Luxury facilities @ bethel

by KSFernando 9 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  KSFernando

  The GB encourage sincere jw’s to maintain a simple life, to sell their luxury houses, electronic equipment’s etc. However if you look at the life style at bethel, It’s like a five star hotel. I’m in a Asian country. Therefore to us bethel is a five star hotel not a simple life style. They have to expend more money to maintain that premises that expend on kingdom works. I don’t know about other countries.

  I like to know bethel facilities at other regions like Europe and America and comparison of bethel life with the middle income family life style.
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  Barrold Bonds

  What do they have at this branch? Perhaps you can go into more detail. What country are you in?
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  DesirousOfChange

  There was a press release on the recently sold properties in Brooklyn stating that their were so well maintained that they would go on the market immediately with some being offered for over $1MIL. That's a pretty nice pad, even for NYC. You can be sure that the GB's quarters are the biggest and likely have views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty (ironic).

  Doc
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  BackseatDevil

  I have never seen a GB's apartment, in Brooklyn or otherwise (all the Brooklyn property is well over $1billion and more square footage than the Empire state building). And you are right, many of the apartments are "luxury". especially as the bought and rennovated the Sliver building and the Margart Hotel, etc. They are nice.

  The more responsible Bethel elders are given nicer apartments. Apartments (once a year) are bid on, and anyone can bid but the person gets an apartment based on seniority. Seniority is based on when a person is baptized. Therefore, in rennovated buildings and such, the GB can get pretty much any apartment they want because they have been baptized the longest... and then the apartments trickle down from there. USUSALLY, because of the age and mobility issues, the rooms they select are closer to the administration (I don't know how that's going to work wherever they move), but that's a general rule, nothing more.

  Also... Bethel has certain rules, like only three items are allowed on a surface, no candles, nothing hanging from the celiling etc., and many of us noticed during housekeeping duty (the first two weeks you are there) that the higher you are the less those rules apply... which... is annoying.

  Now, from where you are, this may all be considered luxury, but from the States standard it's pretty normal... it's not like the old Pope's new apartment which is opulent to the point of absurdity.
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  Barrold Bonds

  Just a minor clarification, seniority is based on years in full time service (pioneer, bethel, CO/DO, BIF, etc.) not baptism.

  If anyone can get a copy of the Bethel phone book, you can easily find out where GB and Branch Committee members live.

  I never really had a problem with most of the housekeeping rules. They're housekeepers, not maids. I usually kept stuff simple and minimalist before I was there, so I guess everyone is different though :)
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  BackseatDevil

  Barrold Bonds

  When did that change? Because when I was there, it was baptism. I literally walked in the door with 10 years seniority and was able to bid (successfully) on my own room my first year at Bethel. So apparently that has changed (and I think it makes better sense anyway, when you think about it). But are you aware of when that was switched?

  -James

  backseatdevil.com
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  Barrold Bonds

  I was in Bethel in the early 2000's. No one I knew there ever mentioned seniority based on baptism. When were you there?
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  BackseatDevil

  I was there from 96-97.

  Now, a couple of big changes happened between my time and yours. The entire computer programming department/accounting/Bethelite numbers, everything was being transferred to an all inclusive SAP program... also (someone verify) there was a separation of those brothers who run the organization spiritually and those brothers who run Bethel, Inc.

  In either of these two shifts they could have changed the idea of seniority. I'm sure there's other factors as well i'm missing....
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  blondie

  Seniortiy is still based on number of years in full-time service. In the case of married couples, the spouse with the most seniority counts in the bid. That's why it is good if you are a single brother is to hook up with another single brother with mucho seniority.

  I saw an older couple brought in where hubbie was an elder, baptized 30 years, wife same age, never ft pioneers. Got a small room with a bathroom down the hall, sink in the room; a big comedown from a 4 bedoom home, 2 car garage.

  No candles, no brainer...the first cause of home fires in this area are unattended lit candles.

  Not until the new building at Wallkill in the mid 80's, the Sands in Brooklyn, and the resort at Patterson, did I see more high quality rooms open to Bethelites. In Wallkill in the mid 80's, 25 years FT service was the cutoff and they had better amenities.

  Now this was at Brooklyn Patterson and Wallkill. Are you in another country?
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  Barrold Bonds

  Yeah that program was called Admin 2000. Basically an all in one thing made at bethel. When you were there stuff was changed in that the WTS executive officers were GB members but that was changed. Those executives are typically BC members. When I was there the US officially became a branch with a BC and Zone overseer visits and stuff. It's possible that the seniority thing was changed in between our stays :)

  Blondie: Yeah before Sands most of the rooms were awful. Hell, even Wallkill had awful single room dorm style stuff until a few years ago. They call it Ghetto 7 (107 Columbia Heights) for a reason.