godsonmyside

1981 September WCNA-11 Miami, Florida

1981 September Sixth World Literature Conference held in Miami, Florida. Basic Text approved by the World Literature Committee to go out for approval.

1981 October - Mid-South Regional Service Conference mails out White Approval forms to every group in the world free of charge. Several members stay over to take Service Structure through five drafts published as review form in green cover. First half approved at next WSC.

1981 1100 meetings in world : Australia - 18 Canada - 26 England - 4 Germany - Guam - Ireland - Scotland -

1982 February Seventh World Literature Conference held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to prepare stories for review to be added to Basic Text already out for approval.

1982 WSC-7 approves Basic Text, Narcotics Anonymous for hardback publication.

1983 WSC-8 First Edition Basic Text passed out at Conference. Decision to replace office manager.

WSC-8 May 4, 1983 to May 8,,-1983 at the Santa Monica Retail Clerks Union Hall 1410 Second Street in Santa Monica, California. RSR's present: Alaska, Tri-State, Iowa, Alabama, NW Florida, Georgia, S. California, N. California, Mid-Coast, Ohio, Mid-America, Chesapeake-Potomac, S. Nevada, Upper Midwest, Carolinas, Greater Philadelphia, Mississippi, Mid-Atlantic, Mid-Coast, Louisiana, New Mexico, Wyoming, Texas, Colorado, N. Nevada, West Virginia, New York, Central Great Lakes, Pacific Northwest, and Tennessee (28 in all) Nine Trustees present

Amended 1982 Minutes to send to policy committee to set fixed terms for the World Service Board of Trustees.

Motion tabled calling for the World service conference resignation of all present Board members, office manager, and employees of WSO, Inc. and the conference immediately elect a new Board to reorganize the World Service Office.

Motion that only RSR's and State Representatives be voting participants; motion was referred to an Ad-Hoc Committee and was later defeated.

Motion for the World Service Office to take whatever steps necessary to hire a full-time office Manager.

Informational Pamphlets numbers One through Eleven passed as approved literature.

Motion that the literature review period be one year. Motion that approval literature be sold by the World Service Office

MOTION that our book be completely returned to its original approved form before any more are printed. (motion carried)

H & I Handbook was approved.

Informational Pamphlets One through Eleven - Physician's Viewpoint dropped. Board of Trustees Guidelines Election of Trustees. Modification of the Literature review process.

JK resigns from Trustees and the conference decides to free him from the work at the office. A non-addict who has been serving the fellowship as it's WSC parliamentarian, Bob Stone, is hired to manage the office. A letter to JK expressing the WSC's views seems to never have been sent. A meeting between the WSO BOD chairman, JK and the new office manager takes place in early June. JK states that he will work with Bob Stone in any way. Shortly after, he finds that the locks have been changed at the office.

The publication of our Basic Text allowed for a revolution of immense importance to our young Fellowship. Suddenly there was money in World Services, a lot of money. This put pressure on those entrusted to serve us at the world level in two ways. There was more to do and more to do it with. Yet the scale was balanced by the problems of money, property and prestige that were no longer a matter of program rhetoric. An office that grossed less than ten thousand dollars the year before the literature movement begun in 1979, was now bearing the strain of millions of dollars. The strain alone created problems. They say there is a blessing in every difficulty and a curse in every blessing. Certainly our radical, accelerated growth resulted in some painful disillusionment and personalities pushed aside principles to get in on the action. The emptiness of these apparent victories is vivid in hindsight. Those who did not give way to the fear and justifications of the moment are still with us today. Others fell by the wayside. If you ever feel these strains, start talking about them with your sponsor and home group. The fresh air of discussion usually kills the fungus of self-will when it starts to make us believe we run the show!

Hiring people to replace the volunteer worker at strategic points set up potential for conflicts not foreseen or viewed as possible by the leadership of the times.

WSC-9 April 23- , 1984 at the Retail Clerks Union Hall, Santa Monica CA.

