Recovery Serenity Prosperity

The GSB Literature Publications and Literature Services Committees are asking D.A. members to submit their recovery stories for possible inclusion in the “Member Stories” section of the Basic Text of Debtors Anonymous.

Our hope is that the recovery stories will reflect a rich variety and range of experiences in Debtors Anonymous:

• Authors will need to identify as “debtors” or “compulsive debtors” in order to be consistent with D.A.’s primary focus, which is to not incur any new unsecured debt
• Members are welcome to identify and highlight symptoms of debting in their personal stories (underearning and compulsive spending, for example)
• To reach as many still-suffering debtors as possible, we are seeking stories from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. This could include touching on aspects of: 
• Exhibiting the “Twelve Signs of Compulsive Debting” behaviors
• Growing up in extreme wealth or poverty
• Recovering in a couple (one or both are in D.A.)
• Raising a family as a debtor
• Debting outside the U.S. (e.g., countries where mobile phones are credit cards)
• Experiencing synchronicity in recovery (e.g., working Step 9 and   running into past acquaintances to whom you owe amends)
• Experiencing miracles in recovery (e.g., debting behaviors lifted)
• Similarly, members from underrepresented populations (e.g., BIPOC, TGI, LGBTQIA+, disability, etc.) are invited to include this part of their identity if they feel comfortable doing so.

Please send submissions in editable text format only (not PDF) with a suggested maximum length of 2,500 words. If you are unable to send your story due to technical, language, disability, or other considerations, please email us and we will work with you to accommodate your needs.

You must include a signed and dated Assignment of Rights release form with your story (available at https://debtorsanonymous.org/release) and submit by email only to: basictextstories@debtorsanonymous.org

Please include your full name, phone number, and mailing and email addresses.

All personal information will be kept confidential.

Click here to download flyer

The 5th Annual Event to Honor Promise Six

“Isolation will give way to fellowship; faith will replace fear.”

A fun day to celebrate our Fellowship together.

Promise Six Day is an annual event approved by the World Service Conference that takes place on the fourth Saturday of April. Members are encouraged to participate in fellowship to break out of isolation. 

Groups are encouraged to plan activities – in person or virtual – for fun and fellowship. 

~ Click here for a musical tag ~

Check out ideas for events and register your group’s event now!

~ Here is a list of Promise Six Day events around the world ~

Click here to download flyer

Spiritually Sustainable Earning is earning that meets our emotional, mental,  physical, and spiritual needs. As we work the Steps and apply the Tools in  everything we do, our earning efforts come into alignment with our Higher  Power’s will. As a result, we find ourselves living a prosperous life, wealthy  in relationships and rich in experiences. 

Please join us to hear from three D.A. members how spiritually sustainable earning has changed their lives.

The qualifications will be followed by Q & A / Open Sharing.  

USA & CANADA CALL IN NUMBER: +1.605.472.5540 
ACCESS CODE: 617093  

For international numbers and online access:
www.debtorsanonymous.org/call-in-access

Click to download flyer

The Toronto Saturday morning meeting (Recover from Debting, Group #508) will be holding a series of fundraising workshops this year where participants will be working the Twelve steps together.  For each Step, there will be a speaker and time to do personal work on that Step. At the end of each workshop there will be time for open sharing.

If you are new to the program or don’t have a sponsor, this is a great opportunity to start your work on the Steps. If you are a long-timer, this is a great way to deepen your recovery. Everyone with a desire to stop incurring unsecured debt is welcome!

The workshops are scheduled as follows:

• Steps 1 through 4: February 10, 2024 2pm to 4 pm
• Steps 5 through 8: March 09, 2024 2pm to 4 pm
• Steps 9 through 12: April 13, 2024 2pm to 4 pm

The workshop will be held over Zoom. You can join the meetings using the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89074956308?pwd=ZXYxQjZhVk5rUWpLOTdhUTVXUUZ4dz09

Meeting ID:  890 7495 6308

Passcode: 20220623

Find your local number to call in:  https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kdXwv3ergn

Suggested Donation: $10 or more*. Proceeds support Toronto’s “Recover from Debting” Group (#508) Representative’s attendance at the World Service Meeting in August 2024).

