Memorial 2010 Your Experiences

by scotinsw 136 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Gorbatchov

  Mary thanks for sharing your visit to the KH. I attended the memorial also. I missed totally the historical perspective of the memorial. No going-back to the period of the first christians. Only the big picture about how Jehovah and Jesus save us if we believe in watchtower theology. It was the first time in a year I attended the KH, I didn't have the new song book. It was strange! It seems they were singing these songs for the first time. The invitation was funny. An old brother read the invitation word by word, very fast. He did not understand it, only read it.

  It was a show, a symbol of once in a year being nice to new people in the KH. But I did not se Christian love. It was technocrat love.
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  palmtree67

  The one we went to was quite a gong show.

  People were walking in all through it and being shown to whatever empty seats. People were walking around and visiting with each other all through it.

  Someone next to us brought a desperately sick 2 year old boy who coughed and hacked and threw McDonald's french fries all over the floor.

  We were seated in a back room and couldn't hear a thing, partly due to bad sound and partly due to all the activity around us.

  At one point, my man leaned over to me and said, "Man, it is CRAZY up in here."

  For some reason that I need to analyze later, I was incredibly angry through the whole thing. I'm sure it showed on my face.

  When we got home, I felt empty, sad and unsatisfied. I spoke to dearest Baba (((( Hug )))). Then I had my own prayer and mediatation with organic flatbread and a glass of Malbec, had a little cry that released my anger and slept like a baby.
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  Mickey mouse

  The word from most of the congregations around here is that attendance was down to the tune of 20-30 per congregation this year.
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  daniel-p

  This was the very first time in my entire life that I did not go to the Memorial. My wife went, however, and was sullen the entire time after she got home. I asked her if there was anything we needed to talk about and she brushed it off. I told her that if she wants me to go with her next time I will go, and that seemed to make her feel better, although she didn't really say anything.
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  LexWatson

  Post 24 of 24 Since 2/4/2007

  I went to the memorial as well. Also my first time to see the newest songbook. I remember when we retired the old songbooks 30 years ago. I grew up with the PINKISH color songbooks) We all hated the new songs and it was hard to sing the new songs with any enthusiasm. I had to chuckle since it seemed people simply mumbled through the songs tonight out of the new songbook. No enthusiasm at all. It seemed that this year the majority of the memorial talk was about how we shouldn't partake of the emblems and how disappointed Jehovah would be with any of us that did. Was this overemphasized compared to years past? or was it simply me? On a positive note our hall was certainly diverse culturally. I sat in the overflow room and we were white, black, hispanic, asian and native american. I looked around and wondered how many were there like me that felt it was important enough to show up for the event but were...unenthused about being in the hall otherwise and had no intention of returning to the organization to support it as Gods chosen mediator between him and the "other sheep". I gather this is STILL their position?? That Jesus is the mediator only for the annointed and the rest of us need the organization to tell us what Jehovah's Holy Spirit is directing us to do? I also felt a strange comfort in the familiarity of the KH. Down deep inside I wish the things I was taught as a child were true...however had they been true I guess I'd have been in the "NEW ORDER" (a term I understand is not used now) in my teen years (shortly after 1975) or certainly by the time I was in my late 30's (before the generation of 1914 passed away). hmmm...I'm in my 50's now 35 years after 1975, and that generation of 1914?..(the ones that were old enough to understand the significance of the changes the world saw that year) ALL DEAD!! 40 years in and around the WT organization...and now the scripture that comes to mind the most when I dwell on the WT is the one that says "having a form of Godly devotion but proving false to it's power, and from these turn away" . I read that scripture at the door thousands of times. I never thought I would feel it was a direction from Jehovah to turn away from the Watchtower. Yet that's what I believe now.
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  daniel-p

  I kind of regret not going. I just didn't put a lot of thought into it, and stayed home and cooked some French recipes instead. If I can go and make my wife happy for that one night and help make it special for her, I will, but in a way I just didn't want to revisit all the same emotions I've tried so hard to move past.
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  bubba.craig

  After not setting foot in the KH for over a year, I decided to go last night. Mostly because my 7 yr old BEGGED me. God it was horrible. Here I was, attending a supposedly solemn event that emotionally I've held dear to my heart for 36 of my 37 years, with the ghostly presence of my family life of the past 12 years (I went with the soon-to-be ex wife) hovering near me, seeing those who used to be dear friends, almost family, shaking their heads, silently clucking their tongues, and whispering quietly to each other other, "how sad, how sad".

  It made me want to throw up.
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  Finally-Free

  I found an invitation in my mailbox a couple of weeks ago and promptly tore it up. I haven't been since 2003, so I wouldn't have gone anyway. (I also forgot what day it was on) I just stayed home and munched on a pizza and had a couple of pints of red beer in front of the TV. My bird stole some of the cheese off my pizza. Typical week night.

  I'm surprised that anyone would go to the memorial and partake™. Those plates and glasses are passed from one JW to another. How can you be sure each one of them washed their hands since the last time they were digging in their butts?

  I'd rather kiss my bird's ass. It's more hygenic then most JWs I knew.

  W
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  Heaven

  Then I had my own prayer and mediatation with organic flatbread and a glass of Malbec, had a little cry that released my anger and slept like a baby.

  Palmtree, I think you've just defined what you can do for next year's Memorial right there. Sounds like a much better idea.

  My wife went, however, and was sullen the entire time after she got home.

  I kind of regret not going.

  daniel-p, have you thought of maybe suggesting to your wife that you and her do your own service at home next year? It might be fun.
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  sd-7

  I dropped off my wife and daughter and then locked the car doors behind them and sat in the car for the Memorial, texting people I met here. Treacherous, since my wife expected me to go? Absolutely. But whaddya expect? I'm an apostate! Besides, she decided to go back to the congregation I grew up in for it, unexpectedly, so...that was the last straw. I just....couldn't deal with it, because I'll never get to explain to them and they'll never believe me anyway.

  My mom and wife knocked on the window to get me to come with them, but I shunned them, so...they went in. I wrote in my 'cult meeting journal' and listened to the rain fall. It was the first Memorial I've ever missed.