First "Big Meeting" for our hall was tonight (page 2)

FlyingHighNow

If you want to see a contrast look at the front page of this Church in my area. They have so many things for the children:

On the comments about the new meeting being bad for children: and the pasted comment, what a contrast. The Episcopal Churches I have been through provide childcare during the services. The children, including babies, are brought in for communion. If the baby is baptised, it takes communion. Crayons, coloring books and other quiet toys are provided and no one gets upset if babies cry or kids are noisy. They feel so loved and welcomed that you can see it in their faces.

truthsetsonefree

Talking about the kids, I think this will be very bad for young ones and shy ones since now they will never want to comment

Good, in a sense at least. The less involved they feel the more likely they'll leave.

Isaac

wha happened?

reduction of commenting, how interesting. Perhaps in the future when the GB needs your opinion they will be sure to give it to u in advance

LDH

If someone gave a researched or heartfelt comment, you could feel the tension in the room, Like they didn't know the "rules"

Before I left, in my early 20's, I would give an answer that I had thoroughly researched.....no matter how much heartfelt preparation went into it, the brother conducting the WT study never said anything. Just called on the next person. Who dutifully read their answer from the paragraph.

passwordprotected

Thanks for the info on the new meeting arrangement, I was wondering how it was going to be handled.

Re. the kids, that's genuinely sad. The meeting is already long and boring enough for kids, the only little flashes of excitement kids can get during a meeting is to participate.

One of the churches we attend on Sundays allows the kids to participate fully in the service. One time they invited all the kids up to the front during the worship songs and they had a big box of musical instruments, little drums etc and the kids could all 'play' along with the singing. They also have several big flags in purple and red and yellow and orange that the kids are allowed to go up to the front and wave back and forth. My wife and I love talking about the time our 8 year old son Cameron was stood at the front of the church during worship, waving a big flag wearing a huge smile on his face.

What a contrast to when we used to make him wear a suit, shirt and tie and sit through 2 hours of JW non-worship at the Kingdom Hall.

Jesus loved children, he gave them his time and attention. You can imagine him loving to hear them express themselves. Shame the Governing Body has other plans.

cognizant dissident

Funny story: When my son was two, he wanted to comment at Watchtower Study. So we prepared little answers for him. The only problem was, he was two and didn't understand that many put up their hands, including other kids and he wasn't always picked. He would be completely devastated and rejected if the conductor didn't pick his hand and he would have a complete emotional meltdown, screaming, kicking, flailing, the works! We would have to take him out of the hall and spend a half hour calming him down. And boy that baby could scream loud. (BTW, I was not one of those moms who beat my kid for screaming at the hall, in spite of all the well meaning advice to do so)

After this happned a few times in a row, we finally went to the Watchtower conductor and said, look this toddler cannot handle rejection, so can you please pick him for paragraph number 3? Every meeting from then on, we would go to conductor and say, OK, you got to pick our kid for paragraph number so and so and he would pencil it down. One time he forgot and the kid freaked. He never forgot again! lol. This went on until our son was about 5 and finally understood the concept of taking turns. Maybe it was because he was an only child or something.

Cog

oldflame

Truthfully,
I really don't think they want comments.
When I first went to meetings, comments were from peoples own words, with some that did research and they were interesting.
By the time I left they were sentences read from the paragraphs, very boring.
If someone gave a researched or heartfelt comment, you could feel the tension in the room, Like they didn't know the "rules"
purps

Yeah I remember one time when I answered a question from the watchtower study from my own words rather than answer from the article and man was I looked at with strange eyes. I did this on purpose to see what kind of response I would get, well I got what I was looking for. The elder that was studing with me afterwards came up to me and asked why I did not answer from the watchtower rag and I said well why does our answer have to come from the Lit. why can't they come from the heart ?

His answer ? we cannot trust our own hearts but only Jehovahs spirit. Funny thing was that while I was in this religion I never felt Gods spirit, never not even once.

BluesBrother

I have just posted on another thread that the older ones (who give the best answers) hate being told to limit it to 30secs ..They may simply stop answering..In my experience kids are favoured by conductors if they are known to give sharp brief answers. That is all they want these days.

IMHO the mandatory reading of certain scriptures in the WT Study has cut down the time for answers

eyeslice

Yes, it seems that the society has no time for little ones and children.

I must admit that I haven't been to church much since I left the witnesses but like passwordprotected's church the one I did go to made quality time for the kids. They were involved in the proceedings and later left the main congregation to have their own 'Sunday School', whilst the adult congregation continued in more formal worship.

I often think the whole Bethel service, district overseer, circuit overseer arrangement, where these are in the main lead by childless couples, have made the society totally child unfriendly.

LouBelle

Let then shoot themselves in the foot.

First "Big Meeting" for our hall was tonight

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