Report to CoDA Service Conference 2020

Senior Delegate Gillian A. from United Kingdom for CSC 2020

I would firstly like to recap on the introduction I delivered in my Voting Entity (VE) Report which I gave at last year’s CoDA Service Conference (CSC) in Atlanta, Georgia in September 2019.

As of August 2020, CoDA UK has approximately 105 groups, over 50 of which are in or around the London and South-East area and the rest encompassing the whole of the United Kingdom, including Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Bournemouth, Exeter, Bristol, Newcastle, Liverpool, Noddfa Penmaenmawr in North Wales and Cardigan in West Wales; in Scotland, Edinburgh and Glasgow; in Northern Ireland Lisnaskea, and in Ireland, Galway, Sligo and Westport – and many many more places besides. We may be a small island but we have a very big heart!

CoDA has been a presence in the UK since the beginning of the 1990s – when two original CoDA members who have since sadly passed – took their strong Fellowship beliefs (and their Higher Power) to a CoDA Retreat in Holland and returned with their inspired Experience, Strength and Hope and determination to Carry the Message of CoDA Recovery into their CoDA Groups at home. They also brought the tradition of holding annual CoDA Weekend Retreats across the UK, with only Conference Approved CoDA Literature which included the CoDA Blue Book, the CoDA 12 Steps and 12 Traditions used by them in their daily lives and especially Chapter 5 of the CoDA Blue Book.

To continue to the present day: we in the United Kingdom now have two intergroups: one in the North Intergroup North which includes this region, from Birmingham in central England up to and including Scotland and Wales, plus Northern Ireland (plus Ireland).

We also now have another intergroup in the south – LSER (London and South-East Region) recently resurrected and including at the moment the south and south-west regions of the UK, until they form their own intergroup.

We have in the past had great difficulty in encouraging people to give service but thanks to the inspirational effect of our Founders, Ken and Mary, this position has begun to improve.

Ken and Mary travelled to the UK from Phoenix, Arizona last October 2019 to deliver two full Weekend Workshops, firstly in central London at the Rudolph Steiner House and Theatre, where we had 150 CoDA members attending 8 different Workshops over two days – all on various aspects of the CoDA Programme – and the following weekend in central Liverpool at The Brink (the city’s first non-alcoholic cafe/bar) where we had 100 CoDA members there going through the CoDA 12 Steps in the CoDA Blue Book.

At both venues we had all the CoDA Approved Literature in good supply for sale to our CoDA members. The presence of Ken & Mary inspired a resurgence of the Recovery we so needed from their Experience, Strength and Hope especially after their very difficult year. We were blessed to have them with us and we all give grateful thanks for them.

We were also donated the recordings by a non-CoDA member on condition they would be on free download from our new website codauk.org. Again, with grateful thanks.

In January 2020 we had our annual mixed North Wales Noddfa Weekend Retreat which helped both old-timers and newcomers begin the new year with the CoDA Programme which brought us all Peace, Serenity and on the Saturday night Celebration of CoDA Music, Fun and Laughter – always a very joyous and healing Retreat.

This was followed on February 1st by our AGM for the National Service Committee (NSC) in central London. This was well attended and budgets, reports and plans were set for the coming year.

We have had several very active committees set up over the past months, with Communications Committee keeping everyone informed and connected (especially in these difficult times) with regular updates on current information on new Zoom Meeting details etc.

Also coming together were our new Website Committee who have set up our new website: codauk.org (our previous one crashed in May 2019 and our literature publisher kindly came to our rescue and supported us through his website), which was launched in June. Grateful thanks for this Fellowship. 

Just before lockdown because of the Covid-19 outbreak, we had a Retreat in Salisbury in the south of UK and then issued guidelines on how we might overcome isolation problems by encouraging CoDA members to use Zoom, Skype, phones, texts, WhatsApp etc and to put into action the use and importance of the CoDA Literature – which I believe is the essence of CoDA Recovery – together with all the other Tools for Recovery.

