The 'Light a Candle' meeting
Brentwood Presbyterian Church
Saturday nights, 5:30 - 6:30 pm

The 'Light a Candle' meeting of Overeaters Anonymous started on Sept. 1, 2001 with a talk by OA's founder, Rozanne S. The format for the meeting was unique in the area: after reading 'How It Works' and giving out chips and candles, one speaker (usually a member with at least 10 years of recovery) would share for between 35-45 minutes. From the very first meeting, the meeting's driving force, Roy L., decided that the meeting should be recorded, as many AA meetings in the area were. For the first few years, the only outlet for the recordings were tape and CD sales among local members.

In late 2004, Roy began posting MP3 versions of some of the tapes on a website run by an outside enterprise. A few months later, the Board of the L.A. Intergroup of OA gave permission to begin posting these MP3 files on their website, and the 'Virtual Speakers Bureau' was formed.

On April 1, 2006, the 'Light a Candle' meeting began recording digitally and began posting weekly. The posting, while not in 'real time', comes as close as possible. Most weeks, the speakers from that Saturday evening's meeting are posted before the end of the night.

Some facts about Brentwood Presbyterian Church

Located on the corner of Bundy and San Vincente in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, the church has been the gracious host to many 12 Step meetings throughout the years. The church has dedicated one whole room of their school area to these meetings, as well as allowing their gymnasium to be used on Thursday nights for "Beginner's Workshop", one of the largest AA meetings in the world. In the picture below, imagine almost all of that space holding row after row of chairs, with between 350-400 people attending.

Room 219

We have been asked about the location for the 'Light a Candle' meeting. We wish we could say it was in some glamorous setting, but it looks like any other meeting room in the world. Located in Room 219, the room designated by the Church for 12 Step meetings, it is on the second floor overlooking an outside play area (hence the reason you sometimes hear children playing in the background). The Steps and Traditions can be found on the wall, along with many program slogans and there is a bulletin board for 12 Step announcements in the corner.

The secretary and speaker stand at a raised lectern (see the picture below) complete with a microphone and amplifier. While we wish we could say we used some fancy, high-tech recording system, it is simply a digital recorder that fits in the palm of your hand (keep it simple).