“I’ve been blessed to attend some of our World Service Conventions,” says Bonnie. ”I know I‘ll be reunited with my ‘worldwide friends’ and meet new ones. Most heartwarming is when . . . ‘I put my hand in yours’ again.”
“Why do I keep coming back to World Service Convention? When was the last time you were in a room with more than a thousand compulsive eaters working or working toward a program of recovery?” —Karen, OA member with a more than 200-pound (91-kg) weight loss.
Every night, Meg went out shopping for snacks. She’d come home, stuff herself, and then suffer from bad sleep caused by her compulsive eating. “I’d feel my ongoing failure as a human being,” she recalls. But after finding abstinence in OA, she now says “I feel light-hearted and excited about life. I’m blessed with so much more.”
“I’m planning on attending the next World Service Convention this August 21–23 in Orlando, Florida USA, and I hope you plan to attend too,” says one anonymous OA member. “This is an opportunity you won’t want to miss!”
I need the balance of recovery and fellowship to keep me well. I get both when attending a World Service Convention. I always get excited just thinking about World Service Convention. These are events not to miss! I have attended almost every World Service Convention since 1995, and I’ve attended lots of workshops at them, … Continued
“The best part of Convention was sitting and talking to OA members from all over the world,” says Bob, who has attended five World Service Conventions. “I laughed the most at a workshop in Cleveland on LGBTQ+ issues. The leader was hilarious, and the sharing was hard hitting.”
“Most of us are used to the Fellowship as the place where we are listened to unconditionally, supported, and loved,” says Samantha. “Then we come to intergroup, and suddenly we are met with competing needs, desires, and ideas.” Sam reports the lessons she has learned from working with others in her intergroup.
“In our area, we are struggling to attract and retain new members,” says Heather from New Zealand. “I have been mentored over the years . . . to share the solution. This writing is the service I can do today.” Read how Heather works her program daily.
“So many people set powerful examples that I want to emulate,” says OA member Rhonda after experiencing her first OA Convention. “I am very grateful for the organizers of this World Service Convention and all it offered everyone”
Barbara recounts the two World Service Conventions she attended, and says, “Conventions are a great place to strengthen recovery, find a sponsor, make new friends, nurture existing OA relationships, and allow ourselves to have some fun.”