*Unable to donate? You are still welcome! You are more important than your money!

E-transfer Donations to: Saturday519church@gmail.com. Please write “GSR” in the message field when sending e-transfer.

Please click here to download the flyer and spread the word!

This is an announcement all D.A. Groups regarding the requirement to re-register all meeting before December 31 and explaining the upcoming vote next year. This post is longer than most, but is important for all groups to consider.

Our new Registration form is ready for use:

ANNUAL GROUP REGISTRATION / MEETING UPDATE FORM

We ask you to fill this out before December 31, 2023. 

Why This Is Happening

There are two important reasons why this needs to be done now. 

1. The GSB and GSO want to clean up the database so that we are sure the meetings on our list are active and welcoming for all D.A. members. Recently, it’s been difficult when newcomers call the office to know if some meetings are still functioning. Some of this is due to the pandemic and the shift to video platforms. But some groups have simply not re-registered in several years. When we are helping members who call the office, we want to be able to say where and when, what focus, and how to access a meeting without worrying that we are sending someone to a non-existent location or a meeting that is not following the Traditions. 
   
   Earlier this year, we wrote about this in the Focus. D.A. Focus – First Half 2023. For the first time, we are asking you, when you register, to accept the Traditions that keep our meetings healthy.
   
2. At the time of writing in the DA Focus we hadn’t anticipated that we would have another reason for doing this. You may have heard from your GSR that A.A. has given us permission to change the Steps and Traditions to reflect Gender Neutrality and to expand Tradition 11, if the Fellowship so chooses. So D.A. will be holding a ballot in the New Year for all registered groups to vote on whether to accept changes that were proposed at the Conference in 2023, or not. (Summary of the relevant Conference Motions below.)
   
   The Conference Charter, Article 3 (DAMS 2023 – page 83) requires 75% of registered groups to agree to any change in the Steps and Traditions – not just 75% of the groups that actually vote.

Summary: Re-Registration is crucial by the end of the year. Please re-register, and encourage your Group and Intergroup to actively seek out other groups who may have let their registration lapse, and encourage them to update via the new form.

The Voting Process

One of the reasons the previous vote to update Tradition 11 did not pass is said to be that non-active meetings still on our meetings list received a ballot but didn’t vote. Since the Charter requires 75% of ALL groups to vote in favor in order to make a change to the Steps and Traditions, any groups that do not vote must automatically be counted as “no” votes. They could not be counted as “yes” votes because they could not be counted in the 75%.

We are putting forward our best efforts to avoid this happening again. If your group does not register or reregister before the deadline of December 31, 2023 your group’s old registration will not be on the website directory and your group will not be sent a ballot. 

Even if you don’t have a GSR, you will need at least two email addresses of trusted servants, one of whom will vote on the group’s behalf. It may be important, where possible, that these email addresses are of long-term members of your meeting. Please note, your registration emails for your group are your group’s access to vote in the coming ballot. 

In order to have an impartial and secure vote the GSB has contracted an outside vendor who has expertise in this area of specialized online voting. 

This information will be held in the USA by an external data processor and be shared with the company in the UK who will manage the ballot on gender neutrality. Please only share your email address if you consent to this. Some members have found that the best way to maintain anonymity is to create a specific email address for this purpose, such as “solvencyrocks@anonymousexample.com”.

Please note that it is groups who vote, through these trusted servants, not individuals. The Ballot will be open long enough for groups to determine their group conscience – approximately four months. 

Please be assured that the GSB and GSO will do everything we can to reach our D.A.groups. We will use this email method and we will do our best to contact groups via the contact information we have on file. So if you receive this and other emails more than once, we apologize but it’s in service of getting as broad a group conscience on this as we can.

