My Field Trip to Bethel

by themonster123 2 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  themonster123

  So...for all on here who know, it's every young Witnesses hope one day to visit Bethel (esp if you live on the West Coast like me), so when I went to visit my friend on the East Coast a few years ago, her family took me to see Bethel (I was an active Witness, mind you). All my Life, it seems like I would hear everyone talk about how great Bethel is and "You have to visit there-it's amazing", but I visited Brooklyn Bethel AND Patterson AND Walkhill.

  Every time I talked about my vacation to NYC to various people, the highlight I would mention to them was that I got to see Conan O'Brien Live!!! NOT Bethel...Seeing Bethel.........WHAT WAS THE BIG DEAL!? You have to stand around and see a bunch of beige walls and people in slacks working the printing presses???!! BIg whoop! I was embarassed to tell everyone that it was not the spiritual mecca I thought it would be.

  But everyone would always get this fuzzy glow on their faces like "Oh, you got to see Bethel? How great!" BUt, WHAT was great? Nothing! It was really boring and random. I think it's the same thing as when EVERYONE after a talk goes, "Oh, that was a really great talk"- My whole life, people have been saying "Oh, Bethel is great-you have to see it." I call it Witness Speak...
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  Frannie Banannie

  Did you walk by the writing dept. and yell, "BOOM!" real loud and watch their reaction?

  This was the wall decor at Brethel, right?

  The senior members of their writing dept., right?
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  JWdaughter

  I too was underwhelmed. I was shocked to see a bunch of sunbathers in a sunny yard in front of it (20 years ago):)

  Personally found my trip to the local newspaper office much more interesting, bustling and ispiring.

  I ended up working in the media and was shocked to see how FEW people could create a weekly magazine, with subscribers, advertisers (both classified and print), also providing a few volumes of reference material, historical information and a library. We had ONE floor of the 11 W 19 street building in Manhattan. We did sent it out to be printed, but less than 70 people took care of ALL of it except the actual printing. We were paid salaries, had benefits, carpeting, bonuses, perks (tickets to all kinds of fun things!) The printing facility was not especially big either. We had a very limited (comparitively) production run, and while our subscription prices were higher than the cost 20 years ago at the KH, it really wasn't bad. And the paper wasn't rag paper. It was privately held. Meaning that a family owned it and profited from it. Its amazing how much bureaocracy can be avoided when making money matters. I wonder how many paid people it would take to take care of the WT/Awake? Especially if they went online, since they are not out to make a profit. . .how many of the volunteers could be freed up to actually have LIVES???? I think Bethel is just the compensation for no chance to go to university. Gives the kids something to dream about. Dorms, cafeteria food, bullies. . .

  Shelly