Letting Go In Service: My Journey As NSC Secretary
Hi, I’m Bryony and I’m a recovering codependent.
What is my position? I served as the National Service Committee (NSC) Secretary for the last 2-3 years.
What does my position involve? I worked with the Chair to plan the agenda six weeks ahead of each NSC meeting, circulated the papers and minutes a month ahead so groups had time to discuss at their conscience meetings, shared the meeting documents online during the NSC meetings and took minutes. It was agreed that we’d only record actions and brief notes where relevant, and would agree the minutes on screen during the meeting, so that there wasn’t a huge task of typing them up afterwards. After the meeting I just needed to agree the minutes with the Chair, then send them to the NSC so that they could be shared on to the fellowship by the Comms team, and added to the website minutes archive.
Why is it important that this position be filled? Without a Secretary, NSC meetings are not recorded in line with Service Concept 12, which says that: Every member has the right to know what is happening within our organization. To honor this right, and in the spirit of CoDA unity, our national organization publishes and distributes group conscience decisions, such as minutes of our service boards and motions from our National Conferences, in the most inclusive and timely manner possible. In our service work, we have referred to minutes of previous meetings many times, and also need to record votes and elections of trusted servants – without these vital records, our work is more difficult and we are not accountable to those we serve.
What does being of service mean to me? Service concept 4 says: The Fellowship recognizes the need to select the most qualified people willing to serve as trusted servants. I bring the skills I share with the fellowship as Secretary from my professional life, as I find it easy to do. Using my skills for service work helps me hold up my boundaries. I have learned how to work with other committee members and fellows to present a balanced view and not express my opinions on agenda items before they go out, waiting for the meeting to have my voice heard. This is a valuable skill for my professional life too.
What has being of service brought to my recovery? I have been able to support the NSC with consistency through a time where many positions on the committee are not filled and more fellows are required to ensure we are following Tradition 7 in our service work. Tradition 7 means it’s really important to me that meetings and committees are self-supporting both in finances AND in service work. I am proud to have been able to do the work to the best of my ability, and I was very grateful that my way of managing the work dovetailed well with the Chair alongside whom I was serving. Teamwork was very considered and boundaried, and therefore very easy.
The process of stepping aside has been just as valuable to my recovery. I have worried about leaving the role empty with no fellows stepping up to fill it, but have been very mindful of Tradition 7 – if one member does too much, there is no space for another member to come forward. I am handing it over and trusting my and the NSC’s HP to make the path clear. Since stepping down just over a month ago, my voluntary work in other areas has stepped up, meaning I’d have less time for CoDA work, so I am very grateful to my HP for this practice of letting go – it’s something I’m not good at!
