Welcome!

Hello! If you think you may be a compulsive eater, give yourself a chance for recovery by trying the OA program. Compulsive eaters differ and our symptoms vary, but we share a common bond and all can find recovery in our program. We look forward to welcoming you!

Are You a Compulsive Overeater?

• 15 Questions… take the OA Quiz. If you answer “yes” to several of these questions and decide you may be one of us, we invite you to join us to learn more about the OA program.
• Where Do I Start? Everything a Newcomer Needs to Know – This single pamphlet is packed with key info about OA’s Twelve Step program of recovery, including Tools, Plans of Eating, OA Promise, “Welcome Home” story, and much more. Download the free Newcomer PDF here!
• CIIG Meeting List – check for in-person and Zoom meetings in Santa Barbara County & Ventura North County.
• OA.org Find A Meeting search worldwide online or face-to-face meetings for your time zone

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In-Person Meetings Now Available in Santa Barbara

New! In-Person, Face-to-Face Meetings in Santa Barbara

• Starting Dec. 3rd in Santa Barbara: Sat 10:00 a.m. Literature Study – download PDF
• Starting Dec. 7th in Santa Barbara (hybrid): Wednesday 7:30 p.m. Literature Study – download PDF

Santa Barbara in-person meetings will be at First Congregational Church—2101 State Street. There is plenty of parking in the parking lot—enter from State Street and follow our signs to meeting room to join us!
Please try to arrive early. Church security requires that doors not be kept open so if you arrive late please call the posted phone number and we will open the door for you.

Ventura In-Person Meetings Also Available!

Ventura in-person meetings continue to meet at Center for Spiritual Living, 133. S. Laurel St.

• Ventura Thurs 6:30 p.m. Step of the Month
• Ventura Sat 10:00 a.m. Longtimers
• Ventura Sat 10:00 a.m. Teens Only
  

For additional meeting info, please see Meetings page or download the Meetings PDF.

Twelfth Step Within Day

OA World Service recognizes 12/12 as “Twelfth Step Within Day” — a day to focus on carrying the message to OA members who are in relapse or still suffering from compulsive eating. Twelfth-Step-Within work explicitly supports members already in our fellowship. You can carry the message of recovery by sharing your experience, strength, and hope… and these OA resources!

• Primary Purpose – members share on Using the Twelve Steps on Life Problems and Twelve Freedoms
• Twelfth Step Within Day Marathon | Step 12 Spiritual Principle: How Do I Practice “the Twelfth Step Within” – Phone Meetings every hour Dec. 12 from 5:00am-9:00pm PST
• Twelfth Step Within Day Relapse and Recovery Event with 3 speakers and time for sharing – hosted by the San Francisco “Commitment to Abstinence” meeting. Dec. 12 from 6:30pm-8:00pm PST.
• Breaking Out of Relapse video
• From Slip or Relapse to Recovery action plan for abstinence
• Been Slipping and Sliding?: a Reading and Writing Tool thirty questions for use in daily writing and/or discussion
• Sound Bites (clips from when OA had an internet radio show):
  • How and Why Does a 12-Step Program Work for Compulsive Eating?
  • The three levels of recovery from compulsive eating: Physical Recovery | Emotional Recovery | Spiritual Recovery
• The Importance of Working All 12 Steps – members share on the importance of working ALL Twelve Steps and how working the Steps changed their lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
• Young People’s Podcasts (joined age 18 to 30) – members share the hopeless condition of mind and body that can manifest as overeating, anorexia, bulimia, and body image dysmorphia, and how they have been restored to sanity and are now experiencing the promises of recovery through OA.
• OA3 Appendices: The Role of a Plan of Eating in Recovery from Compulsive Eating; Disease of the Mind; Disease of the Body; and Disease of the Spirit

Together we get better!

OA Birthday Party Jan 13-15

OA World Service designates the third full weekend (Friday included) of January as the annual celebration of the January 19, 1960 founding of Overeaters Anonymous. Join with fellows from around the world to celebrate OA and enhance your recovery with workshops, panels, marathon meetings, and special focus meetings.

Friday, January 13th – Sunday, January 15th
In Person at the LAX Hilton
Tickets now $55 in advance or at door
Discounted parking available: $9 per day with validation ticket

See the Los Angeles Intergroup OA Birthday Party Site for event details, event registration, and hotel discount information.

Hear OA’s founder, Rozanne S., in Founder Recordings—listen for free anytime!

• “Reflections” (a 1999 interview)
• “And Now a Word From Our Founder” (a compilation of five of Rozanne’s keynote speeches at World Service Business Conferences).

