Meeting Resources
Meeting Chair
Daily Timing (EST):
6:00am Open Zoom meeting https://zoom.us/signin ('Uncheck' stay logged in)
6:15 Gatekeepers do their thing
6:30 Chair mutes all and then begins meeting by reading VSS Opening Statement while secretary shares screen and mirrors website for (Weekly Schedule, Membership & Anniversary sign up, 7th tradition, Preamble, Blue Card& Twelfth Tradition)
6:40 Chair & Secretary Transition to Daily Format (Meeting Resources Mon-Fri) and Secretary Zoom Share Screen for Daily reading(s)
7:25 Chair calls burning desire
7:25 Secretary reopens chat & posts verification email
7:30 Chair chooses someone to close the meeting with the serenity prayer
VSS Opening Statement Format:
*Please note Tuesday chair is unique and should be read from Tuesday opening statement
6:30 AM
“Good Morning & Welcome to Virtual Sober Start! We ask that everyone mute at this time.”
“My name is _______________ & I am an alcoholic! We’re all happy to have you here!’
(Secretary mirrors your comments with Zoom Share Screen for Home - Weekly Schedule)
“This meeting is based in Sea Cliff, Long Island NY and we meet here on Zoom, 6:30am EST, seven days a week. Monday is a step meeting, Tuesday-Beginners, Wednesday-Big Book, Thursday- Reflections, Friday-Promises, Saturday-(Sleepless in Sea Cliff)-closed discussion, Sunday-Meditation. The last Monday of the month is a traditions meeting. The first Friday of the month is an anniversary celebration for the previous month. Business meetings are held on the first Saturday of every month after the Closed Discussion meeting.”
“I would like to thank our two Gate Keepers ___&___ who keep us safe from Zoom Bombers. If we are Zoombombed, please stay muted. We appreciate your desire to help us find the bomber, but that actually makes it harder to find them. We ask that you stay muted to help eliminate distracting background noise and please refrain from cross-talk. A definition of crosstalk will be provided in the chat by the secretary.”
“We’d like to welcome anyone visiting for the first time or who would like to share their day count to unmute & introduce themselves at this time.” (name, homegroup, day count).
We follow the safety protocol of Alcoholic Anonymous. A link to the Safety Protocol (Yellow Card) will be posted in the chat by the Secretary. If you are contacted while in the zoom, and the message is disrespectful (or you feel unsafe), please chat with one of the meeting gatekeepers who are co-hosting.
"If you are in need of a sponsor please use the chat to contact one of our available members. Members that are available to sponsor have a green checkmark in their square."
Please visit our website at VirtualSoberStart.org for free resources, including pdf versions of the Big Book, Living Sober and other AA-approved literature.
"We'd like to encourage anyone celebrating an anniversary this month to share with the group (name, homegroup, year)"
“We use a timer set for 2 minutes for individual sharing. Part of sharing is sharing time. ________ will let you know when your time is up. Thank you ______ for being our time keeper today.”
"I would also like to thank our secretary ____________ for putting up all the readings and information in the chat." (Secretary mirrors your comments below with Zoom Share Screen for Contact Us - Membership/Anniversary Form, 7th Tradition - QR Codes, Meeting Resources/Secretary - Preamble/Closed Meeting/Twelfth Tradition)
"If you would like to make Virtual Sober Start (VSS) your home group, we encourage you to attend our meetings regularly. Our optional membership form can be seen on the screen or by visiting www.virtualsoberstart.org. This form is only visible to the group chair and group secretary."
"If you would like to celebrate your anniversary with us, we ask that you fill out our Anniversary Celebration form as seen on the screen. We celebrate anniversaries on the first Friday of every month for the previous months anniversaries."
“In accordance with the seventh tradition: “Every AA group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.” Please give if you can. If you can’t, keep coming back. We want you more than your money. Contributions can be made via Venmo or PayPal as seen on the screen.
“With the preamble we have:______________________________________”
“With the Blue Card we have:_____________________________________”
“As The 12th Tradition states: Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities. What happens in Zoom, stays in Zoom.” Secretary return to 'tile' view.
“Are there any other AA related announcements?”
"At 7:25 I will announce it is time for a Burning Desire. If you feel you are in danger of taking a drink and didn’t get an opportunity to share here today, please take this time to share.”
