Tom,
The primary purpose is not a social gathering, but of course it will be that also! Many attending have made friends over the internet and will be meeting them for the first time at this event.
This is more of a support group type gathering. The groups will be facilitated by Timothy Campbell, who has been working with ex-JWs for quite some time. He is flying down from Canada. The event will be quite flexible, so no one has to attend something they don't want to if they just want to catch up with an online friend, but Timothy will be having support groups and discussions throughout the event.
To give you an idea of one of the formats, this is what will be posted on the schedule. (which will available in another day or two.
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FOCUS SESSION FORMAT
The Focus Session is similar to the Study Group but is less structured.
A Focus Session starts at the top of the hour, with a 5-minute break
after 25-30 minutes. Each Session is divided into segments, and the
change from one segment to the next is determined by the Chairperson,
depending on the natural flow of the proceedings. The segments are as
follows:
1) Selection of the Focus Volunteer -- Top of the hour
The Focus Volunteer is somebody who agrees to talk "off-the-cuff"
about their thoughts and experiences.
2) Reflections -- 10-20 minutes
This is the segment where the Focus Volunteer speaks.
To make this easier, here is a proposed list of topics to cover, and
some recommendations about how much time to spend on each item:
- How I became a Witness ........... 2 minutes
- My first doubts ........................ 2 minutes
- How I left ............................... 2 minutes
- How my departure affected me ... 4 minutes
- My steps towards recovery ........ 4 minutes
- Moving on ............................... 4 minutes
This list is merely a suggestion; you need not follow it. However,
you will note that the list is arranged in chronological order. If
you use it as a general guide, you will find that speaking is actually
quite easy. Once you get past the first few moments of nervousness,
the words will come to you naturally, as you are talking about
something that you know very well indeed: your own life!
As in the Study Group, participants are asked to remain silent, even
if the speaker is struggling for words or says something incorrect. If
you have any comments of questions, please note them down and bring
them up during the One-on-One segment.
3) One-on-One -- 5 to 10 minutes
This gives the attendees an opportunity to ask the Volunteer questions.
This segment is moderated by the Chairperson to avoid distracting
cross-talk.
4) Discussion (Moderated) -- 5 to 10 minutes
In this segment, people can ask questions of each other -- such
questions typically stemming from topics raised earlier in the
session. This segment is moderated by the Chairperson to avoid
distracting cross-talk.
5) Free-for-all -- 5 to 25 minutes
This takes up any remaining time up to ten minutes before the hour.
This is only lightly moderated by the Chairperson.
6) Break -- 10 minutes
The Chairperson will insert a 5-minute break about half-way through the
proceedings, even if this means interrupting a segment. Because of the
timing of the segments, though, the break will typically follow the
completion of the One-on-One or Discussion segments.
Nobody is in any way obligated to attend the Focus Sessions. If you have a
more interesting discussion going on elsewhere, by all means carry on
with it! However, please do not join a Focus Session once it is in progress.
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Of course, all of the above will be flexible, but for those who want to know what the basic structure is, this shows you step by step what Timothy has in mind.
Any questions ... email me. [email protected]
There is already quite a crowd that has confirmed attendance, so it is looking like this will be quite a success!
Karen
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Come to the Ex-JW Get Together! Visit http://www.exjw.info for more details.