International Day Experiencing Abstinence ~ Nov. 18-20

International Day Experiencing Abstinence (IDEA), celebrated the third full weekend (Friday included) in November, encourages OA members worldwide to begin or reaffirm their abstinence from compulsive overeating. ~ OA WSO FAQ

“Abstinence is the action of refraining from compulsive eating and compulsive food behaviors while working towards or maintaining a healthy body weight. Spiritual, emotional, and physical recovery is the result of living and working the Overeaters Anonymous Twelve Step program on a daily basis.” ~ Business Conference Policy Manual, 1988b (amended 2019, 2021)

Learn more about Abstinence…

• Listen to the Twelve Freedoms podcast from OA World Service for insight & inspiration
• Attend the Abstinence through Spirituality Workshop Nov. 19th 10a-12p PT – 3 Speakers with Q&A, Open Share, and Meditation – hosted by OA Peninsula Intergroup
• Review the Strong Abstinence Checklist & Writing Exercise
• Follow the From Slip or Relapse to Recovery action plan for reclaiming and retaining our abstinence
• Read Abstinence Second Edition: updated and expanded with 50 percent new stories! E-book formats are available
• Download these free presentations from OA.ORG
  • Difference Between Abstinence and A Plan of Eating Workshop– zip
    Abstinence was first mentioned as a Tool in 1961 and was included in The Tools of Recovery pamphlet that World Service Business Conference (WSBC) delegates approved in 1973. WSBC delegates removed “abstinence” as a Tool in 1995 and replaced it with “a plan of eating.” The collective OA understanding of the importance of abstinence was formalized when our primary purpose was modified in 2015.
  • Abstinence PowerPoint presentation

Share your experience, strength, and hope!

Big Book Retreat – In Person In October!

With long time recovered member from New Jersey
Crowne Plaza Hotel, 450 West Harbor Blvd, at the beach in Ventura

Help carry this message! Click to download and share the flyer at meetings & with fellows: CIIG Big Book Retreat 2022

Come early and stay late so we can socialize and learn from each other’s experience, strength and hope. Come for one session or for all three days.
Enjoy some of the many nearby restaurants or bring your own food.

• • • Friday Oct.14 5:30 PM-8:00 PM registration, socializing and sharing.
      6:30 PM Beginning session (need to start early as our speaker will be on Eastern time)
    • Saturday Oct. 15 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
    • Sunday Oct. 16 9:00 AM-12:30 PM

Cost: $25 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Parking: Park at the city lot to the LEFT of the hotel for $10 max per day.
Parking at the hotel, to the right of the hotel, is valet only at $3 per hour.

If you are coming from out of town we suggest making a reservation at any Ventura hotel and driving to the Crowne Plaza as the rates at the Crowne Plaza are $379 per night. See hotels.com for a list of other hotels for as little as $99 per night, but don’t wait as there is a local event that is resulting in higher rates for that weekend.

We need volunteers on all three days to work at the registration table, to serve as greeters and to work the literature table. To volunteer, please call Susan R. at (805) 680-8371

Send checks to reserve a spot to PO Box 1321 Summerland, CA 93067 or give them to Elaine S. or Barbara.

Questions?— call or text Elaine S. at (909) 908-7069

In Person Big Book Study Retreat

With long time recovered member from New Jersey
Crowne Plaza Hotel, 450 West Harbor Blvd, at the beach in Ventura

• • • Friday Oct.14 5:30 PM-8:00 PM registration, socializing and sharing.
      6:30 PM Beginning session (need to start early as our speaker will be on Eastern time)
    • Saturday Oct. 15 9:00 AM-4:30 PM
    • Sunday Oct. 16 9:00 AM-12:30 PM

Come early and stay late so we can socialize and learn from each other’s experience, strength and hope. Come for one session or for all three days.
Enjoy some of the many nearby restaurants or bring your own food.
Click to download and share at meetings & with fellows: CIIG-Big-Book-Retreat-2022

Cost: $25 but no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Parking: Park at the city lot to the LEFT of the hotel for $10 max per day.
Parking at the hotel, to the right of the hotel, is valet only at $3 per hour.

We need volunteers on all three days to work at the registration table, to serve as greeters and to work the literature table. To volunteer, please call Susan R. at (805) 680-8371

To get answers to your questions, or reserve a spot, call or text Elaine S. at (909) 908-7069.

Step 12 Workshop by Channel Islands Intergroup

CIIG presents a unique Big Book Panel Discussion of the 12th Step and Sponsorship!

STEP 12 WORKSHOP
Sunday, July 24th from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. PDT

See & Share the Event Flyer (PDF): Step 12 Workshop July 24

Zoom:
Click to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84944286674?pwd=V1c5RmMzZ0VieDE3ZU96WkRNMzlLUT09

Meeting ID: 849 4428 6674 Passcode: 964392
Dial In: 669.900.9128

Channel Islands Intergroup Workshops on the first 11 steps are available as podcasts—see the Twelve Step Series here and choose the listening service of your choice.

In-person Picnic! Celebrate Sponsoring

Join us as we Celebrate
SPONSORING
in Overeaters Anonymous

In-person Picnic
Saturday, August 20, 2022
11:30 AM-1:30 PM
Monte Vista Park, Carpinteria
Bring your own lunch, water will be provided!
Exit freeway at Bailard Ave and head toward mountains.
RSVP to Elaine if possible—909-908-7069

Click here download the Sponsoring Picnic Flyer PDF
and help spread the word!

Step 12 Workshop – July 24th

CHANNEL ISLANDS INTERGROUP PRESENTS

Join us in a unique Big Book Panel Discussion
of the 12th Step and Sponsorship.

STEP 12 WORKSHOP
Sunday, July 24th from 1:00 p.m. – 3:00 p.m. PDT

See & Share the Event Flyer (PDF): Step 12 Workshop July 24

Zoom:
Click to join: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84944286674?pwd=V1c5RmMzZ0VieDE3ZU96W
kRNMzlLUT09
Meeting ID: 849 4428 6674 Passcode: 964392
Dial In: 669.900.9128

Workshops on the first 11 steps are available as podcasts—see the Twelve Step Series here.