If you remember the 15 minute break - you are by definition "OLD."
This takes me back. I don't remember anyone going for a smoke break, I just remember the dreadful anticipation of a 25-35 paragraph Watchtower study. Those could go on forever.
Do you remember the 15 minute break at the Sun. meeting?
by 3rdgen 82 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Calebs Airplane
Yes.
The Public Talk was 60 minutes long, then there was a 15-minute break, then the rag study was another 60 minutes. Add to that the 3 songs, the 2 lengthy prayers and the underwhelming announcements and you've pretty much kissed your football Sunday good-bye...
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Gregor
Also, our two hour and fifteen min meetings started at three pm, the sleepy time of the day. No ac and a hot day was torture.
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AudeSapere
Tiki reminded me of a few more things. Yes, the public talk was an hour long - *if* the speaker did not go over. Sometimes the (what is the brother that introduces the speaker and the songs, etc called...?? Like an emcee, but that's not what he's called) speaker would be interrupted and told to wrap up in 2 minutes. LOL.
In our hall, the WT study sometimes went WAAAYYYY over the alotted hour. Once by almost 30 minutes. Brutal.
Handbills! I remember those. Speaker's names were omitted very early 70's for us, I think. Then for a couple of years there were just the talk titles.
Purpose of the intermission, as I think I recall better now, was to let the public leave after the advertised talk - but not before being greeted by individuals in the cong and being offered a free home bible study and invited to return the following Sunday. WT study was not that interesting to the public as it contained 'deeper' spiritual (read: crazy) information for discussion.
One of the happiest reports EVER was when the letter was read to limit the Sunday meeting to 2 hours TOTAL.
Start-to-finish, including songs and prayers. Seriously, some of those meetings from the early/mid 70's exceeded 2.5 hours. Add 30 minutes for us (elder's family) to arrive early to open the hall, an elder's meeting after the meeting and/or wait for everyone to vacate so we could lock up... Some days were there 4-6 hours. We brought books to read and homework to do.
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3rdgen
Yes, most congregations had their meetings later in the day. One Hall i was in had it at 6:00 PM. Sundays looked like this: 9:00AM meeting for service. 9:30: to the field. NO BREAKS till 12:00-12:30 . Lunch,if lucky at a coffee shop. 2:00 study for the WT. 3:00-4:30PM : totally dead time, not enough to do anything but have a snack or light supper 4:30-5:00PM change back into meeting clothes and get ready for the 15-20min drive to KH. 5:30-5:45 PM arrive at KH and visit. 6:00 -7:10 PM REALLY boring talk where speaker goes overtime. 7:10 -7:20 break (windbag speaker stole 5min. of our break time) 7:20 -7:30 song and another rambling prayer. 7:30-8:30 WT study (if conductor didn't go overtime) 8:30-8:40 song and prayer. 8:40- 9:00PM visiting (Dad does his PO thing) 9:00-9:15 -20 drive home. 9:30PM ALL the good TV is over and it's time to get ready for bed and school the next morning. Over 12 hours of drugery. Aude, we were typing at the same time! We obviously had similar experiences as kiddy Dubs.
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Dagney
Ann beat me to it. I remember ice cream during the break also. No morning meetings because we went in service of course! like Gregor said, those afternoon meetings were long and difficult to keep awake during.
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Balaamsass2
I was GRATEFULL that Dad was an unbeliever and INSISTED we be home after 2 hrs! Loved running around the parking lot during the break between all the adults having a "Smoke" break.
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Sail Away
My family started studying in 1969. I remember the book studies being conducted in a mobile home (Babylon the Great Has Fallen, followed by Then is Finished the Mystery of God.) My dad was a smoker and a police officer. He had to give up both, and that was his undoing. Being a K-9 officer was tbe best thing he ever did. Mom thoroughly opposed anyone coming into her home and telling her what to do. Smart woman! Dad eventually caved to her hatred for all things JW, but believed it to be the truth until his death in 1992. I was the only one to become a JW out of five kids. I chose a cult over crazy and dysfunctional. They do target the vulnerable!
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Gregor
My father was a thirty year smoker. He quit in '73(?) When it was declared a df'ing offense.
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prologos
In one "developing country" they had all the meetings on one day, saturday. Talk, Wt, Bookstudy, school, "service" meeting, with a rotate able dissplay over the speaker that showed which meeting was in progress. 4 Breaks between the parts. Unique. did not have time to exploit this one-in the lfe time opportunity.
They did it to have the friends not repeat the death march in that local 3 times a week.