Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Berkeley Meeting Format

Clutterers Anonymous Suggested Meeting Format

Meeting starts promptly at 10:00 AM and ends promptly 11:15 AM.

Welcome to the Tuesday 10:00 AM Meeting of Clutterers Anonymous at Unity of Berkeley. This is a one hour and 15 minutes meeting with a structured format. My name is _____________, I am a recovering clutterer and I am privileged to be the secretary for today. After a moment of silence, please join me in the serenity prayer.

God, grant me

the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things I can,

and the wisdom to know the difference.

Note: This is a “scent free” meeting. Please refrain from wearing perfumes, lighting candles, or bringing animals.

Passing around 3 things: We are passing around a contact sheet, business notes and speaker calendar.

Contact Sheet: Please add your name, phone and email address if you wish and take other’s info to make contact in between meetings.

Business Meeting notes: Please review notes from the last business meeting and add items to be discussed at the next business meeting.

Calendar: Please sign up on the calendar to speak at a meeting the 2nd Tuesday of the month.

Introduction: We will now go around the room and introduce ourselves by first name only.

Structure: We follow a structured format at our meetings that does not allow for interruptions or side conversations. If you have any questions, please hold them until after the meeting when there is time to respond directly to your concerns.

Read the appropriate week:

1. On the FIRST Tuesday of the Month: BUSINESS MEETING.

We will now have a Business Meeting.

2. On the SECOND Tuesday of the Month: SPEAKER MEETING

Today is a speaker meeting. Our speaker will share for 10-15 minutes about their experience, strength and hope regarding their recovery from compulsive cluttering. After the extended share, the remainder of the meeting will be devoted to shorter shares by attendees, as time permits.

3rd, 4th, 5th Tuesdays of the Month: READINGS

PREAMBLE

WHAT IS CLUTTER?

12 STEPS OF CLA

TRADITION OF THE MONTH

5. TOOLS OF RECOVERY – Please ONLY read each title. CHOOSE ONE TOOL TO READ IN ITS ENTIRETY.

6. HOW IT WORKS

Literature: We will now read from CLA literature for up to 15 minutes, followed by the 7th tradition and then the meeting will be open for sharing. (Secretary chooses literature, as well as discussion theme, if warranted.)

CHOICES: HOW DO I KNOW? A brief guide (blue)

DECLUTTER YOUR MIND (green)

HOME: OUR SACRED PLACE (purple)

SPIRITUAL TIMING (light yellow)

FINDING YOUR LIFE PURPOSE (orange)

WORKING THE STEPS: RECOVERY FROM CLUTTERING (bright yellow)

DECLUTTERING RESENTMENT (pink)

AFFIRMATIONS

7TH Tradition: It is now time for the 7th Tradition which states that “Every Clutterers Anonymous group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.” Suggested donation is $2. The money collected is used to cover the cost of our rent, literature and support of Clutterers Anonymous World Service Organization (CLA WSO). Are there any CLA related announcements?

2ND Tuesday of the Month: report of the business meeting notes from last week

Sharing: It is now time for sharing and pitching. We follow the CLA Meeting Code of Conduct, to protect the safety, respect and anonymity of all present. The words you hear today are spoken in confidence and should be treated as confidential. This is a place to share our feelings, experience and recovery without fear of gossip, retaliation, or our anonymity being broken. If you don’t get a chance to share, please talk with someone after the meeting.

Timing: We time shares (at 3 or 4 minutes depending on attendance) to give everyone equal opportunity to share if they choose.

Content: We open with “My name is _________ and I am a compulsive clutterer.

My recovery action last week was to ___________

My results_______________

My commitment for next week is ____________

We keep the focus on ourselves using “I” statements rather than “you” or “they” statements.

We encourage “positive pitches” which are about an experience that has helped you to grow, given you a new level of awareness, and a sense of recovery rather than your backstory or history.

We do NOT cross-talk which we define as speaking during another’s share, asking questions, interrupting, side conversations, criticisms, giving advice or referencing another person’s share. Please refrain from promoting or discussing any other approaches to the problems of cluttering during the meeting to keep the focus on YOUR experience, strength and hope.

THE MEETING IS NOW OPEN FOR SHARING. Sharing is voluntary and optional. Please let the secretary know when you are moved to share.

AT 11:10:

Thank you for sharing: That is all the time we have for sharing at this CLA meeting. If you need to talk and did not have the opportunity to do so, please talk with any of us after the meeting or use the phone list to contact us.

Acknowledgements: Thank you for the privilege of being secretary today. Let’s thank everyone who helped with the meeting (details on cleaning up and identifying helpers).

CLOSING: Read PROMISES CLOSING followed by the Serenity Prayer.

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Berkeley Clutterers Anonymous

You are cordially invited to join us in person!
North Berkeley Clutterers Anonymous Meeting

Monday evening 7:15-8:30 PM

Tuesday morning
10:00 AM sharp until 11:15 AM

Epworth United Methodist Church
1953 Hopkins Street
Berkeley, Ca 94707

Directions to Epworth:
Epworth United Methodist Church is located at 1953 Hopkins Street at Napa Avenue, near the south portal of the Solano Avenue tunnel.

By Public Transit:

AC Transit local routes 43, 9, and 7 stop at the corner of Hopkins and Sutter (Shattuck Avenue), near the south portal of the Solano Avenue tunnel. (Route FS provides TransBay service, weekday commute hours only.)

From there, it's a one-block downhill walk to the church. Route
15 stops at the corner of Hopkins and The Alameda (MLK Jr. Way), near the North Berkeley Branch Library. Walk uphill on Hopkins past Milvia - the church will be on your left.

Transfer to the 43, 9, and 7 buses at the Berkeley BART station. (Route 9 no longer stops at North Berkeley BART.)

On Your Bike:

The northern end of the Milvia Street Bicycle Boulevard intersects Hopkins Street, just a block from the church.

From Major Highways:

From the Eastshore Freeway (I-80) take the Gilman Street exit and continue eastward until Gilman intersects with Hopkins. Turn left and proceed uphill on Hopkins. You'll pass Monterey Foods, MLK Middle School, and the North Berkeley Branch Library on the way.

From Highway 24, take the Tunnel Road exit, and proceed west on Ashby Avenue to Martin Luther King, Jr. Way. Turn right on MLK, drive north for about two miles, then right again on Hopkins.

First Tuesday of the Month: Business Meeting
Second Tuesday: Speaker Meeting
Third, Fourth, Fifth Tuesdays: CLA Literature

Our blog at http://berkcla.blogspot.com/ exists to achieve the goal of the 5th Traditon: "Each group has but one primary purpose; to carry its message to the person who still suffers."

We have a Google Group for email discussions!
Group email

Google Group
http://groups.google.com/group/berkeley-clutterers-anonymous

Isolation and shame are two major factors from which many clutterers suffer. Sometimes it takes a long time to really see improvements in our physical clutter and our thinking. We welcome you! You are taking a bold step forward and you are not alone! Remember: Progress, not perfection! The information posted here, the tools, readings, phone meetings and resources support us all in our process to recovering from cluttering.