Do all CEA-HOW meetings count toward the “three meetings a week” requirement in The Seven Tools?
Thank you for your recent question about required meeting attendance in CEA-HOW. In our literature the Seven Tools explains that members must attend three meetings a week in order to be following the CEA-HOW model of abstinence. On our website, under the Meeting Assistance tab/How to Start a Meeting, you’ll find the following information:
If you are interested in starting a CEA-HOW Meeting, please review the points below. Only those meeting/groups which comply with this definition of a CEA-HOW meeting/group may be registered with the World Service Office.
- As a meeting/group, they meet to practice the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of CEA-HOW.
- All who have a desire to stop the symptoms of food addiction are welcome in the meeting/group.
- A meeting/group may be formed by two (2) or more persons meeting together to abstain from food addiction.
- The person registering the meeting must have 30 days of CEA-HOW abstinence, be a qualified CEA-HOW Food sponsor, and be working with his/her own CEA-HOW sponsor.
- As a meeting/group, we have no affiliation other than CEA-HOW. This means that we do not pitch about 12-Step programs other than CEA-HOW.
- To promote recovery from compulsive eating, CEA-HOW meetings employ a 30-day CEA-HOW abstinence requirement in order to share at a meeting or 7 days if a person has discussed their sharing with their CEA-HOW sponsor.
- To be considered a CEA-HOW meeting, the meeting must meet the following requirements:
- The reading of the Twelve Steps of CEA-HOW, the Twelve Traditions of CEA-HOW, the CEA-HOW Concept, and the Seven Tools of CEA-HOW. These are to be read as written.
- The leader must have a minimum of 30 days of CEA-HOW abstinence
- Adherence to abstinence requirements to pitch, per the 7 Tools of CEA-HOW
- Only CEA-HOW or AA Conference literature is used at the meeting. Outside literature is not read or quoted.
If a meeting complies with these guidelines and is registered with WSO, then it is considered a CEA-HOW meeting whether it is face-to-face or on the Phone Bridge and it would count toward the requirement of three CEA-HOW meetings a week.
We encourage all members to work with their sponsors to determine the best way to meet the requirements of the program while being able to carry the message of recovery to those who still suffer.