After she saw a need for a necessary service in her community, Lisa Pridmore, pastor of Poplarville’s First United Methodist Church, felt that a group for compulsive overeaters and undereaters would be a good fit.
“Our church is very active in recovery groups,” she said. “We’ve hosted alcohol recovery programs here before and an Al-Anon group meets here now.”
Overeaters Anonymous is not a diet club, but rather a support group, she said. It’s a place for people to meet, work through problems and be accountable for each other.
A compulsive overeater, Pridmore said, is someone who, once they start eating, can’t stop. However, there are also those who undereat and suffer from conditions such as anorexia or bulimia.
“We welcome anyone who practices destructive behavior with food,” Pridmore said. “Everything that goes on at the meetings will be kept confidential.”
Much like Alcoholics Anonymous, group members will follow a 12-step program.
According to Overeaters.org, some of those steps include admitting the problem, humbly asking God to remove shortcomings, making a list of people harmed and making amends.
During the meetings, there may be a guest speaker and literature on the topic will be shared, she said.
While they do have suggested food plans, if group members are coming from a physician, they need to follow their doctor’s orders, Pridmore said.
“OA is an opening, welcoming group of really good people,” she said. “We are open to anyone in Pearl River County, no matter their religious affiliation or if someone is an agnostic. If you’re looking for a place of acceptance, OA is a good place to find people struggling with the same thing.”
Overeaters Anonymous meets on Thursday evenings at 6 p.m. at the Christian Life Building, which is located across from the church building at 708 Julia St., Poplarville.
For more information about OA, contact Pridmore at 601-795-4519 or lisa@poplarvillefumc.org.
Learn more about OA at www.oa.org.