“The chat will now close and remain closed until 7:25 at which time the chat will be reopened for inquiries about meeting verification, we ask that you request email verification before 7:45am today. The chat will also be open for inquiries regarding group membership, sponsorship, service commitments or just good ol’ fellowship."
6:40 AM
'Today is a _______________ meeting." .... Transition to "Daily Format" (Monday-Sunday below)
7:25 AM
"Now is the time for anyone with a burning desire to drink to share. If you feel you are in danger of taking a drink and didn’t get an opportunity to share here today, please take this time to share."
7:30 AM
"This brings us to the end of our meeting. (Choose someone) ___________ would you like to close the meeting with your choice of the we or I version of the Serenity Prayer?"
How to Log into zoom.us and start a meeting:
To start the meeting, go to https://zoom.us/signin ('uncheck' stay logged in)
You can watch a video here on how to do that: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lRx5wCYSNRtnynmMSOgeiVmHssUJkuns/view?usp=sharing
*Please use the login info only to start the meeting. Please do not try to add/modify meetings or make any global changes to the meeting formats etc. Any changes to the meeting format and/or global settings should only be made after being discussed with and by the group at the business meeting. And please try to communicate with your team or any regulars to make sure only one person is opening the meeting each day.
Virtual Opening Statement (printable version)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BUtPme8w4AQGDTCXosSY4raBiceuRiNJdnefdL8OZ9Q/edit?usp=sharing
Meeting Secretary
A.A. PREAMBLE©
Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.
CLOSED MEETING STATEMENT©
This is a closed meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. In support of A.A.'s singleness of purpose, attendance at closed meetings is limited to persons who have a desire to stop drinking. If you think you have a problem with alcohol, you are welcome to attend this meeting. We ask that when discussing our problems, we confine ourselves to those problems as they relate to alcoholism.
The 12th Tradition states that:
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our Traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
What happens in Zoom stays in Zoom!
OPEN MEETING STATEMENT©
This is an open meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. We are glad you are all here – especially newcomers. In keeping with our singleness of purpose and our Third Tradition which states that “The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking,” we ask that all who participate confine their discussion to their problems with alcohol.
Serenity Prayer ("I" version)
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.
Serenity Prayer ("We" version)
God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Mtg Timing(EST)/'Post' in Chat/'Zoom Share Screen':
6:00am Open Zoom Meeting https://zoom.us/signin ('uncheck' stay signed in)
Let in Members until Gatekeepers arrive
Assign CoHosts & GateKeepers
Go to Meeting Resources/Day of the Week and open each of your "Reading(s)" for the day in a separate tab so they are easily brought up when you 'zoom share screen' at that point in the daily script
Set up your computer screens for sharing in the order that the script requires.
6:30 Chair mutes all and reads VSS Opening Statement & Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' and mirror Chair Opening Statement prompts with VSS Website for:
Home - Weekly Schedule/AA Slogans
Contact Us - Membership/Anniversary Form
7th Tradition - QR Codes
Meeting Resources/Secretary - Preamble/Closed Meeting/Twelfth Tradition
'Post' in Chat starting at 6:30 each underlined item below:
Website Resources:
Please go to https://www.virtualsoberstart.org/ for Newcomer Resources including links to AA Literature, the Grapevine, FAQ & Speaker Recordings
Crosstalk Defined:
Please refrain from cross-talk as defined by Grapevine October 2011 as:
Not interjecting a comment during someone else's share.
Not criticizing what another person said.
Not telling someone what to do about their problems.
Not analyzing anyone else's psyche or situation.
Safety:
Safety Protocol: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/f-211_en_0422.pdf If you are contacted while in the zoom, and the message is disrespectful (or you feel unsafe), please chat with one of the meeting gatekeepers who are cohosting.
Sponsorship:
If you are in need of a sponsor please use the chat to contact one of our available members. Members that are available to sponsor have a green checkmark ✅ in their square.
Membership:
"If you would like to make Virtual Sober Start (VSS) your home group, we encourage you to attend our meetings regularly. Our optional membership form can be seen on the screen or by visiting www.virtualsoberstart.org. This form is only visible to the group chair and group secretary."
7th Tradition Donations:
“Every A.A. group ought to be fully self supporting, declining outside contributions.” Donations can be made at: https://www.virtualsoberstart.org/7th-tradition
Attendance Verification:
Request attendance verification for today’s AA meeting before 7:45 AM EST. The email address will be posted at 7:25.
