by RayPublisher 90 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Small Update #2:
Ugghh - Have a number of people I have to call and tell before any annoucements are made or they hear it through the grapevine.
I feel I owe at least a couple of close friends/family members that because they will be very disappointed/confused as to why I am no longer serving.
It depends on your BOE obviously what will happen. I know with several MS's (including myself when I was one) low FS time is ignored generally and they only get pulled up if it is persistent and appears to have have no valid reason. So that would be a very long term method to follow unless you start doing 0s, 1s, 2s on your hours in which case they will take notice and likely remove you after several months of that.
I also know that ASKING to come off doesn't always work (my brother has asked to come off twice and been ignored), you have to TELL them you ARE coming off. But from your last posts i think you have done this now.
Yes I have. Re that point, my letter stated:
"I'm aware that you will need to consider this matter as a body and consult with the circuit overseer, as there are procedural matters that must be adhered to in these situations. I also know that you will want to meet with me and ask me to reconsider my decision, and “lighten my load” and let time go by, but that will not solve the problem and my decision has already been made. I thank you for respecting that."
And for the last three months low hours have been turned in (regardless of one month where I actually got more than the average) so that is my reasoning there.
Body of elder letter states that if a brother wants to step down, the elders must be given the reasons why.
The elders will then meet and discuss what they can do to avoid you stepping down. If you tell them that it's family or financial reasons they can then write a letter to the Society and state in that letter if they agree that you step down or not. They must wait for response from the Society before the announcement is made. The announcement must be read the following way (even if you step down) "_____________ is no longer serving as an (elder or ministerial servant)".
Telling them that you want to concentrate in your family is probably the best "reason" to step down without much drama of several meetings with the elders.
William H. Conley
UPDATE: 3 weeks has gone by since submitting step-down letter.
Have been asked to meet with two of the elders this evening at the KH so they can "help" me. They are pretty low-key guys so we will see if that holds or not. Then CO visit this week...
So how do you feel? Still pretty confident you can hold your ground? It seems like you will and I don't think you will regret your decision.
So far, I know I haven't.
Oh yea, good to hear an update.
CoC
I feel good mostly. (Of course it's the alcohol talking, lol)
The meeting I had with them was easy, they gently probed but were very complimentary about how I was one of the best speakers in the hall, they wanted to re-appoint me as an elder in the near-future, did not see this coming, etc. I recorded the whole thing just in case but it's pretty dull stuff and only lasted about 30 minutes.
One *weird* thing (to me) was that they said that I may be required by the CO to attend the Servants and elders meeting on Friday evening. They said he may approach me and ask me to be there and they felt I should go if he asks because technically I'm still a servant. Initially I felt like I wouldn't, but maybe I will. I'm not sure.
I am trying to be pretty "normal" through this period of time and then later after several months I will miss more meetings and slow down a bit more. That's the plan.
Required to attend?
I'd suggest that you be clear that technically you are NOT a servant. You've given them a letter of resignation and more reason than a person should have to give. Your term as a servant stopped when you handed them the letter. The rest is just their petty rules and bureaucratic nonsense.
The line I've used for when I feel manipulated is, "This is not a hostage negotiation. Or is it?" They only have the power that we allow them to take from us.
" Best Way to Step down from being a servant " ? Never become one in the first place. I was a MS for 6 years - total freaking waste of my time
Ray, I have to agree with Billy on this. I made the elders aware of my resignation at least a month before the CO came, which means during the visit I was still a servant.
I believe they discuss a resignation at their elders meeting which is after the MS meeting. Despite this, I was not asked if I would attend beforehand, nor asked why I didn't attend afterwards.
The point? It is YOUR decision. Unless you feel like it's a real job and at least a 2 week resignation process is required, it doesn't matter who wants you to be at that meeting.
Ah, gotta love being a mandatory volunteer.
Funny also what the elders said to you at their little meeting with you. Commend, commend, commend! Yea.....it was a little too late for that. The "you have so much potential" line was classic when I was told that.
CoC
