LifeRing Meeting Reports — Delegates Assembly

Jud Felder • Meeting Convenor • Wednesdays at 4:00pm Pacific Time |  HWYW, Denver, CO

Meeting ID:  31604 |  Zoom Meeting ID: 879 2382 5989, Passcode: lifering | Meeting is limited to 20 attendees and requires video participation

I have been the primary convenor of this meeting since it started April 2020, I had a co-convenor for about a year and he has also subbed for me when I’m not available. Jason Kenezl is his name. I no longer have a co- convenor.

Since this is an online meeting and I used the LifeRing Admin account, everything is done through Zoom. It’s an open meeting and I have it listed on gayandsober.org website because I believe it’s important to reach the LGBTQIA2+ community, too.

On average we have between 5 and 12 participants, 5 regulars who all have months to years of sobriety. The core group of people seem very comfortable and cross talk normally and healthy. The remainder of attendees are often new people with little or no sober time, but we still welcome and help whoever shows up. Many of the participants also attend and convene other in-person or online meetings.

I myself live in Colorado and have a few people who attend from Colorado but some from other states like California. The opening statement used comes from the How Was Your Week – A Convenors Handbook, but I also  changed some things to fit the self help/ self directed principle of LifeRing. This means the statement has to make sense to me and it being an online meeting.

This meeting is a HWYW format, limited to 20 people, and is open camera. These last two restrictions came about earlier as too many people were dropping in at the last minute, or causing problems with language and behavior that other attendees didn’t like. I learned to remove the fake participants quickly and added the open camera statement in the opening statement of the meeting.

I thank you for the opportunity to convene for LifeRing, I have become a better public speaker and listener as a result.

Thank you,
Jud Felder
Denver, Colorado

Mark Fussell • Meeting Convenor • Fridays at 6:00am Pacific Time | HWYW, D***, That's Early

Meeting ID:  50601| Zoom Meeting ID: 980 3715 3571, Passcode: lifering | Meeting is open to all

Mark has been the convenor of "D*** That's Early” since he ran out of things to do in the morning on Fridays and confirmed that Peet’s is open in time to “energize” (legally) him.

This started as a one-on-one meeting, given only one brave New Yorker could brave the elements on the way to the venue that early, but is now up to about ten people.  The headroom is enormous!  The only problem with the meeting is coming up with ‘How was your day’ at what may be shortly after you brushed your pearly whites.

Mark has been a part of LifeRing for a bit more than a year after he had an epiphany in a luxury resort in Stanford, attends about a dozen different meetings a week, subs a lot [no snickers], and is the primary convenor of several different types and times.  The “D*** That’s Early” meeting is among Mark’s more ’normal’ meetings.

Thank you,
Mark Fussell
Palo Alto, California

Mark Fussell • Meeting Convenor • Saturdays at 6:00am Pacific Time | HWYW, Kidney Klatch

Meeting ID:  TBD | Zoom Meeting ID: 892 9926 5545, Passcode: lifering | Meeting is open to all

Mark has been the convenor of Kidney Klatch since he ran out of things to do in the morning on Saturday and has figured out how to function with being energized.

This both a "D*** That’s Early” and augmentation to The Liver Spot meeting where everyone (including people in the hospital or having medical issues associated with Liver, Kidney, and other organ issues) can discuss how their week is going as they brave the weekend.  This is currently experiencing exponential growth: as in 100% week-on-week growth.  Get in while it costs less than Bitcoin!

Mark has been a part of LifeRing for a bit more than a year after he had an epiphany in a luxury resort in Stanford, attends about a dozen different meetings a week, subs a lot [no snickers], and is the primary convenor of several different types and times.  The “ Kidney Klatch” meeting is part of Mark paying back to LifeRing for the support he received during his recovery period, as well as his fascinations with these amazing organs.

Thank you,
Mark Fussell
Palo Alto, California

Bees • Meeting Convenor • Saturdays at  10:00am Pacific Time |  HWYW, San Francisco, CA

Meeting ID:  6015 |  Adobe Connect Chat Meeting | HWYW, open to all

We're proud to report that one of LifeRing's newest convenors took her first steps in the Saturday Chat HWYW meeting. Welcome aboard to all our new convenors!

