Bethel meals

by Alligator Wisdom 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  Alligator Wisdom

  Have any of you had the experience of eating with the Bethel family?

  What were some of the idiosyncrasies of it?

  As I mentioned before in another thread, it was brought up to me by another JW guest after the meal that it was "as if this was like a cult" when everyone would drop their utensils on que, stand up in unison and end the meal with a prayer. All this was done with utmost precision and timing. If you were a first time guest, it would throw you off because you would still have the napkin tucked in your shirt with a mouthful of food while chewing while everyone was racing to follow suit of the official meal ending ritual. This happens at all Bethel families as I had eaten with them at branch facilities in America, Europe and Asia.

  Anyone notice some oddities? I'm sure that you all did.

  Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards)
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  TopHat

  I had a meal (lunch) at Wallkill branch, and I don't remember having a prayer said after lunch...only before.
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  SirNose586

  Wow, I would totally not have that. I eat slower than most, and more than most, so at mealtimes I'm always the last to finish. No way would I do that little cultish ending. I bet they'd kick me out for "causing divisions."
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  daniel-p

  All this was done with utmost precision and timing.

  Nah, you just get the hang of standing up on cue and then going about your business. (I lived at Bethel, and served the meals for a while.)
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  jayhawk1

  What I found odd was their need for table captains, or whatever their title is. I learned that one about a month ago and it still seems to be about the strangest yet useless thing ever.
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  Alligator Wisdom

  Ever notice the plates and dishes (chinaware) and eating utensils?

  All the chinaware were white and the same at all the Branch dining rooms wherever I went throughout the world. I asked about it and was told that there must be conformity and simplicity. In fact, at the Korea and Japan branches that I ate at, no chopsticks were used either while their own culture says so otherwise. By the way, I took a look and the bottom of the plates and noticed that they had the Watchtower insignia. Did they make their own chinaware too? There weren't any "Corningware, Gibson, Noritake, Mikasa...etc", some of the more popular and readily available chinaware on the market.

  Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother NOT Exerting Vigorously by WTS standards)
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  blondie

  I understand that they were Bethel elders, one at the Foot and one at the Head of the table. They were supposed to monitor the people at the table: table manners, lateness, "depressed," coordinate any personality problems with other people at the table or marital problems, make sure they went to the Monday night WT study, etc.

  It was creepy actually. Some took it more seriously than others. I sat at one table where a married couple never said a word to anyone else or each other. One young guy blew in late 3 mornings in a row (he was "talked to"). I always thought that the discussion of the day's text took too much time.

  One thing too, you weren't supposed to empty the bowl unless you were the last person. Seeing how little time people had to eat, I could understand why you could be crabby if the dish got to you and it was empty. You could not bring your own food to the table either unless you shared it with everyone. On Tostada day, I always brought a big tub of sour cream for everyone just so I could have some.

  You were required to show up for breakfast, but lunch and supper were optional. Many Bethelites "scavenged" leftovers from the meals and kept them in their refrig to heat up later. Married couples especially preferred some alone time.

  The meals have deteriorated over the last 20 years since I ate at Bethel. The WT buys almost all of its foodstuffs and coordinates menus with all the US Bethels (Wallkill, Patterson, Brooklyn). More institutionalized than I remember it. Do they still have fresh strawberries in the spring?

  Blondie
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  ronin1

  My husband and I have eaten at Bethel in Brooklyn NY and at the time, I thought all those oddities and rituals were so spiritual, etc.

  Now I realized how cultish those actions were and how truly brainwashed many are in the org.

  Ronin1
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  ocsrf

  Any meals I ever had, I always enjoyed. What I found strange was how little friendly talk there was amoung the people who must of eaten together all the time.

  OC
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  Honesty

  I'll stick with my Wednesday night church supper. We come in as we please. Sit wherever we want to. Talk with who we wish. Pray somewhere near the end of the hour long supper. Take a refreshing walk to the sanctuary, choir room, Student Center or wherever we are going after supper. And all this is done without any monitors or table captains. Hmmmm....