2025-2026 EAI Main Motions for review

WELCOME!!

EAI has received 4 Main Motions for consideration for the 2026 World Service Business Conference.

The Des Moines, Iowa, USA, Friday 6:00am CST videoconference meeting group moves to replace all mention of “God” and "He," "Him," "His," and "Himself," with “Higher Power” in the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
You can review the "Higher Power" Motion at this link.

The Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, Wednesday, 6.30pm AEST videoconference meeting group moves that all FA Conference-approved meeting formats be amended to include, “to a God of your own understanding,” read aloud by the meeting leader immediately after introducing the Serenity Prayer at the beginning and end of the meeting.
You can review the "Serenity Prayer" Motion at this link.

Two Main Motions being presented to EAI on January 11, 2026 propose changing the FA Meeting Format. One is from the Ottawa, Ontario (Canada) Meeting Group and one is from the Silver Spring, Maryland (U.S.) Meeting Group.

Please start by reading the below information. The Motions will be linked at the bottom.

OF NOTE: 

The Ottawa Motion is for ALL meeting types, but the format attached to the motion shows what it will look like for Videoconference meetings.

The Silver Spring Motion is for ALL meeting types, but the format attached to the motion shows what it will look like for In-person meetings.  

Comparable changes will be made for all meeting types, with minor edits to account for meeting type. In other words:

• If the Ottawa Motion passes: Relevant changes will be adapted for/applied to in-person and phone meetings. 

• If the Silver Spring Motion passes: Relevant changes will be adapted for/ applied to video conf. and phone meetings.

• A vote at the EAI level is ONLY TO MOVE THE MOTION FORWARD. If a motion passes, the motion does not take effect until the World Service Conference (WSC) Members also pass the motion at the World Service Business Convention (WSBC)

• BOTH Motions can move forward to the WSBC. The Motions are not competing against each other.

• The WSBC will take place on May 29-31, 2026 in Danvers, MA.

GOAL: The primary goal of these two main motions is to create a 60-minute FA Meeting Format option, but the motions have different implications. (Meetings who choose to continue using the 90-minute meeting format are welcome to do so.) 

• The chart on the next page summarizes key differences between the two motions– as they apply to an FA Meeting Format. 

• In addition to considering the content and flow of the Format, it is equally as important to understand how each motion will impact the governing documents of FA World Services, Inc. 

BOTH MOTIONS

1. Propose changes to the FA Bylaws and Standing Rules of Order (SRO)

2. Result in a 60-minute meeting option

3. A “Yes” at this time means that you want the EAI Board to “move the motion forward.” 

   1. Moving the motion forward means that the World Service Conference (WSC) members will be asked to vote on whether or not the motion belongs on the Agenda at the World Service Business Conference (WSBC)

   2. If the motion is voted onto the Agenda, the motion will be discussed and debated on the conference floor at the WSBC. 

A “YES” VOTE FOR THE OTTAWA MOTION MEANS  

1. Meetings will be able to meet for 60 or 90 minutes

2. While still needing to adhere to the FA’s SROs, meetings will no longer be required to use a suggested format from the FA website so long as the meeting’s format is consistent with the Twelve Traditions and the other requirements noted in the SRO.

3. The following items will also be removed from the SRO: How It Works, the FA Tools, and a break. Meetings will no longer be required to include these items in their format. Even without these items, meetings will still meet the requirements to be a registered FA meeting.

4. The suggested format can be used at both 60-minute and 90-minute meetings, with slight changes to the proposed 60-minute format to make it longer (increasing the length of time for qualifications/ literature/sharing and retaining a 10-minute break).  

A “YES” VOTE FOR THE SILVER SPRING MOTION MEANS

1. Meetings will be able to meet for 60 or 90 minutes

2. Meetings may choose to include the Traditions in the meeting format in full– or as one Tradition per meeting (e.g., Tradition 1 each week in January; Tradition 2 each week in February, etc)

3. The requirement to adhere to one of the meeting formats posted on the FA website will remain. However meetings could PILOT a 60-minute format for one year. During this time wordsmithing is permissible. All meetings participating in this pilot will remain registered. Meetings choosing to remain 90 minutes long during the pilot year would continue to use the current formats.

COMPARISON OF MOTIONS FROM OTTAWA, ONT. AND SILVER SPRING, MD 

Proposed Meeting Format Changes

Differences BETWEEN THE TWO MOTIONS are in bold.