Why Friday for a DC? (page 2)

Inquisitor

Do ya think they take in more $ in three days than two?

Fair point garybuss.

But if money was the main reason, shouldn't they have stuck with a 4-day assembly then?

I remember when they were 8 days long

You're pulling my leg right, foundfreedom?

INQ

Stealth453

But if money was the main reason, shouldn't they have stuck with a 4-day assembly then?

They run the risk of having lower attendance as many would be unable to get the extra day off from work. It's a compromise.

I remember the 8 and 7 day assemblies. They really happened.

blondie

Does anyone remember when there were 2 3-day circuit assemblies and the CO visited your congregation 3 times a year?

The WTS has reduced the circuit assembly to 2 days and once a year and a "special" assembly day (1 day) once a year.

If they reduced the DC (once called the district assembly) to 2 days then they would have to reduce the circuit assembly to one day (smile) and perhaps eliminate the special assembly day altogether (smile).

I was reading that in some countries people travel a long way (very expensive) to the meetings so they have all of them on one day back to back.

Maybe they should have the DC, CA, and SAD all in one week.

Blondie (remembers 8-day conventions, 9 am to 9 pm)

How long were the festivals in Israel (8 days)

Inquisitor

Great posts everybody!

And thanks for the insight on the Biblical festival period, Blondie.

That was a very persuasive conclusion about the need to cut a day each out of the other assemblies if Friday DC was scrapped. I wonder if it was really the intention of the GB to keep the assemblies days to a nice 3-2-1 formula. DC 3, Circuit 2 and SA 1.

Personally, I don't see why DC should necessarily run longer than the Circuit Assembly. I mean the difference is in the size of the gathering. Must that necessarily translate to a longer assembly period? Will JWs feel the DC is less special if it was of the same length as the CA? Perhaps, who knows?

INQ

garybuss

Circuit assemblies were always 4 days for us because my dad worked for the Watch Tower Corporation on the circuit level and my uncle and aunt ran the purchasing and receiving department. They had already made a trip to the convention city and contracted for all the food and drink items purchased for re-sale.
Thursday we worked all day unloading the antique school bus used to store all the cafeteria items, setting up the departments, and installing the cafeteria equipment.
Vendors were delivering orders, and the stage decorating people were building another masterpiece. We also had most of the day Friday to finish the set up. As I recall, our first hot meal was served on Friday evening and there was an all evening long Friday meeting.
Assemblies were a big deal when we were older. As small children, they were real hard.
The thing I remember about being a Witness kid was always being tired.

sir82

Eliminating Fridays would be a tacit admission of defeat.

Typically 10-15% (my informal estimate) of the publishers assigned to a DC skip the Friday session. The GB has turned Friday attendance into a sort of loyalty test ("if you really love Jehovah, you'll have the courage to ask for time off...")

If they got rid of Fridays, it would be a blow to their pride--essentially admitting that the publishers who blew off Fridays had a point. And we all know how much pride and arrogance the GB have.

Creed

About 10-15 years ago, when I was still active and a youngster, we had an out of the ordinary 3-1/2 day convention. Does nobody else remember this? The convention started at 1:30 pm on a Thursday afternoon and went til like 5:30 pm.

From the very beginning of the service meeting announcement in January and the KM part, it was stressed that this was a change from the norm and that we should all make advance plans to attend the extra half day. It was also stressed that this extra half day would prove to be both a blessing and a test of loyalty.

I remember going with another witness family from down the street because one or both of my parents couldn't afford to take the extra day off, they were already missing work Friday and then having to fork out money for gas, hotel room, eating out, and don't forget donations!!! The stands of the coliseum were only half as full as usual. The typical buzz and happiness you're accustomed to didn't exist.

From the very first talk, which I think was the Daily Text, and throughout the entire weekend, seems like every speaker found a way to keep bringing it up and brow beat the audience for the low attendance on Thursday and claiming that this was a test from Jehovah and the WT and many had failed it. You know, the typical "faithful in something small" and so forth. And they made mention to how this was an extra day of spiritual paradise that so many had worked so hard for volunteering their time and services and the WT had spent so much money for the extra half day throughout the third world countries attendence was 130 % but that attendance was low everywhere in the US and industrialized nations, and what disrespect we were showing for Jehovah's arrangement, etc. We heard the typical stories about how the sister in Africa had to walk in 150 degree heat 75 miles up hill both ways through jungles and swamps, cross swollen rivers, fend off nature and the elements, and that all we had to do was get off work an extra day and drive in our air conditioned cars. I was so sick of hearing it by the end of the weekend. How spiritually refreshing and upbuilding right? They also tried another guilt trip - how this could have been a test to see if in future years the WT would go back to 4 day conventions, giving us all an extra day of spiritual encouragement, but that we had miserably failed the test.

Am I the only one that remembers all of that? How could it have been forgotten?

Jourles

Every year we heard the same type of examples over and over again....

Brother so-and-so from Wyoming worked 60 hours a week but made all of the meetings. When it came time for the DC, he asked his employer for Friday off but they said No. Brother so-and-so prayed about it incessantly right up until the day before the DC. He asked his employer one last time for the day off. They said No again. Brother so-and-so decided to go anyway and put jehover first. His employer was so impressed with his dedication to jehover that they decided to promote him to lead janitor. Brother so-and-so simply chalked it up to jehover looking out for him and his family.

How many times have you heard stories like this? Every freakin' year it happens. Yes, the conventions are for making money, but the Friday part is for testing the jw's. If it wasn't for testing, we wouldn't hear of these stupid little stories. I recall just about every year also hearing the elders in the kh stressing to make ALL THREE DAYS.

Why Friday for a DC?

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