Opening
Good evening everyone and you are all very welcome to this closed meeting of Kindr – A Queer Men’s 12 Step Recovery Group.
My name is _________ and I am an alcoholic and/or addict and your Secretary for today’s meeting.
The Kindr Preamble
Kindr is a group of GBTQ+ identifying men who come together in 12 Step Fellowship to achieve and maintain sobriety and live in recovery.
We endeavour to create a safe and respectful space where we work together to achieve freedom from our addictions. Our meetings are free to attend and we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
As we come from different backgrounds we ask people to be mindful of the various addictions within our group. Membership is open to all GBTQ+ men who want to get and stay sober.
Our primary purpose is to stay sober and to carry the message to the still suffering addict.”
The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting and if you are new to Kindr here today, you are very welcome.
If this is your first Kindr meeting and you feel comfortable to do so, you are very welcome to introduce yourself now.
(Pause briefly to allow newcomers to introduce themselves)
Before we begin, we will take a moment to go around the room and introduce ourselves by our first names.
The 12 Steps
We encourage all members to familiarise themselves with the 12 Steps and to consider finding a Sponsor. Many of us have found real strength and hope through working the Steps, and we’re happy to share our experience. If you are new, feel free to speak to someone working the Steps after the meeting.
[Thursday ] Meeting Format
“This evening’s meeting will be of one hour’s duration, is a newcomer meeting and will conclude at 8pm. We read steps 1-3 from various texts in rotation; the Narcotic Anonymous Basic Text, the SLAA Basic text, and the Kindr literature. Tonight we are reading step ___ from _______.” After the reading, we will then share on what we have heard.
I now invite ___ to start reading
[Saturday ] Meeting Format
Today’s meeting is a one hour speaker meeting and will conclude at 1pm.
I am now delighted to hand the meeting over to _______ to share their Experience, Strength and Hope with us.
Sharing
I will now ask ________ to act as our Spiritual Timekeeper.
To give as many people as possible a chance to share, we ask that shares are kept to _____ minutes
(3 or 4 minutes depending on numbers present).
The Timekeeper will give a gentle indication when your time is coming to an end.
Please keep shares focused on recovery and allow others the chance to share.
While we encourage you to listen for identification in what others share, we remind everyone that cross-talk is discouraged, as it can create an unsafe atmosphere within the meeting. Cross-talk is when someone comments directly on, responds to, or gives their opinion about what another person has shared.
The meeting is now open.
Newcomers Time
(At approximately 30 minutes into the meeting, we pause for Newcomers Time.)
We will now have Newcomers Time for 10 minutes. This is the most important part of our meeting. It is a quiet time and it is reserved for anyone who is new to recovery, new to Kindr, under 90 days sober, or for anyone who might find it difficult to share in the wider meeting.
If that sounds like you, you are warmly invited to share during this time.
Seventh Tradition
(At approximately 40 minutes into the meeting, we take up our Seventh Tradition.)
In this group we follow the 12 Traditions of 12 Step Fellowship, and in accordance with Tradition 7 we are self-supporting through our own contributions.
I will now pass around the collection cup and the QR code for our SumUp account.
All contributions are greatly appreciated and go towards the running costs of our meetings.
Closing the Meeting
(At approximately 55 minutes into the meeting)
That is all the time we have for sharing. Thank you to all of you for being here and for making this meeting possible.
We also usually go for food after the meeting on Thursdays and Saturdays, and everyone is very welcome to join us, especially if it’s your first time here.
I will now ask _________ to read the Kindr Responsibility Pledge.
At this meeting, while recognising we are on a daily programme, we also like to celebrate milestones in recovery.
If anyone would like to share a significant sobriety milestone today or from the past week, you are very welcome to do so now.
Are there any announcements related specifically to Kindr?
The newcomer is the most important person at any meeting and we show we are a responsible 12 Step group by introducing ourselves to newcomers and making them feel welcome at our meetings.
Tradition 12 states that anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
Therefore, who you see here, what you hear here, when you leave here, let it stay here.
We will now close the meeting with the Serenity Prayer, for those who wish to say it.
[SATURDAY ] But before we do so, can we please all thank _________ for sharing with us today.