This meeting has a lot of history for me. It was my very first LifeRing meeting and my very first recovery meeting.  I found LifeRing to satisfy a 6-month requirement to qualify for a necessary medical program. I was nervous, confused about what I was supposed to do and say, and desperately hoping for a warm welcome.  As it turns out, a warm welcome was all I really needed. The rest came from the gentle nudges from the group. For six months I attended this meeting. I'm still going 3 years later.

We are a tiny, but robust meeting made up of newcomers and long-timers. The Saturday Chat has a strong core of people who have chosen to grow together and to be accountable to one another. This meeting is a quiet testimony to the success of a LifeRing home group.

We have no cameras and no audio. Just a keyboard and screen and a shared goal:  To be clean and sober and stay clean and sober. Not all of our stories are easy to tell or easy to read. There's sadness, there are slips and there are emotional setbacks, But there is also hope and joy and triumph. Like many LifeRing meetings, The Saturday Chat has evolved into its own community. We have our own inside jokes, communication shortcuts and catch phrases. The most common? Jinx! (It's hard to talk over someone in print.)

One of the best things about The Saturday Chat is the warm welcome we share with each other and with new folk joining us for their first recovery meeting. Happens more often than one might think. The complete anonymity offered in a chat setting can be very attractive to newcomers and for the camera-shy. Chat meetings move at a mellow pace. This can be cathartic and serves as an easily attainable and comfortable way to "resocialize" after the Great Isolation.

If I have one tiny grouse – it's the stack of zoom meetings scheduled at the same time. I mean, we were here first, y'all!

Yes, The Saturday Chat is a relic. One of the first "online" meetings ever held by LifeRing. Since the great Zoom migration, our numbers have dropped dramatically. People pop in and leave shortly after realizing that the meeting format is text only. That's a little frustrating, but there are times when folk stumble upon us and stay. For a meeting. For a month. For 3 years. And for one participant – 5 years!

Do I want more people in this meeting? I want more people to know about LifeRing and all the different community resources we have available.  Do I think more chat meetings are a good idea? I do. It's a nice way to get your feet wet and get to learn about the "LifeRing Culture" at a gentle pace. Unlike Zoom meetings with their literal in-your-face exchanges, chat meetings move slowly allowing time to consider what was shared and time to offer thoughtful feedback. And a backspace key to erase any possible missteps. If only life were this easy!

I hope each of you has a meeting you hold dear – like a good friend you look forward to seeing every week. If not, come on over to The Saturday Chat. You'll always get a warm welcome.

Thank you,
Bees for Everyone
San Francisco, CA

Mark Fussell • Meeting Convenor • Sundays at 8:00am Pacific Time | Topic, Wait wait! What is the Topic?

Meeting ID:  70801 | Zoom Meeting ID: 851 9341 8930, Passcode: lifering | Meeting is open to all

Mark has been the convenor of "Wait wait! What is the topic? “ after the previous convenor of the time slot achieved enlightenment through meditation and “went onward” to a new plane of existence.  Mark felt that was unlikely to happen to any participants under his watch (he had many years trying to “get out of here” through quiet sitting as a kid and it never worked).  So instead, this became a weekly topic meeting.

Probably the most notable thing about this meeting is a lot of people complain about the topic… but they talk about it anyway!  But don’t ask anyone about what goes on in this meeting: the first rule of "Wait wait! What is the topic?" is that no one tells anybody about what goes on in the meeting.  In spite of this, participation rates are (well… first rule again).

Mark has been a part of LifeRing for a bit more than a year after he had an epiphany in a luxury resort in Stanford, attends about a dozen different meetings a week, subs a lot [no snickers], and is the primary convenor of several different types and times.  "Wait wait! What is the topic?” is his favorite meeting… after all the other ones LifeRing has to offer.

Thank you,
Mark Fussell
Palo Alto, California