6:40+/- Chair announces chat will now close
Chat Closed:
Chat is now limited so that you can chat with the Host and Co-hosts only.
'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Readings per Chairs prompts.
(Readings can be found at: VSSWebsite/MeetingResources/DayOfWeek)
7:25 Chair calls for burning desire
(On Tuesday Chat is opened at 7:15)
Chat Reopened:
Chat is now open for you to chat with Everyone and Anyone directly.
Attendance Verification:
Request attendance verification for today’s AA meeting before 7:45 AM EST at soberstartverify@gmail.com
Website Resources:
Please go to https://www.virtualsoberstart.org/ for Newcomer Resources including links to AA Literature, the Grapevine, FAQ & Speaker Recordings
Serenity Prayer ("I" version)
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.
Serenity Prayer ("We" version)
God, grant us the serenity to accept the things we cannot change, the courage to change the things we can, and the wisdom to know the difference.
7:30 Chair chooses someone to close the meeting with the serenity prayer
Keep meeting open to allow for 'after' meeting discussion OR reassign host role if you need to leave
7:45+/- End meeting in Zoom make sure you 'log out' of mtg, this will end mtg for everyone
Everyday Meeting readings except the first Friday (same as above but in Slide Show format)
Anniversary Friday Meeting readings, 1st Friday of each month (Slide Show format with Open Meeting Statement)
Monday - Steps
Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Reading materials:
12 & 12 Readings (Steps and once a month Traditions) on bottom of the linked page: https://www.aa.org/twelve-steps-twelve-traditions
The “synopsis” (referred to below) of each step/tradition is the "contents" section of the. Click on that to see it.
Monday Step Meeting Format:
6:40 AM
• Chair first read aloud the step synopsis in front of step book for that week.
Chair states "This is a ‘jump in’ meeting, members read and sharing at any time during the reading is permitted"
• All members then participate in reading the step, taking turns & passing the reading off to the next reader
• When someone ‘jumps in’ to share- Secretary exits zoom share screen
• If or when no one is sharing- Secretary go back to zoom share screen the reading
• At end of reading Chair/Secretary please note last step/page read, that is next weeks starting point
Monday Tradition Meeting Format: (LAST Monday of the month)
• Chair is responsible for securing a speaker to share on the tradition for 5-10 minutes
6:40 AM
Chair reads the tradition synopsis in front of step book (Secretary zoom shares screen of reading)
Chair states " I would like to introduce ________ who will read todays Traditions reading and share on it for 5-10 minutes."
Upon speaker completion, Chair states " thank you ________ for the reading and your share. This is now an open meeting to a show of hands, please use your raised hand feature to share and I will call on you"
Tuesday - Beginners
Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Reading materials:
Slogans: drive.google.com/file/d/1trU-7HJcuXVf5OxnNO3ZDNc3z-aXWX3p/view?usp=drive_link
Living Sober (by chapter): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/14Vk9lROK1J4Ua59aJxYgwj8QNJqEkFRI?usp=sharing
How it works: https://www.aa.org/sites/default/files/literature/assets/p-10_howitworks.pdf
Virtual Chips: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ymO8XLlY5-db7fJO4yhkq8AJz1yXq4rgNvdHtEkTCAw/edit?usp=sharing
Meeting Format:
6:40 AM
Chair states "Today is a beginners meeting. We start by sharing some AA slogans that were
helpful to us as newcomers, all are invited to shout out any that come to mind."
"I have asked ___________________________ to read How it Works"
"We celebrate milestones by recognizing these accomplishments ...let’s start with
anyone celebrating 24 hours or just coming back...
Anyone with 30 days today or in the last week....
Anyone with 60 days today or in the last week... (continue in increments of 30
days or in the last week up until a year) this is a time for new comers to be
recognized for their milestones, not to share (good luck with this)
"Please raise your hand if you have over a year of sobriety to show this works!"
• The format of this meeting is to read a chapter from “Living Sober”, Secretary Zoom Shares screen.
Chairs states "I will briefly share on the reading and then we will open the meeting to show of hands
sharing, beginning with newcomers. Sharing is optional but we encourage you to share to allow us to get to know you better."
