So, the two local congregations were planning to hold their memorial together at 7:30 at the local community center, but they had to make a last-minute change to their own hall, and I'm pretty sure it was because of me.
Let me explain...
At work on Monday afternoon, a co-worker returned from her lunchbreak and showed me the memorial invitation that was waiitng in her door when she went home for lunch. I noticed the sticker on the back indicated the memorial was being held, not at the local hall, but at the community center. From a past (non-JW) event I attended there, I knew they didn't allow alcohol (unless you pay for security guards), so I wrote to the center's coordinator:
Hello, I just received a flyer from a door-to-door representative with the Jehovah Witnesses. there will be alcohol passed around to all in attendance at tomorrow night's event. So, I just want to verify that there will be a security officer in attendance during the event, as per your room rental guidelines. Please let me know. Thank you.
She wrote back on Tuesday afternoon (the day of the memorial) and said they had relocated to their Kingdom Hall, and the event was now scheduled for 10:30pm. So I worte back and asked why. She said:
Because of our alcohol policy, they were not able to serve wine at their service so they chose to move the event to The Kingdom Hall. We would love to have them back but they would have to serve non-alcoholic wine as the church we have here on Sunday mornings does.
I feel bad for the kids who, instead of having the memorial finish at 8:30, were now at their Kingdom Hall until 11:30 (if they were in the second congregation). But it is spring break here, so they probably liked gettting so stay up so late without having to get up for school the next day. I'm surprised they didn't pony up for a security officer, but it might have been too last-minute to get one. Either way, all those invitations they passed out had the wrong address.
-Shepherd Book, Deliverance at Hand!