A retreat full of fellowship, fun, and growth while discussing difficult topics that led to unity in making SA truly a place for men and women together. 

Retreats are my favorite part of the SA program and a great way to meet fellows that I don’t normally see. This was my second retreat, and I enjoyed playing basketball, foosball, pool, ping pong, and cards until midnight (oh, and getting to grow deeper in my relationships with others and God). 

I want to highlight something important: that is, men and women working together in recovery. Standing out to me was the abundance of women speakers in the meetings and a strong showing of SA women. This spurred a very important question: How can we be more inclusive to women and make them feel a part of our Fellowship that is dominated by men? Women SA members highlighted that at the beginning of their SA journey, when they walked into the room, a handful of guys would walk out of the room, either by their choice or because their wives didn’t feel comfortable with this. I have witnessed this firsthand at some of our meetings in the Seattle area, but I never got to talk to women members in our Program about it. I was blessed with the opportunity to hear how it has affected them and the hurdles they had to overcome. They shared the fear they overcame and the uncomfortable feeling that they didn’t belong, despite knowing their experience qualified them.

One member shared that while it still happens to her sometimes, it doesn’t bother her as much. It is only because she is desperate for recovery. If she weren’t, she might have considered leaving the Program, feeling she wasn’t welcome. Another member shared a solution. She serves as the contact for all SA women members in her group who are new to the Program or need another woman to work with. She has made a QR code for all the meetings in her area, and the guys make sure all new women members are made aware of that resource. 

It is safe to say that at our next business meetings, this will be a topic of discussion.