How to Hold a GRASS Group Conscience Meeting

A Group Conscience meeting is a GRASS group’s  business meeting. Each group should designate a set time to hold a Group Conscience meeting. 

Group Conscience (GC) meetings should be held either before or after the regularly scheduled meeting on a set day (for example, the third Tuesday), but not during regular meeting time. 

Any group business should be handled during the Group Conscience meeting. This includes: 

• Fill group service positions (chair, hosts, co-hosts, and others as needs arise)
• Make suggestions for changing group rules, format, or the meeting script
• Bring group problems to the table and work to find solutions
• Vote on any changes to the group structure
• Discuss and vote on Intergroup Motions

Each group can decide who chairs their monthly GC meeting. It can be a Group Secretary, Group IG Rep, or other designated member of the group. 

Each group should also have a notetaker to record decisions made at GC. These notes should be added to the bottom of the meeting script after the meeting.

Group voting procedures can be determined by each group. On Zoom, it is helpful to use the green check for yes and the red X for no. 

Voting on any group business matters (changing rules, format, etc.) should be limited to people who regularly attend the meeting and consider it their “home group”. You can have more than one home group, but please limit voting on IG Motions to one group only. 

Important points to remember:

• Group Conscience meetings should work toward solutions. 
• All participants should uphold the GRASS Code of Ethics. 
• Discussions should be centered around principles and not individual personalities. (If there are issues with individuals, those should be handled privately.)
• Groups should do their best to rotate service positions when there are enough members to do so.
• Group Conscience meeting information should be added to the meeting script, so members are reminded to attend. 

Sample Group Conscience Format

Please copy and paste this sample GC script at the bottom of your group’s regular meeting script. Edit as needed to suit your group’s needs. The suggested order of business is I. Meeting Business, II. IG Business, III. Group Business. However, each group can decide for itself how to best organize and run its GC meeting.

Group Conscience Meeting Script

Welcome to (Group Name) Group Conscience meeting. This is our monthly business meeting where we fill service rolls, discuss any issues and concerns in the group, and vote on Intergroup Motions. 

(Introduce yourself and your role, such as group secretary or IG rep). 

Just a few reminders before we get started: 

• This is a business meeting. Please keep your comments brief and on topic. 
• To keep the discussion productive, please raise your hand to talk and remain muted until called up. 
• Group Conscience discussions should be focused on finding solutions in line with the GRASS Guiding Principles. 
• Avoid discussing personality conflicts or problems with individual members and remember to uphold the GRASS Code of Ethics and treat one another with respect. 

I. Meeting Business

1. Fill Service Roles for the Upcoming Month (or longer). 
   1. Lead 
   2. Host
   3. Co-Host
   4. Any other regular meeting service positions 
   5. Any Group Service positions that are due for rotation (i.e., Group Rep, Secretary, etc.) 

Reminder: Agreeing to fill a service role means you are making a commitment to the group that you will show up for service. If you are unable to fill a role, please try to find a substitute and let the Group Rep or Secretary know. 

II. Intergroup Business

Reminder: Individuals should only vote on IG motion one time. If you have already voted in another group this month, you may be involved in the discussion, but please abstain from voting. 

1. Group Rep (or other designated group member) gives a report from the last IG meeting. (Note: IG secretary intends to have a link added to the GRASS bit.ly for monthly IG news and motions)
2. Discuss any motions that will be voted on at the next IG meeting 
3. Vote on IG items. 

III. Group Business

Reminder: Only people who regularly attend the meeting and consider it their home group should vote on making any changes to the group rules or format. 

1. Are there any issues, problems, or concerns the group needs to discuss? 
   1. Bring group problems to the table and work to find solutions
   2. Avoid discussing personality conflicts
2. Does the group need or want to alter any group rules, change the format, or update the meeting script?
   1. If so, discuss
   2. If a proposed change is minor, the group can vote at this time. 
   3. If a proposed change is major, the group should wait until the next group conscience to discuss it again and vote. 
   4. Motions should be worded as a yes or no question for each item. Avoid lumping multiple items together.
3. Any final comments?

Motion: Close the Group Conscience Meeting 

Note-taker should add the following to the meeting script for safekeeping: 

• Service Commitments for (Month Year, ex. April 2023) 
• Any items discussed
• A tally of any votes taken
• Any action items that need to be done and who had agreed to do them
• Any discussion items that need to be revisited next month

Do not delete the current month’s service commitment list until the month is over.