by sacolton 26 Replies latest jw friends
we had to travel 83 miles one way for CAs
and DCs were even farther.... one venue
was 247 mi one way and the other was 267...
and the further one was the only one in my
home state!
because we had 4 kids, we had to rent 2 rooms
so as not to violate the ordinances limiting occupancy
to 5 to a room....
it was major cha-ching to go to any of the spiritual feasts
Watchtower biggies are extremely proud of their hard-nosed no-compromise convention negotiations with city administrators, convention hall managers, etc. They use the leverage of megadollars flowing to the community via JW hotel, restaurant and fuel purchases to gain sweatheart deals concerning concessions, rent, parking, etc.
If a community refuses to "play ball", they can just watch Watchtower's business go elsewhere. I've seen these same "smart" business practices elsewhere in the big, bad business world. WalMart and other huge retail outlets treat their suppliers the same way, leveraging, badgering and tricking them into bare bones deals.
There have been years when no conventions were held in Arkansas despite the existence of several fine facilities. The brothers were simply teaching Pine Bluff or Little Rock a lesson. Arkansas JW's could just travel to Oklahoma or Tennessee.
I've often thought of how simple it would be to videotape district assembly programs and show them on a screen at the local Kingdom Hall. Would not that actually "simplify" things, save gas and make the spiritual banquet available to all regardless of their means, disabilities and transportation?
tms
I'm looking for the day when members of a Congregation have to go out of state to get to their meetings!
Farkel
A long , long time ago the brothers were so excited to receive convention talks via a telephone connection . The bothers crowded into a dank rented hall to hear the "meat in due season" from Judge Rutherford. Today, almost any KH could have an Internet video conection to receive talks straight from Brooklyn , NY and delivered by none other than the Governing Body themselves.
This seems to be happening more and more often now and might very well be due to the high cost of renting a relatively large stadium
for 3 days today.
So in an effort to save costs they have to locate at an appropriate convention site and not break the bank.
A perfect example of this is actually here in Vancouver where for decades they have had the District Convention in a stadium
in the central part of Vancouver
it was costing too much so they moved it over 300 miles a way to a small town, at of course a lower cost.
I dont ever see the Society ever going to broadcasting the DC programs to KHs. The larger gatherings are the rare times that JWs from other congregations can get together. If it wasn't for the conventions there would be no marriages. It is the only opportunity for JWs to interact and meet those other single "spiritual" brothers and sisters...that and QBs...and the QBs are getting rarer and rarer in my part of the country. (and if you dont land a sister before she hits 20, you wont land one at all).
What I do see is a possibility of cutting DC to 2 days and holding 2 SADs a year (eliminating the 2 day CA). Its getting harder for the average R&F JW to get Friday off from their employer (or for that matter, who wants to give up a vacation day to sit at another borefest). This would also serve the purpose of eliminating hotels all together for the one day programs. Just get up at the a$$ crack of dawn, drive to the SAD, sleep through the session, drive home...claim to be "spiritually refreshed."
I have commented elsewhere on this site regarding how the whole negotiation thing works..though I never found out the "formula"
Snakes ()
Outside of those stupid boring dramas and baptisms, the information that you get at the assemblies is just the same as you typically
get at the hall, j ust a little more hyped up.
Oh yeah and the lovely stories told by some low life loser drug attic who started a study and found the lord and now he or she lives
in spiritual bliss.