RSR's present Alabama, Northwest Florida, Alaska, Arizona Southern California, Central Great Lakes, Chesapeake Potomac Colorado, Florida, Mid America, Hawaii, Georgia, Greater Philadelphia, Washington, Louisiana, Mid Atlantic, Mid-Coast, Ireland, Mississippi, Maine, North Nevada.

To accept the proposed standing rules of WSC which defines 2/3 majority vote as 2/3 of all participating voting members.

WSO manager allowed to address conference make reports, answer questions, and discuss matters of his responsibility when requested by the conference. WSO goes into merchandising (tee-shirts, bumper stickers, tags, tokens, etc.)

NA Way limited to articles on recovery and upcoming-events.

Stories: I Can't do Anymore Time, Fat Addict, Early Services, I Felt Hopeless, I Kept Coming Back, It Won't Get Any Worse, My Gratitude Speaks, No Excuse for Loneliness, Relapse and Return, Sick and Tired at 18, The War is Over, and Up From Down Under.

Works In Progress: Staying Clean in Isolation, Revised White Booklet, Clean and Serene, Welcome to NA, The Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of NA, It Works... How and Why, The Twelve Traditions, NA History,

Motion that IP "Am I An Addict?" be removed and sent back to WSCLC failed

Motion that the functions assigned to 1984 - 85 WSC select committee on the service structure, be reassigned to the WSC Policy committee. Failed.

Several addicts asked that the IP "A Guide to 4th Step Inventory" be removed from the list of approved literature because the word "homosexuality" appeared in the section on sex. They felt the pamphlet implied that homosexuality was a character defect. Others disagreed, saying the pamphlet instructed, "If you have strong feelings about any of the following, write about it." There was much heated debate over the need for NA to have its own 4th Step Guide (before 1982 approval, members had been using treatment center and AA guides) and whether the conference participants had the authority to remove literature that had been approved by the entire fellowship. Many felt the question had to go out for Group Conscience. In the end, the majority of voting WSC participants acted to remove the 4th Step Guide from the approved literature list.

Interestingly enough, a similar debate took place on the "missing words" from the 4th and 9th Traditions of the first edition Basic Text that had been restored after Fellowship uproar and incorporated into the 2nd Edition of our Basic Text. A motion was made to delete the words from the text making it similar to the first edition. On this issue, the WSC did not feel it had the power to act without the fellowship voting on the issue, so RSR's were instructed to go back and take a Group Conscience on the question and report the results by a set date. Even this "solution" to take a Fellowship-wide Conscience, violated established WSC Guidelines which required notifying the fellowship well in advance of the conference. The results of that poll removed the words in question. In 1991, a lawsuit was filed by the WSO against a member who was producing copies of the Basic Text with the original wording intact. The lawsuit was settled, and I have documents related to this.

Motion that IP "A Guide to 4th Step Inventory" be approved after the removal of words Homosexuality, Animal Sex, and Abortion, from page 5 and the words *******, Bitch, *****, Bastard, from page 4. Failed.

Motion that IP "A Guide to 4th Step Inventory" be approved with adding the word Heterosexuality to page 5. Failed.

Motion that the procedural guidelines for the WSCLC be approved and replace the procedural guidelines for the creation and development of new literature.

Motion that the WSC International Affairs Committee be eliminated with its duties being carried on by the WSO. Failed.

Motion to hold Quarterly WSC Workshops and rotate to other areas.

IP "Another Look" - Approved -- IP "The Use of Medication in Recovery" - Was removed.

