Tuesday sees the last group bookstudy for many. I know the group that my wife attends will be having a bit of a party afterwards. Even my son ,who is 17 and has not attended the meetings for the past 6 months, says he wants to go on Tuesday. I think it is the nostalgia factor. I am very careful not to have any 'spiritual' contact with the witnesses so that they can no longer consider me as part of the congregation any more (there is always the lurking feeling they will disfellowship me if I am not careful) but I might pop down for a cup of tea and a cake after the study itself has finished.
I know from speaking to quite a few witnesses, the majority consider this the end of an era and are not looking forward to the 'new arrangement'.
Last bookstudy group this week I think there will be great sadness in the
by eyeslice 54 Replies latest jw friends
-
eyeslice
-
yknot
The ones who stand to lose the most are probably the most WTS faithful age demographic.....
I have been attending the afternoon BS. There is so much sadness, many fear this change since most cannot drive at night.
I will be going, probably through the first week of January..... then I am going to try fading from weekday meetings starting the second week.
I have done my best to encourage and set up car-pools to give rides to these 30 members but I know eventually all my efforts will fade.
I really do love my Dubbies, I really do hate the WTS.
-
Witness 007
You cant have cake if you didnt sit thru the study! It's not ethical. You didnt "pay."
-
choosing life
It is a problem for the elderly who don't go out at night. They always attended a morning meeting. It was one of the last traces of intimacy in the meetings of jws. Guess it had to go?
What were they thinking?
-
Nathan Natas
Isn't it odd that the Faithful and Discreet Slave didn't know that the spike in gasoline prices was only temporary? After all, the "high price of gasoline" was cited as one of the justifications for ending the tradition of the book study.
Or maybe the present price decline from the peak of not so long ago is only a temporary condition.
THAT must be it. They couldn't be wrong about the price of gasoline too, could they?
-
BabaYaga
Nathan, the gasoline price excuse made no sense anyway, as the private home book studies made the drive much LESS for many! Most live closer to a book study group house than they do to the Kingdom Hall.
Ah, well. -
looking_glass
I know for some JWs this change will be hard. One friend's mom recently said to me that she was wondering about the change because the thought use to be that when the Great T hit that the "friends" would all meet at their respective book study homes and now where are they going to meet because those who "hate the truth" will be watching the halls to catch and round up the JWs. There is a lot of panic in the air if you ask me! The old timers are struggling w/ the recent changes.
-
yknot
What were they thinking?
The GB/WTS isn't really " fitly united in the same mind " these days ....... it seems that we have factions.
The passing generation is being put in the back of the Hall but still called on enough for them to leave their estates to the WTS.
-
SnakesInTheTower
cl:
It is a problem for the elderly who don't go out at night. They always attended a morning meeting. It was one of the last traces of intimacy in the meetings of jws
I was thinking about this recently. A lot of the older ones from the heydey of the pre-1975 crowd are dying off now and I never seen much help for them in the congos I was part of (unless...they had money to donate when they died...then they were taken proper care of).
I thought about one elderly sister (90) and her daughter (65) that were faithful to their morning study group for so long....a real foundation (meaning hard workers in their congos...out in field circus all the time until they couldnt anymore)..... but they were not considered "pillars" (meaning they had no money to donate when they die)...so I found it interesting that not much support was ever given to these two.... I hear they are both in nursing homes now... though I dont know if they are in the same one. Sad. I would check in on them, but it broke the mothers heart to know I wasnt going to meetings (she only thought I was "missing" a few...not that I had quit going...)...better not to stir up problems for them.
It is the end of an era..the last remnant of any glimmer of hope that this Book Publishing Corporation had any heart. Lets hope this is the beginning of the end.
Either way, I will never go back.
Snakes ()
-
blondie
I can remember when my husband conducted a book study. Some weeks he had to cover 2 book studies in one week because either it was the week for the service overseer to visit a BS or the conductor was out of town or sick. It was hard to just get enough elders to handle all the book studies. I can see that it will theoretically be easier having the book "bible" study with everyone at the KH and having just one elder conduct each week. Perhaps attendance might improve because all 3 meetings will be on the same night.
I wondering how long it will take before they return to the "old" way?
Blondie