Miracles in Progress

July 8,2007

Group Conscience Meeting Minutes

The chairperson opened the meeting w/The Serenity Prayer.

The current meeting chair list was posted, as well as the following op requirements. The position of Room Operator or Monitor is one of responsibility for the Al-Anon still suffering. It is not a position of power. To keep the room safe for all those who enter our room. Therefore all operators are required to abide by the following rules regarding our room. Al-Anon room operators must have a Minimum of six (6) months experience in face to face Al-Anon Meetings * Be a listed Miracles In Progress Al-Anon Group Member * Be positive, respectful, patient and compassionate to all. * Be a Chair or be an Alternate Chair for at least 1 meeting a week * Provide service work for the group * Help newcomers locate Face-to-Face meetings in their community * Set an example of conformity to the 12 steps and help maintain the safety, security and confidentiality of the room at all times. * Always ask the chairperson if they want assistance during the meeting prior to sending any paragraphs into the room, kicking people out of the room, or assuming any of the other chairperson responsibilities. *Make every effort possible to attend the Group Business meetings and Op meetings. Interact on the Al-Anon bulletin board. Contact John/OP_Present. Email: MIP@12stepforums.net if you are interested in being an OP. We have some vacancies that need to be filled.

The secretary asked if there were any changes or additions to the June 3^rd minutes. The minutes were approved as written

The treasurer reported that there was no new financial information, but that we were in good shape last month. It was assumed that no news is good news. The treasurer will e-mail John asking for a financial update.

A discussion concerning the script changes, which state that meetings are open, indicated that not some ops did not receive the notification. A reminder will be sent and posted so that all ops may make the necessary changes.

The chairperson reported that she has not received any correspondence from WSO regarding the registration of Miracles in Progress Al-Anon. She expressed disappointment w/the lack of service from WSO and will keep the group informed of any news.

The chairperson stated that there's a delicate balance between keeping our anonymity (with the meetings being a separate venue from the message board) and getting important and valuable information out to those who perhaps could not attend or do not know how important Business Meetings are until they see the type of information and the value of a group conscience decision.

The topic was open for discussion. One member suggested posting on the board to pm the secretary for a copy of the meeting minutes if they desire a copy. They could be pm'd or emailed and that way

would not be out there on the board for all to see. Another member stated that when she was chair she had been asked by John not to post the minutes on the message board. It was also noted that this may be too demanding for the secretary.

The chair stated that she had approached John w/this idea and he was not in favor of this for a variety of reasons. However, the chair felt that its an opportunity to let others see how a business meeting is run and what type of group conscience decisions we come up with.It's important that the majority rules but that the minority gets heard. In addition, it's important for people to serve and in this way, they can see that indeed doing service for a business meeting, for example, is not that hard to do

Also it keeps everyone else abreast of important decisions we have made. Not everyone who is on the message board is in the chat room and vice versa, but an open and transparent business meeting is a good thing. John indicated that whatever the group conscience voted, he would honor. In face to face meetings anyone has access to the Secretary's manual whether they've been there one meeting or 100.

A suggestion was made to omit peoples names in the minutes so that anonymity would not be compromised. The substance is important not the names. Another view offered for consideration was that the organizations private minutes are not necessarily the business of general public.

The secretary indicated that she would be willing to try the pm method for obtaining the meeting minutes.

A motion was made that the minutes be posted to the message board, w/out nicknames, and be stickied to the top of the message board. The motion was voted upon and approved ( 14 yes, 2 abstentions)

2. Frequently Asked Questions

The chair suggested the FAQ item because there is so much information that some of us know, some know better than others, and some know nothing about. Sometimes the same question gets asked again and again. It's a valuable tool for all of our membership. And if there is group consensus, we can begin compiling all the questions and having them posted at either the top of the message board or on the home alanon page.

The topic was open for discussion and evoked favorable comments. A motion was made and approved to begin with Frequently Asked Questions list for the next month or so and then to have them stickied to the top of the message board or the home page(15 yes, 1 abstention).

A member volunteered to post the request for questions on the message board. She will also compile a list to be presented at the next meeting.

3. A request to change the closing prayer from the Lords Prayer to the Al-Anon Declaration.

Since this topic had been discussed and voted on previously, the chair said she would research guidelines regarding the introduction of this topic. This topic was tabled until the August meeting.