by RubaDub 47 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I always found it a little hit and miss. If hubby went and did the public talk alone he might be offered hospitality but he never was if we came with him. I didn't mind often in the case of morning meetings people used the excuse that they were out on the service.
That being said I rarely offered hospitality to visiting speakers either, in the witness world your nose is kept firmly to the grindstone.
My experience with hospitality in Colorado was what nancy drew and outsmartthesystem had. A different bookstudy group was assigned to host the speaker and his family after the Sunday meeting for a meal. Many in the congregation actually viewed it as a privilege and joyfully took part in it, particularly if the speaker gave a good talk that was well received. I often noted that the speaker's wife was very appreciative. She could have a good meal with great service, enjoy a relaxing ride back home, and then not have to worry about anything else for the rest of the day. And we all know how much kids enjoy eating out so it was a win-win situation for everyone.
Quendi
In my experience, 90% of the time the "hospitality" consists of taking the visiting speaker & his family to a nearby inexpensive restaurant.
On one occasion I gave a talk in a congregation where, due to overcrowding, they had their Sunday meeting at 6:00 or 6:30. No one wanted to go out to eat on a Sunday evening, so "hospitality" consisted of a $25 gift card to Red Lobster!
Here in the Pacific Northwest it feel to the elders and most would not do it. My husband would always pick up the slack, for the most part I did not mind it as I like to cook, but sometimes it hurt because I felt like I was being dumped on.
LITS
I should mention that I was born in 1952,,,so I grew up in the 50s and 60s... There were hardly any kids in the cong. because you were supposed to wait till after the big A to have kids. So if the speaker had kids it was very rare.
Coffee
I had a landlord who was a Swami at one of the Hindu temples here. They have a hospitality after their service every week, held at the temple. It's like a pot luck, and promotes unity of the 'congregation' (for lack of a better word). The Lutheran Church also does the same.
Perhaps the Watchtower Society TM is doing this in an effort to strengthen ties within the organization. I mean, they have pretty much eliminated parties and (LOL) get-togethers, for fear of people having real discussions, and (oh the horror) fun socializing. How else are they to get people to feel more connected -- well, have a hospitality suite after the Sunday bore-fest.
tal
Side note: My landlord, bless his heart, used to bring me a heaping large plate of Indian food every Sunday afternoon, as he knew I was sick, alone, and loved Indian food. No, he did not try to convert me - he was practising charity, something the Jehovah's Witnesses TM know little about.
Nancy Drew
I remember one time the speaker had four kids and they each had a friend with them. There were ten people to feed. It was not our book studies turn but the elder who's book study it was skipped out.
I was getting into our car to go home not even knowing any of this when an MS's wife came running up to me telling me that I was going to take to speaker out to eat at this restaurant she had picked. I just looked blankly at her like "WHAT."
I had just lost my job, we had only been back from Bethel about a year and just did not have any money.
I stuttered that it was not our book studies turn. She said I know but the other elder skipped out and your husband is the only elder left at the hall. I did not want to see the speaker go home with out being feed and it is the ELDERS responsibility RIGHT!
All I can say is thank God I had a charge car with me.
LITS
In my midwest hall we had a sign up sheet on the information board that listed the speakers, both local and incoming. The more popular elders would get signed up for quickly, while the b-listers would be blank for a while, sometimes even up to the day of their talk. When I could, I'd sign up to take out the unpopular ones, other times it would fall to one of the elders or a bookstudy group. Normally, the speaker would be taken out to a local sit-down restaraunt. On occasion someone would fix something at their home, but that was difficult since you didn't really have time to prepare a lunch and so had to fall back to some kind of crock pot dish you could put while you went to the meeting. The most frustrating things were when a speaker would come in with an entire entourage: their wife, their brood, their moms, the single brotha looking for sistas, grandma, etc.
As a child I hated having to go over to someone's house. 1.) You often had to stay a LONG time and if they didn't have kids it was sooooo boring. 2.) You were at the mercy of whatever they fixed. The little old ladies with their salmon patties were the worst.
Actually, in several congregations it was a rush to sign up and people were sad when they didn't get a chance. Of course, there were a couple "bridesmad" speakers. In those congregations it was the chairman's responsibility to provide a meal if no one signed up (chairmen rotated). It wasn't hard to make something up in a crockpot at home, provide a salad, rolls and a simple dessert. It was a nice way to get to know other people in the circuit. There were some speakers that left early (whose families had not come with them).
Wow .. I'm shocked .. really.
I guess we have missed out in the areas I have lived in ... lol.
I now wonder why the Society, who likes to micromanage everything to the nth degree, has never had a formal policy for this.
Rub a Dub