The Vote to change the Steps and Traditions to reflect Gender Neutrality and to expand Tradition 11.

For your information, here are the two motions that were passed by substantial unanimity at the WSC 2023 in Newark:

1. The WSC Literature Committee moves that the conference approves authorizing the General Service Board to send out a ballot to the registered groups of the Debtors Anonymous Fellowship, to include the following:
   
   ‘With permission from A.A., the Conference proposes to revise the D.A. Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions by replacing the words he and him with the word God, and to rephrase Tradition Two as follows: “For our group purpose, there is but one ultimate authority – a loving God as God may be expressed in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”
   
2. The WSC Literature Committee moves that the Conference update Tradition 11 to strike out the word “and” between “radio and films” and to add at the end “television and all other public media”.
   
   The Tradition would therefore read:
   
   “Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television and all other public media.”

Yours in service,
The AdHoc Committee of the General Service Board of Debtors Anonymous

There are still places available for the DA in-person retreat being held at Mount Mary Retreat Centre in Ancaster, Ontario. The theme of the retreat is a journey through the D.A. twelve steps.

Start time: Friday, 24 November 2023 at 7 p.m.
End time: Sunday, 26 November 2023 at noon.

For details about the retreat programme, registration, accommodation and costs, please see this flyer.

You can also register using this link.

The Central and Eastern Canada Intergroup of Debtors Anonymous is hosting an in-person retreat
at Mount Mary Retreat Centre in Ancaster, Ontario. The theme of the retreat is a journey through the D.A. twelve steps.

Start time: Friday, 24 November 2023 at 7 p.m.
End time: Sunday, 26 November 2023 at noon.

For details about the retreat programme, registration, accommodation and costs, please see this flyer.

You can also register using this link.

Effective Saturday, September 2, 2023 the Saturday Morning Recover from Debting D.A. face-to-face meeting will be held at St. Andrews United Church, 117 Bloor Street East.

In-person meetings in September will be held on Saturday, September 2 and Saturday, September 16.

Recover from Debting D.A. Face-to-Face Meeting

• Saturday, September 2, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.
• Saturday, September 16, 2023 at 10:30 a.m.

New Location:  St. Andrews United Church, third floor, immediately beside the elevator.

Main Entrance: 117 Bloor Street East, Toronto, ON

Alternative Entrance: 54 Hayden Street, Toronto, ON (ring buzzer for entry).

Nearest subway stop: Yonge/Bloor

Parking: 

• Limited street parking is available on Hayden Street. $8.00 for two hours maximum.
• Toronto Parking Authority Garage 1 Charles/Hayden Garage. 20 Charles St. E. $12.00 for two hours.

Further in-person meetings will be announced soon.

TORONTO DA MEMBERS: Recover from Debting (group #508) is resuming in-person meetings at 10:30 am on Saturdays. For now, meetings will take place every 2 weeks, on the 2nd and 4th Satuday of the month, at the 519 Centre on Church St. The first meeting will be on Saturday Aug 12th. The group is also investigating alternate spaces to accommodate weekly meetings – stay tuned for further updates.

This webinar will feature interviews with:

• a current Project Contributor (PC)
• a former Appointed Committee Member (ACM)
• a former GSB Trustee
• and the Chair of the General Service Board.

Learn about these positions from the people who have real time Experience, Strength and Hope and find out how you too can give back to D.A. by serving at the world level.

Saturday, July 22, 2023

9:00-10:30 AM PDT

12:00-1:30 PM EDT

16:00-17:30 PM UTC

After the participant interviews, there will be a brief Q&A (only the interview portion will be recorded). For the podcast of this and other Fellowship-Wide Calls, (when made available), visit debtorsanonymous.org/fellowship-services/fellowship-podcasts

Join meeting here.

Webinar ID: 841 7048 9193 / Passcode: 961337

Download flyer here