• Chair begins reading next chapter from Living Sober
• Members participate in reading the chapter, taking turns & passing the reading off to the next reader
• Once reading the one chapter has concluded chair shares on reading for 5 minutes or less
• Chair gives only minimum feedback to beginners only as chair deems appropriate
• Chair then begins calling on people with ascending increments of time to share
beginning with 1 month and under, 2 months and under, 3 months and under...all the
way up to a year.
• Once beginners have shared (good luck getting this far) meeting is then opened to a
show of hands to anyone with any amount of time (encourage participants to use the
raised hand feature)
• Chair/Secretary note chapter read in order to pick up reading next chapter the following week
Wednesday - Big Book
Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Reading materials:
Big Book (at the bottom of the link): https://www.aa.org/the-big-book
Meeting Format:
• This meeting alternates between a chapter in the first 164 pages with a story in the back (Chair/Secretary keep a weekly record)
• This is a ‘jump in’ meeting, sharing at any time during reading is permitted
6:40 AM
Chair states, "this is a Big Book 'jump in' and meeting, members will 'jump in' to read, and then hand off (by stating pass) to another member. Feel free to jump in and share at anytime."
• Chair begins reading where group left off last week
• Members then participate in reading, taking turns & passing the reading off to the next reader
• When someone ‘jumps in’ to share- Secretary exit zoom share
• If or when no one is sharing, Secretary go back to zoom share reading
• If it’s the end of a chapter or story and no one is sharing, go back to the reading, even if it’s the next chapter or story
Thursday - Reflections
Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Reading materials:
Thursday Daily Reflection: https://www.aa.org/daily-reflections
Meeting Format:
• Chair secures speaker prior to meeting
6:40 AM
Speaker reads that day’s daily reflection twice (Secretary Zoom Share Screen).
• Speaker then shares on reading for 5-10 minutes.
Chair then states, "Thank you _________ for reading and your share, this is now an open meeting for sharing, I will call on people to share (try to pick members we usually don’t hear from)"
7:15
Chair states, "This is now an open meeting to a show of hands, please use your raised hand feature to share and I will call on you"
Friday - Promises
Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Reading materials:
Promises: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1DjIIJBbv_h6M6W9OIeOxU9oVu8EC-f7ZzaEOcu6aR6Q/edit?usp=sharing
Meeting Format:
• Chair secures speaker prior to meeting
6:40 AM
• Speaker reads introduction to promises, Speaker then reads promise for current week
• Speaker then shares on specific promise for 5-10 minutes
Chair then states, "Thank you _________ for reading and your share, this is now an open meeting for sharing, I will call on people to share (try to pick members we usually don’t hear from)"
7:15
Chair states, "This is now an open meeting to a show of hands, please use your raised hand feature to share and I will call on you"
• Friday Anniversary Meeting (different chair)
Saturday - Speaker
Meeting Format:
• Chair secures speaker prior to meeting
6:40 AM
Chair states "Today is a speaker meeting, I would like to introduce __________ who will share their experience, strength and hope for 15ish minutes today......"
• Speaker shares their experience, strength & hope for 15ish minutes
When speaker concludes Chair states "Thank you ________ for your share. This is now an open meeting to a show of hands, please use your raised hand feature to share and I will call on you"
Sunday - Meditation
Secretary 'Zoom Share Screen' Daily Reading materials:
Reading "As Bill Sees It": https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iZuULO2O4cFOniTYPFqd74IrqtPg5L6l/view?usp=sharing
Burning candle video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrDUTpeGW0A
Meeting Format:
• Chair secures speaker prior to meeting
• Speaker will choose a passage from “As Bill See’s It”
6:40 AM
• Speaker reads passage
• Chair states "We will now have a 10 minute silent meditation" Secretary Zoom Share Screen burning candle.
• Speaker will read the passage for second time and shares for 5-10 minutes on reading
When speaker concludes Chair states "Thank you ________ for reading and your share. This is now an open meeting to a show of hands, please use your raised hand feature to share and I will call on you"
Business Meeting
Our Declaration of Unity
This we owe to A.A.'s future: to place our common welfare first; to keep our fellowship united. For on A.A. unity depend our lives and the lives of those to come.
Responsibility Statement
I am responsible when anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the hand of AA always to be there, and for that I am responsible.
Meeting Minutes (current and archived)
Upcoming Agenda
Virtual SoberStart Group Conscience Reference Log
Virtual SoberStart Group Conscience Full Reference Log