We also reminded members of the recordings from CoRe via coda.org and our Ken & Mary free download recordings via codauk.org. Also codaliterature.co.uk has functioned throughout to deliver far and wide to the Newcomer and all CoDA members in need. Again, grateful thanks.

The advent of the 30 Questions 1-2-3 Booklet has been a tremendous boost to help those who might feel nervous about sponsoring CoDA members, giving a marvellous easily-explained navigation of the CoDA Blue Book regarding examining Steps 1, 2 and 3 in a very comprehensive way, either one-to-one or in a Step Group. Tremendously successful tool.

Also on 15th May 2020 we began our first online Sponsorship Workshop on Zoom having previously done it face-to-face – to assist people looking for sponsors or to co-sponsor or set up Step Groups. 

We also set up an Outreach WhatsApp Group, a Sponsorship WhatsApp Group, WhatsApp Group to join or start a Step Meeting, and now a WhatsApp Group to Support Sponsors having difficulties or needing some extra help. We hope that this will encourage members not to be frightened to ask for extra guidance in sponsorship service with help from more seasoned CoDA fellowship – hopefully this will increase the amount of new sponsors coming through.

Since lockdown in the UK all our meetings had to close for face-to-face meetings but the majority have opened up on-line on Zoom, Skype and phone and Step Groups have increased as well as more participation, even having visitors online from as far afield as Australia, New Zealand, Africa, USA , Canada and Europe plus the Middle East – we are indeed international!!! 

We have found the CoDA Literature has been a Lifeline for Recovery in these difficult times and the Zoom meetings have caused a connectivity with online workshops as well as meetings bringing the CoDA Fellowship together. That might not have happened had Covid-19 not reared its ugly head. Gratitude in Abundance – Higher Power certainly works in mysterious ways!!! 

The CoDA Literature: Traditionally Speaking: Finding Solutions and The 12-Piece Relationship Toolkit have been giving space for our CoDA members to reflect together in meetings and workshops and the CoDA Workbook continues to guide us through the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions in our meetings – all as wonderful recovery tools. 

We look very much forward to the proposed new Booklet on the 12 CoDA Service Concepts to help inspire and guide us.

We were encouraged by the Public Information short film viewed at last year’s CSC and we have set up a new Public Information (PI) Committee who have produced some fine poster work and we still hope to get an official UK national live telephone line to answer live the Newcomer and the Codependent who still suffers.

We have made strides with our Public Liability Insurances for individual CoDA Groups and Safeguarding, plus our Policy on confidentiality of personal information (GDPR) etc.

Last year, we proposed the official acceptance of our UK Version of the Long Serenity Prayer; there was not enough time then in Atlanta on the last day for it to go through, but we were promised and hope it will be given an opportunity to be accepted this year. The words have helped so many of us here in the UK especially over these past few difficult months and that we can Carry the Message of Recovery: Appreciation, Tolerance and Strength, One Day At A Time – hopefully to all the CoDA Fellowship. 

God Grant Me the Serenity.
To Accept the Things I Cannot Change.
Courage to Change the Things I Can.
And the Wisdom to Know the Difference.
Grant Me Patience with the Changes that Take Time.
Appreciation of All that I Have.
Tolerance of Those with Different Struggles.
And the Strength to Get Up and Try Again.
One Day At A Time.

As outgoing UK Delegate, I would like to thank CoDA for the privilege to serve, to have been given the honour and to have been able to receive the joy and fellowship with Recovery through Service. Thank you for the experience – for the love, kindness and acceptance shown.

I hope to be able to continue in service – hopefully possibly on the Literature Committee of which I feel passionate about or in some other capacity.

Again gratitude for the gift of the CoDA Programme of Recovery and for the very happy memories of that wonderful Atlanta welcome last September at the CSC Conference and Convention but look towards an exciting Virtual 2020 CSC this year and looking forward hopefully to Ottawa next year. 

NB This is a version of the report Gillian took to CSC in August 2020, edited for the CoDA UK website.