CFC Service

Entering the 2023 IC Cracow hotel I walked straight into the welcoming arms of a Polish fellow who is a regular attendant of the Sponsoring by Mail workshop. First time we met face-to-face. It was meeting a brother. The entire weekend we couldn’t stop smiling when we worked together or bumped into each other. A real connection. All the troubles of traveling by train vanished at that moment, in hindsight.

In no time I met most of the fellows who had signed up to do service during the weekend. In no time the CFC table was set up and covered with the service material we have. I met up with trusted servants I had been meeting online many times. What a blessing and a joy! “Hey man, you are much taller (or ‘smaller,’ for that matter) than I thought!”

I had agreed to be responsible for the CFC program at the convention, including the bookmark. Originally produced by the former CFC chair for the international convention in Madrid, it has useful information and “CFC attraction” in English on one side, and the local language on the other side. (Please edit, translate and use it for your local CFC events.)

At general sessions there was room for attracting fellows to the break-out session and to the table. I am very grateful for the sympathy and support of the Polish convention committee. Grateful for the fellows who did service at the table and solved technical problems at the break-out session. We kept smiling!

The list of fellows signing up for service or information extended from 15 to 55 after the final general session where we talked about CFC service and decided on the spot to send the list around the room. Nine fellows indicated that they want to be a sponsor, ten to be a first responder; twenty fellows asked for more information; the rest did not specify. All got a letter with the internal CFC service folder, the SACFC bookmark and a print version of ESSAY’s special CFC issue.

Eight fellows started sponsoring right after the convention. As at that moment there were no more unassigned sponsor requesters, there was no need to engage the first responders, but as I write this article there are ten requesters unassigned and by the time you read this, there may be many more.

So, here’s the call to service: If you have six months of sobriety, are working the Steps, and your sponsor agrees, do sign up for one of the best tools in recovery: working with others. If you don’t meet these requirements, do sign up as a first responder, writing a letter of encouragement to a sexaholic in prison waiting to be assigned a sponsor. It’s a most rewarding service. Moreover, welcome to this wonderful circle of CFC servants!