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Structure Of Meetings The Courage meetings always begin and end with prayer. Prayer is absolutely vital to the success of these meetings. Following the invocation, the priest/director or a participating member reads the goals of Courage. After this, the priest/director makes brief remarks to the group on some topic relating to the spiritual life or a deeper understanding of homosexual orientation and activity. Then a discussion period begins. Usually, there is a presentation of a particular topic either given by the priest/director, a participating member, or an outside guest. The presentation usually centers (although not always) on the Twelve Steps of Sexaholics Anonymous: 1. We admitted that we were powerless over homosexuality, and our lives had become unmanageable. 2. We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. 3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives to the care of God as we understood him. 4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. 5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs. 6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of our character. 7. We humbly asked God to remove our shortcomings. 8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make direct amends to them all. 9. We made the direct amends to such people whenever possible except whento do so would injure them or others. 10. We continued to take personal inventory and , when we were wrong, promptly admitted it. 11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of God’s will for us and the power to carry it out. 12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others and to practice these principles in all our affairs. The presenter gives his or her understanding of the steps under discussion and what it has meant in the struggle to achieve the goal and to carry it out. On some occasions, a member can give a special testimonial or a guest speaker can give a presentation on matters pertinent to the life of the homosexual such as clinical psychology, psychiatry, or theology. And, on special occasions, the celebration of mass can occur at the meeting. Participating members are given ample time to share and discuss their feelings on the topic of the day. BECAUSE THESE DISCUSSIONS INVOLVE VERY PERSONAL ISSUES, MEMBERS ARE STRONGLY ADVISED NOT TO DISCUSS ANYTHING OUTSIDE THE WEEKLY MEETINGS. The meeting ends with a closing prayer and afterwards members are invited to a small social in an adjoining room. |