitz funding requests, and presented convention updates. Intergroups should share this summary, note upcoming deadlines (Aug. 5 officer/PI Blitz; Oct. 2 Fall Assembly), and promote local WE-focused activities. | New In-Person Meeting in Cranston | There’s a new in-person meeting called “You Are Never Alone,” on Tuesdays from 6:30–7:30 PM at Praise Tabernacle, 30 Park Avenue, Cranston, RI. For questions, contact Angela at 401-578-0175 or Jerry at 401-862-5806. More information can be found at https://oceanandbay.org/meetings | Please consider writing down your thoughts and sending them to us. We’d love to print them in our newsletter. Thanks a lot. | |
Whether you are a newcomer to Overeaters Anonymous or an experienced member, retreats are a fantastic way to experience recovery, delve into 12 Step work, and spend some time with your Higher Power and old and new friends along the journey.
Where:
Genesis Spiritual Life Center
53 Mill Street, Westfield MA 01085
When:
Friday, July 24 – Sunday, July 26, 2026
Details:
See the flyer below. Click here to download a printable PDF.
Contact:
Call or text Linda G retreat@oawmass.org
845-625-9016
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Ocean & Bay Sticker Store and More
| Ocean & Bay Intergroup has made use of an on-demand e-commerce store to sell a variety of items. What began as a simple idea to design and print a sticker to help spread the message of recovery has turned into an opportunity for you to purchase Ocean & Bay-branded merchandise. That's because every design we created can be applied to pillows, T-shirts, water bottles, community message boards, and so much more. So take a look at our store and feel free to take what you need and leave the rest. | |
Enhance Your Program with a New Journal
| | Every OA meeting in the Ocean & Bay Intergroup is expected to send a meeting representative to the monthly Intergroup meeting. In the 7th tradition spirit of being self-supporting, this includes giving service. At your next business meeting, choose a member to represent your meeting at the Intergroup monthly meeting. Let your meeting’s voice be heard. Please contact Nancy at chair@oceanandbay.org if you have any questions. | | |
The PIPO Committee meets on the 3rd Monday of every month at 10:00 a.m. This month that’s Monday, June 15th. All are welcome.
Here is the Zoom info:
Zoom ID: 875 7170 5051
Passcode: 776158
We’d love for you to join us.
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Find connection, recovery, and growth at our Overeaters Anonymous events—Step studies, retreats, anniversaries, and workshops. Think fellowship, humility, relapse-proofing, and the occasional spiritual epiphany.
Ready to join a meeting that might change your day—or your life? Click here to see upcoming OA events and grab your spot: friendly faces, real talk, and tools for staying well.
| | Service Bodies here to help with your recovery. | | |
SPECIAL FOCUS MEETINGS
You are welcome at any OA meeting, and we hope you’ll try many of the meetings on our Intergroup and oa.org meeting lists! Some of our members find they also benefit from OA meetings with members who share similar experiences, so we are sharing this list of some of the special focus resources that are available in OA.
100 Pounders: Click Here
American Sign Language & Closed Caption – This meeting offers ASL interpretation Tuesdays at 8:00 p.m. Eastern: ASL Tues 8pm
Anorexics and Bulimics in OA – special focus meetings: Anorexics/Bulimics in OA
Asian-Pacific Islander OA: Click Here
Atheist, Agnostics, Secular - special focus meetings: Click Here
Bariatric Surgery: Click Here
BIPOC (Black, Indigenous & People of Color) – special focus meetings: BIPOC Intergroup
Health Issues: Click Here
LGBTQ special focus meetings for OA: bit.ly/ckslist and Click Here
OAMen.org is dedicated to distributing information about meetings, resources, and support for men in OA: Men in OA
Young People in OA – resources for those under 30 who suffer from compulsive eating include Meetings for young persons and https://oayoungpeople.org/
For more special focus meetings, you can go to OA.org:
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go to Find a Meeting
- select a type of meeting (face-to-face, online, telephone, or non-real-time)
- click on "additional search options" and select the desired special focus
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Mission & Vision Ocean & Bay Intergroup is dedicated to supporting individuals in need of recovery from compulsive eating (e.g.: overeating, bulimia, anorexia) through carrying the OA message and empowering all meetings within the Intergroup.
Strategic Goals
1. Help members strengthen their personal recovery
2. Increase the number of sponsors
3. Increase the number of newcomers
4. Increase the retention of newcomers
5. Help those in relapse
6. Inspire people to give more service
7. Increase outreach activities, including outreach to members and healthcare professionals
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Please note that every effort has been made to adhere to OA's policy for newsletter publications. Opinions and experiences expressed within are those of the individual writer and not OA as a whole.
SUBMISSIONS: This is your newsletter! We welcome your contributions of news items or commentary.* Deadline: 15th of each month. Example: Deadline 6/15 for July newsletter.
Please email : newsletter@oceanandbay.org
*May be edited as space allows.
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Ocean & Bay Intergroup
PO Box 2243, East Greenwich, RI 02818
Note: Make checks payable to Ocean and Bay Intergroup
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