Ex JW Support Group - any suggestions? (page 2)

taoInitiate

Go Beck!

"To start from nowhere and follow no road is the first step toward attaining Tao." - Chuang Tzu

Prisca

Beck,

I think your idea is a great one and I hope you are able to follow through on it.

There is a surprisingly lack of ex-JW groups/support in Australia. Jan Groenveld(sp?) has had one up in Brisbane, but there aren't any well-known ones in Sydney or Melbourne. Most groups of ex-JWs are small and based more on word-of-mouth.

Although I'm not in Melbourne, let me know if you need any advice or suggestions re grouping up.

ozziepost

G'day Beck,

Glad to hear of your plans. Something in Melb is needed. I guess a pioneer in this sort of thing is JanG in Brisbane. About 18 months ago she suggested to Older Tom and others that we try having bbqs in Sydney something like she does in Brissie. OT picked up the ball and ran with it to launch bbqs for the Sydney/W'gong/Central Coast. Since then others have been involved in 'arranging' venues and so on. We hold them every 2 months.

We've found that having a social gathering where people feel free to 'say it like it is' and not have to worry about reprisals is very therapeutic. They also meet others who have questioned and some who have exited. All are at different stages of their journey to freedom. Interestingly, all have had their own "Crisis of Conscience".

Anewperson makes a good point in his post that no proselytising is allowed. Someone may have found 'something' that they're excited about and believe is the greatest thing since poached eggs, but it can only be off-putting. A bit like having an Amway consultant in your midst! We need to make sure that such gatherings are not used by others for their own recruiting purposes.

Prisca has much info on how we've done it in the Sydney region. E-mail her if you like. I'm sure she'd love to hear.

There are some ministries to JWs in Oz. Apart from JanG, there's Freedom in Christ Ministries based at Kingswood in Sydney. They have a quarterly newsletter which is obtainable as a booklet at a very modest price. They have regular meetings at Kingswood and at Albion Park.

There are other individuals who are engaged by them and other bodies to deliver talks and seminars. If you need any info. email me.

I've personally found Randy's newsletter invaluable. Check his site @ www.freeminds.org

I wish you well in your efforts.

Cheers,
Ozzie

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

- Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress

Beck_Melbourne

Thank you all for your suggestions. Ozzie..Prisca....thanks especially....and please keep an eye out for my email...I have lots of questions...and yes...I know JanG...she emails me often....and I have already been put in touch with a couple of Melbourne people thru her. I will email her with an update of my plan/idea and invite some feed back from her. As far as I am aware...there is no group formed here in Melbourne...it would be good to help out where I can and if I can.

I agree with anewperson's suggestion...I will definitely take that on board. I don't have an interest in recruiting...or even the suggestion that I want to start up something of my own...that's not what I'm trying to do. I only want to be a person who someone can ring up and say 'hey I've just been disfellowshipped and I need someone to talk to'. I will keep you informed as things progress if you're interested. Thanks again.

Beck

ozziepost

G'day Beck,

I've just returned home and read your last post here. Please be assured I didn't mean to infer that you may have an interest in recruiting. If I gave that impression, I apologise. I certainly didn't even entertain the idea. My concern was that OTHERS who attend the gatherings may see this as an opportunity to recruit to their own special ideology and we simply need to gently remind folk of that.

I look forward to hearing more news.

Cheers,
Ozzie

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

- Ron Hutchcraft Surviving the Storms of Stress

JWinSF

I disassociated in March 1994 by letter and simultaneously started advertising to form a support group in San Francisco. The group I was forming was gay/lesbian focused. However, four months after I started the group, another group formed in Marin County [just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco] which was for ex-JWs who wanted to get together. It was gay/lesbian friendly. In fact, the opening guidelines from day one for the group was that different individuals go onto different spiritual paths, some may be homosexual, etc., and that the group was open to all. So, it depends upon what you want the focus to be.

Some who leave the JWs do so because they disagree with the Biblical theology. These often afterwards affiliate with other fundamentalist view point focused groups/people. As such, these groups basically will not accept anyone with warm, open hands who are not also following the same theological viewpoints.

Others leave the JWs for non-theological reasons. For example, they see the hypocrisy, they smoked, their sexual orientation, etc. Oftentimes, these individuals do not agree with a fundamentalist Christian viewpoint. In fact, some of these individuals turn away from anything remotely Christian.

My experience with the group in Marin [now also in Fremont, CA] is that those who've attended who have fundamentalist viewpoints without exception quickly condemn the group for being so open. They also want to get into theological discussions, like John 1:1.

So, it's all up to you as to which way you wish to proceed as to the focus of the group. On Randy Watters site there is a page that focuses on the availale groups for ex-JWs. You may want to look at that and get some additional ideas. The link is: http://www.exjws.net/supportgroups.htm

I hope this helps.

chezza

Hi Beck,
Do you need a secretary for this new group, count me in baby,i felt so alone when i left and still do very often, its hard making friends or even getting self confidence for doing normal things like getting a job, we were so isolated from "the world" that it is hard to learn how to even make friends let alone be comfortable living in a world we were taught to shun. Might i say at this point meeting you made a big difference in my life, knowing there was someone else who knew exactly how i was feeling, thank you so much for being there for me.

Beck_Melbourne

Hey Chezza...thanks so much for that nice post. It made my day to be honest...and I haven't been feeling very positive lately. To tell you the truth, it was because we managed to meet and become friends that I got the idea. I just thought it would be good for others like us...don't u think?? Anyways...thanks again girl.

Btw ...I'm doing a bit of reading at the moment...will keep you informed and hopefully we can sit down and generate some ideas.

Hi there JWinSF

Thank so much for your suggestions. Yes I think you are right...different groups are formed for different purposes...whether it is just for socialising or for healing...or religious/scriptural discussions etc. All I can offer is my shoulder...and my ears....I can't offer much more because I don't have the personal experience or the psychological wisdom to back it up. But I agree and think you are right about categories and where we fit into the scheme of things. Thanks. Beck

My dear Aussie Ozzie

Sorry I must have sped read your post...yes I understand now what you meant. There will be things to consider...I don't want to be taken advantage of either...financially...emotionally...or physcially. So I'm going to try and keep a balanced out look and will keep reading. Thanks again.

Ex JW Support Group - any suggestions?

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

"If our hopes for peace are placed in the hands of imperfect people, they are bound to evaporate."

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