if it had been a sick neglected jw they'd have been classed apostate if they'd traded their jw cap for a few meals.
Nobody from her church visited her - Jan 2010 WT study experience
by truthseeker 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Mary
Oh please. When my father nearly died from a bleeding ulcer a couple of years ago (thanks to the ban on blood transfusions), no one from the Hall even bothered to come over for 3 weeks afterwards. Finally, the PO dropped by during Field Serve-Us (guess he didn't have any RV's to do). That was it.
I have no idea if the Catholics have anything in place whereby they visit the sick and elderly, but I can tell you from experience that Witnesses leave alot to be desired when it comes to being charitable. Unless of course, you're high up in the ranks----then everybody falls all over themselves to get to you.
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blondie
I saw this in the magazine a few weeks back. I knew that there was no formal organizing of visits on the sick and elderly in any congregation I had been in.
1) No one really had a comprehensive knowledge of who was sick and in homes, including the elders.
2) Because of that no one knew if anyone needed a visit unless it was through the grapevine.
3) If they dd know, they would assume the elders were handling it and do nothing.
I have some contact with about 3 different churches in this area and found that each one has a committee made up of volunteers, mostly women, who visit the homebound, make sure they have food and are getting to the doctor, read the bible to them, take tapes of the sermons, clean their homes, give moral support. make hospital visits, visit those in nursing homes.
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lancelink
My Mom died a year ago, and she was a jwl for 25 years, then my parents moved out of Illinois.
When she died NOT ONE person from the Illinois hall (which my parents and current family attended since 1977) stopped off to visit me, no phone calls,only 4-5 cards from some of her older friends.
The really scary thing was when I was visiting my Dad out of state, we returned home one afternoon after getting something to eat and there was a paradise earth tract stuck in his door. He pulled it out, laughed, and said "oh, the friends must have been here"
I found out that weekend that nobody stopped and visited my Mom for over one year from their local hall.
They had been attending for ten years before she got sick, her illness prevented her from going to any meetings.
My Dad hired a nurse to come over pt to help,
friends from the hall,,, completely non-existent. Even tho they knew my parents, and they attended the meetings quite regularly before the illness.
They even had a book study in their home for two years !
One of the major headblows all within one year that made me ditch this religion like a hot potato
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Finally-Free
I have no idea if the Catholics have anything in place whereby they visit the sick and elderly,
Yes, my sister is Catholic and belongs to several groups in her parish. They regularly assist the sick and elderly. She and her husband also had a lot of help and support when he was dying of lung cancer.
W
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WTWizard
This can happen in any religion. There are always cases where churches will neglect one of their own--and the witlesses prey on them, to make another disciple. But, these incidents are not always that numerous.
However, it is very common for the witlesses to not take care of their own. I have heard of boasting sessions where people have needed urgent medical care, and the boasting session just goes on. Even a big boasting session where someone died, and the boasting session just went on. And, how often do you hear of someone who was a witless, in a state of dire need, and the witlesses did nothing while worldly people took care of them? I wonder how long it will be before our Mary shows up on this thread--to discuss how worldly people took care of her medical bills and gave them a Christmas to remember (the Salvation Army, at that).
Not to mention what happens at Beth Hell. Suppose you go to Beth Hell at age 18, and you get to be around 45 and develop a health problem or break some minor rule that might only result in a verbal warning at a regular job (if that). Chances are good that you will be thrown out on the streets, with nothing, and you will be on your own. You might be asked to special pio-sneer, unless you broke a rule (in which case, you will be thrown out with nothing). And the "infraction" might be simply that your room was a little too messy. And, what happens to hounder-hounders that, after wasting all their time in the cancer, make a mistake and end up losing that "privilege(??)"?
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Bonnie_Clyde
I have some contact with about 3 different churches in this area and found that each one has a committee made up of volunteers, mostly women, who visit the homebound, make sure they have food and are getting to the doctor, read the bible to them, take tapes of the sermons, clean their homes, give moral support. make hospital visits, visit those in nursing homes.
I remember when my mother after a lengthy illness finally had to go into a hospice facility. I mentioned that I felt bad that my father and I couldn't be there more. One of the workers (knowing we were witnesses) asked about a ladies' auxilliary. I innocently asked where I could find such a group, and she said, "Well, most churches have them." I didn't know what to say, my dad muttered something about how we have elders. I about choked.... The elders had done almost zero for the previous seven years of her illness.
During those seven years she had very very few visitors. In fact there were several instances where car groups would work their neighborhood, but didn't bother to stop in to see my parents. I will say--this was the catalyst that got me into investigating my religion. My parents were well-respected members of the congregation when they were healthy enough to be of service, but when they desperately needed some moral and some physical support, they got practically none.
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Bonnie_Clyde
I forgot to add, I was counselled by the elders because I was spending too much time with my parents and too little time going out to help those people in the neighborhood who "had no hope." I should have told them that my parents sat at home "hoping" that some people in the congregation would just stop by to say "hello."
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Simon Morley
I am really getting tired of these stories. They border on the ridiculous. I would like to see a regular feature in the WT called: "Whatever Happened too...?". it could go along the lines of:
Jan 2015 "Whatever Happened Too...Featured in Jan 2010":
Recall that nobody from the woman’s church visited. The result? She discarded her images, resigned from her church, and resumed her Bible
study. She eventually got baptized (2011) and made great progress. In July 2012 she suffered a stroke; feeling guilty at the recent article (Mar 2012 - "Willful Forsaking the Gathering of Ourselves Together - an Unforgivable Sin") she struggled to get to the Hall. This sister choose not to be a burden and ask some one to give her a ride to and from the hall - how commendable and unselfish of her! The sister died in December 2012 after falling during field service as her cane gave way on a steep hill. How wonderful that her last thoughts were of being engaged in a life saving work! - her works will go right along with her!Simon Morley
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Nick!
Who can assure us that the … experience told in the magazine is a true story? LOL