No. CMA Groups are autonomous and make their own decisions, provided their actions do not negatively affect other groups or CMA as a whole. The Twelve Traditions and Twelve Concepts provide the spiritual principles that guide each Group.

Your Group can choose the format that best serves its members. Examples include a Beginners Meeting, Discussion Meeting, Literature Meeting, Topic Meeting, Speaker-Share Meeting, Step-Study Meeting, Tradition-Study Meeting, Just for Today Topic Meeting, or Spiritual Topic Meeting. Your Group can discuss and approve its format through group conscience.

Most CMA meetings use a meeting script and incorporate CMA readings. You can begin with an existing script and readings and adjust them as the Group develops. Ultimately, the members should collectively decide what is included, when readings are used, and how the meeting is structured.

Each Group decides which service positions it needs. These may include a Secretary, Chairperson, Treasurer, Greeter, Setup, Chips, Literature, Timekeeper, and General Service Representative (GSR). The GSR serves as the connection between your Group and CMAChicago Intergroup, carrying the Group’s voice to Intergroup and bringing information back to the meeting.

The suggested process begins by electing a GSR who attends CMAChicago Intergroup meetings and introduces the new Group. Once the Group completes the Intergroup process and is accepted, its GSR becomes a voting member of Intergroup and the meeting can be added to the CMAChicago and CMAWorld meeting calendars. New meetings may also request an announcement to help spread the word and build attendance.

CMA and CMAChicago provide resources to help new Groups, including sample meeting scripts, CMA readings, newcomer materials, milestone chips, and support through Chicago Intergroup. Newcomer Packets and Milestone Chips are available free of charge to meetings represented at Intergroup. Most importantly, you don’t need to have everything figured out on day one—your meeting can continue to develop through regular business meetings and group conscience.