Priority list for WSCLC revised "A Guide to 4th Step Inventory"
"Just for Today", Daily Meditation Guide IP "To the Medical Profession"
Revised "Handbook for NA Literature Committees" Revised "Recovery and Relapse"
Booklet "Resource Guide for the Trusted Servant"
Booklet or IP "The First Three Steps"
Revised "Am I An Addict?"
Revised "The Group"
"H & I and You" - to be sent out for approval.
Convention Guidelines adopted
Treasurer's Handbook adopted:

"Convention Committee" -

1. To establish a relationship with WCNA-15 to begin the transition of the new world convention guidelines.

2. To research and formulate corporate and legal guidelines so as to satisfy the needs of a world convention,

3. To redesign the intra-committee guidelines so as to satisfy the needs of our new world convention guidelines,

4. To assist the WCNA-16 in the management of the next world convention.

5. To assist and provide information to all conventions.

"Policy Committee" -

1. To draft a set of rules of order to be recommended for use at future WSC's

2. To draft guidelines for policy committee

3. To establish guidelines for new literature handbooks and establish guidelines and written materials generated by committees other than the literature committee

4. To gather input for and draft Chapter 3 of "A Guide to Service in NA"

5. To review existing procedures of the WSC

6. To produce input to the select committee on "A Guide to Service in NA".

"Financial Committee" -

1. Creation of committee guidelines

2. Further work regarding H & I accounting and fund flows in cooperation with the H & I cooperation

3. Development of report formats for use by World Service bodies

4. Consideration of any input submitted to us by components of the service structure regarding matters of finance

Motion to take the word "recovered" and replace it with "recovering" wherever it appears in print. This was passed at the 1985 WSC held in Van Nuys.

ROUGH AGENDA ITEMS:

"International Committee":

1. Representatives form the NA fellowship outside the USA.

2. Members with previous participation on any WSC Subcommittee.

3. A written request through the chairperson stating NA service experience and/or relevant experiences which would create an asset to the International Committee.

WSCLC: The White Book, The Group, WSO Order Form, Recovery and Relapse.

Hospitals & Institutions Committee:

A survey be sent out, revise H & I Handbook, mailings to institutions, probation and judicial services, to hold workshops, close working relations with any level H & I, bimonthly newsletter, to support H & I in financially undeveloped regions, to collect H & I stories, to add to the Handbook, internal education programs, writing guidelines, financial guidelines, a literature review process for H & I literature, editorial guidelines for H & i newsletter.

"Public Information": PSA videos, radio PSA'S, PI packets

Our Fellowship has grown along similar lines in each community. Sometimes the meetings were started more than once by the same people. Their desire for recovery the N.A. way led them to give it one more try. One of our advantages today is in being able to find out how N.A. has gotten started in other communities. Not all their experience will apply to us, but we can get a feel for the way to get past the problems and into the solutions.

The founding members in each area have been sincere, willing and open to the needs of others. On the surface they may have appeared crazy, stubborn, self-willed and revolutionary. Still, we know that their desire for recovery and their love for other suffering addicts has to have been behind their every act. Even their mistakes worked out well when they were sincere and willing to admit fault. None were perfect, but the miracle of N.A. is the way we can rise out of our own ashes. They went to great lengths to find or latch on to even one more newcomer. Their personal services backed up the entire service effort in their area! The opportunity to see others recovering helped encourage them, but the real miracle was that they stayed clean. Their lives steadily, if shakily, got better. They established our basic unity of identity, concern and effort. One of their great strengths was the ability to get along with one another in favor of the Fellowship. This lesson was hard won. Many members today have paid this price. Most agreeing that it is a priceless reward.

It may sound like a lot of work, and in ways it is. This is what it takes for us to have our own Fellowship. It is also enormous fun and has a lot of real life excitement rather than alternatives. We get to spend our time with people who enjoy our company and frequently appear amused by our worst problems. But they have been there - and they have simple answers and suggestions that might work for us.

These clean addicts are constantly growing in number and are available in countries all over the world. We will continue to learn and to share the NA Way, carrying our message to every corner of the globe.

We in NA, today, are grateful to all those who have made our program and our recovery possible. Many people have loved us and wished us well when we were difficult and undeserving. Our life clean, gives us some idea of how hard it is to love us. The lessons we learn from helping others teaches us we have to give a lot to get a little. Fortunately, it is quantity we are giving and quality we are getting.