Orange County NY friends, you there? (page 2)

FMonroe

Everyone here is so nice. Does anyone know if there is an archive maybe where historical documents of the JH are kept?

FMonroe

I'm bumping this one last time. Just in case...

Arsonist strikes near Jehovah's building again

Published: 2:00 AM - 05/22/04
Last updated: 6:35 PM - 12/16/10

Firefighters doused burning construction debris and tires outside an empty former Jehovah's Witnesses building Thursday night — the third time this week they've put out a fire at the arson-plagued site.

Monroe fire Chief Jeff Mahran said about 100 people, mostly children, were standing watching the blaze when firefighters arrived around 8 p.m. to douse the rubbish fire on the property of the charred Kingdom Hall at — Mountain Road, just outside of Kiryas Joel.
The fire department stayed at the scene about a half-hour, he said.

At least seven suspicious fires have broken out inside the building since the Jehovah's Witnesses sold it a few years ago. The most recent incidents were on Sunday and Tuesday.

State police say they're investigating all the fires but have made no arrests.

Apognophos

Hmm, that picture isn't showing up for me, betterdaze.

Hi FMonroe, I thought I would respond to your PM here since you made your own topic. Unfortunately my family doesn't have any picture takers in it, so we don't have any photos of the Monroe Assembly Hall. How interesting that I was probably passing through your neighborhood looking at it out the window while you watched our cars go by from your window!

Just so you know, this was an Assembly Hall, not a Kingdom Hall. It was used for circuit assemblies, which are held a couple times a year for a circuit (a group of local congregations). I have some nostalgic memories of the drive to get up there; it felt for some of the drive like we were climbing into the mountains.

Are you aware that the new world headquarters for the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society is being built practically next door at Warwick?

FMonroe

Bettertake - thank you so much for the picture! It's beautiful! Thank you thank you thank you!

FMonroe

Hi Apognophis! I used to wave to the cars that passed. I was a little Hasidic girl in a pink dress and white tights!

Can you explain the difference between an assembly hall a bit better? Why did the cars come every single Saturday if it was only used a few times a year?

Apognophos

I used to wave to the cars that passed.

It's nice that you waved at us We weren't usually made to feel welcome when passing through (not that it was anyone's obligation to welcome us just because we had a building nearby). Did your family ever have anything to say about us?

Can you explain the difference between an assembly hall a bit better? Why did the cars come every single Saturday if it was only used a few times a year?

Ah, yes. Well, a single Assembly Hall is used by multiple circuits. Basically the Society is trying to make efficient use of its properties, so they won't build a new Assembly Hall unless there are enough congregations in the area that they can make constant use of it (that is, every weekend). Circuit assemblies were on Saturday and Sunday, but there was also a Special Assembly Day once a year which was basically just a one-day circuit assembly. I believe these were held on a Saturday for one circuit, and then on Sunday for the next circuit scheduled to go there.

Lately, District Conventions (which have just been renamed Regional Conventions) have also been held at many Assembly Halls. A district is a group of circuits, and since a circuit is several congregations, a district convention is quite large. Traditionally, because of this the Society would rent a coliseum or similar public building for the district convention, which runs Friday through Sunday for each group assigned there, but lately they will break the district into smaller groups (not sure they are dividing along circuit lines) and assign the sub-district groups to the Assembly Halls on subsequent weekends. This probably saves a good bit of money since they own the Assembly Halls. However, you don't really need to remember this part because the use of Assembly Halls for district conventions started after the sale of the Monroe Hall.

P.S.: Strange, can you see that photo? For me it says it's been moved or deleted.

FMonroe

Yes, I see the photo. If you pm me and give me ur email I'll email it to you.

We lived next door and I was really curious. My father said the goyim there were polite and didn't bother us. We all believed that this was a "respectful" group who maybe even admired us. Now I'm thinking we may have been a little delusional :-)

It's funny, I really had no idea the cars that came on our Sabbath belonged to different groups every week. They were so consistent!

Do you know when that AH was established?

Apognophos

Do you know when that AH was established?

This guy seems to know what he's talking about and says it was 1972: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/62001/3/Circuit-Accounts-Servants-Confesses-how-the-SCAM-WORKS#3836862. It's interesting that he says it was one of the first Assembly Halls built by the Society, I was not aware of that; but it's not too surprising because it's in southeast NY like the headquarters in Brooklyn (soon Warwick).

We all believed that this was a "respectful" group who maybe even admired us. Now I'm thinking we may have been a little delusional :-)

Sadly, the Witnesses are a bit stuck-up, being convinced that they have the truth and that no one else will survive Armageddon.

FMonroe

Ha. I think we thought we had the monopoly on the right way of life too! A miracle the coexistence went so well. Or is it? Maybe theocracies get all better than a theocracy and democracy.

Thanks for the link!

Orange County NY friends, you there?

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