Tag: Fellowship

ISO’s 2025 Annual Conference in St. Louis

Update from Sharon S., ISO Chair:

In April we convened ISO’s Annual Conference in St. Louis — in person for the first time since 2019! We also welcomed folks from around the world via Zoom. A huge thanks to the planning committee for hosting a great meeting!

ISO’s Annual Conference is our fellowship’s business meeting, where we share how and what SCA meetings and intergroups are doing across the world. We talk about how best to reach newcomers and support members. We note our progress and challenge ourselves to do more.

It was fantastic to be together in person this year! I’ve been on many of Zoom calls with SCA Executive Committee members and fellows I feel quite connected to that I have never actually been in the same room with. Meeting in person strengthened our relationships and deepened trust. 

Here are some meeting highlights from our three-day conference:

New Characteristic about sexual anorexia

One of the most significant decisions made at this year’s ISO was to add a new Characteristic about sexual anorexia/avoidance to The Characteristics Most of Us Seem to Have in Common. You can read the history of this decision in the minutes. Here is the new characteristic:

We were sexually anorexic: in despair about our lack of physical and emotional intimacy with ourselves and others, yet unaware of how much we feared and avoided it.

SCA has a YouTube Channel

Gary S. and his Outreach team built a SCA YouTube Channel in 2024! Check it out to see the great content they’re creating and be sure to subscribe! (https://www.youtube.com/@SCA-Recovery) 

Audio Recovery Book in development

Gordon B., our Fiduciary Chair, is working to create an audio version of SCA’s Recovery Book that will be available for purchase on Amazon. We’ll keep you posted.

Executive Board Elections

Gary S. was reelected for a two-year term as Outreach Chair

Randy S. was elected as Director at Large, stepping in for Charles D. who resigned the position earlier this year. Thank you, Charles, for your service!

Tami V. was reelected for another one-year term as Outside Director

I was elected for a two-year term as ISO Chair

Emphasis on our 7th Tradition

We budgeted $4,000 for the 2025 ISO Annual Conference, and I’m happy to report that we came in under budget at $3,053!

ISO’s modest budget supports meetings, our website, literature creation and translation, and outreach to newcomers. As we built our 2026 budget, we reflected on the importance of our 7th tradition — that SCA is self-supporting through the contributions of its members. Your gifts help meetings buy literature, rent meeting space, and sponsor workshops. ISO receives a portion of the contributions you make to your meetings and intergroups. Please consider chipping in when you attend a meeting — your donations are vital in helping us reach the still-suffering addict.

If you’d like to read the Minutes from the Conference, contact the SCAnner editor. A Special thanks to Recording Secretary Maranda T. for her efforts!

An SCA Outreach Weekend

Thanks to the efforts of Gordon B., Gary S., Robert A., and Brian V., SCA has reached out in new ways to hundreds of individuals in the addiction community trying to help those that may be suffering from SCBD (Sexual Compulsive Behavior Disorder).

SCA presented it’s first ever workshop and meeting at the AA Florida Roundup in Ft. Lauderdale. The session focused on the Characteristics – which were somewhat unfamiliar to many of the attendees – and the Tools of Recovery.  At the same time across the country in Phoenix, AZ, SCA was a first time exhibitor at the annual IITAP (International Institute for Trauma and Addiction Professionals) Symposium.  This event was well attended by the most influential therapists and treatment facilities in this field.  Most of those that stopped by our both were not familiar with SCA and this was a great opportunity to enlighten them of all the good work that we do.  Those that knew of us, said that they refer many of their clients to our meetings and were happy to see us at this event.

We hope that SCA’s outreach will help grow our program, and in doing so will help our members recovery.

What really causes Addiction?

A talk by Johann Hari suggests that everything you think you know about addiction is wrong.  As he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions, he started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do — and if there might be a better way.

The opposite of Addiction is not abstinence or sobriety. The opposite of Addiction is CONNECTION. In SCA we connect to others that share our addiction. We connect to a fellowship that supports us and we can connect to a Higher Power, a spirituality that unconditionally loves and guides us.

Could addiction be about isolation and being disconnected from society? Listen to this TED talk by Johann Hari for some interesting insights on this subject.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PY9DcIMGxMs

Questions & Thoughts

“I am hopping and trying to find meetings with open communication. This will only help me with my own Honesty, Shame, Trust, Hope, Strength & Willingness to Learns and to Stay & Remain OPEN Always .. Please 🙏 Any HELP IS & Will be Appreciated”  – D.W.

Dear D.W.,

All SCA meetings support member’s sharing their feelings, experience, strength and hope with each other, that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from sexual compulsion. If our behavior was illegal, we might seek out someone (like our sponsor) with whom we can be entirely honest without fear of consequences and choose to share our feelings at meetings instead of the details.  We ask members to respect the anonymity and confidentiality of every person we meet and everything we hear at meetings.

Anonymity assures that our meetings are safe for those in pain. This respect of anonymity keeps the program safe for members and prospective members to attend. Through the anonymity offered at meetings, we find a refuge where we are neither judged nor shamed.  Many of our meeting’s format have a sharing portion where members may share breakthroughs or breakdowns in their program, ask questions, get current on situations in their lives, or just express honest feelings they may be in touch with. Crosstalk is discouraged and is defined as: Giving advice, criticizing, or making comments about someone else’s share, questioning or interrupting the person speaking, talking while someone is sharing, or speaking directly to another person rather than to the group.

We suggest attending a few meeting to find a “home” meeting that you feel most comfortable.  We have available in-person, on line, virtual and hybrid meetings that can be found on our website: sca-recovery.org

Please make these announcements at your meetings, intergroup and to other interested parties

We have updated and changed the new SCA YouTube Channel link to: https://www.youtube.com/@SCA-Recovery . Please subscribe to the channel to help its visibility. New videos are being uploaded on a regular basis. Feel free to give this information to therapists, health and recovery facilities and to the addict who still is suffering.  We also need members to be of service and allow us to use and share their recordings of their commentaries on various chapters of our Big Book, A Program of Recovery.
Also
You can now subscribe to the SCA newsletter at SCAnneronline.org to get announcements e-mailed to you of new SCA related news and articles. Please send any related information to the SCAnner Editor under the “About Us” tab or at the “leave a comment” at the end of each news article.
Thank you for your help,
Gary S  ISO Outreach Committee Chairman

Thanksgiving Gratitude Meeting – via zoom

The glass is half full – let’s share about it.

Please join us for our SCA Thanksgiving Gratitude Meeting

Start Thanksgiving in a positive way

Thursday November 28, 2024

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM Pacific Standard Time

Click here to join the meeting

For more information see the Los Angeles SCA website: scalosangeles.org

 

Serenity By The Sea Oct. 23rd-26th

SCA ISO/NYC will present a “Welcome to SCA” workshop at the Provincetown AA Roundup. The 2024   Roundup, is celebrating its 37th year of recovery, unity, & service for the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans-gender, Queer, Questioning) community and all of their friends. Our workshop will be on Saturday, Oct. 26th at 10:30 am. This well-attended AA event, has also invited other 12-Step Fellowships to present workshops this year.
Here is the link to register for the P-town Roundup: https://www.provincetownroundup.org/index.aspx