Society profiting from Conventions

by freedom96 20 Replies latest jw friends

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  freedom96

  I am sure that this has been talked about, but I would love to hear recent input. There have been District Assemblies where parking is charged, and all the "brothers and sisters" who are taking time off of work, etc, and cannot afford to go to this assembly but have to go, are paying good money for admission to the stadium. Many times not allowing come and go privledges. Well, ok, that is what goes on. I mean, the city or whomever ownes the stadium, they are going to make their money. I could accept that. But, to find out that the Society gets a percentage of that money for themselves, and do not bother to tell anyone, I was blown away. I suppose nothing should suprise me these days. But I believe that to be another example of how the Society works on the sneak. They sure as hell were not making that public knowledge.

  I was wondering who out there found out similar things. Anyone know of any other profit building schemes they have set up? One thing to ask for contibutions...........

  I know that ball teams make money from that, or perhaps concerts the promoter or band will make a cut of the profit. That is business. However, when the Society comes in, and is putting together an "encouraging theocratic assembly" for the benefit of the Witnesses, and claim that they only function from contibutions, that seems to be a bit deceiptful. What about making the witness congregations pay for their own building, and then the society owns it. Most people don't think about that. What about property? Do they make much off of real estate, or what other enterprises are they involved in? Is it as deceiptful as the parking money?

  It may sound petty, but to me it just shows again that they are not all they claim to be.
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  sisteract

  I WAS DISGUSTED TO FIND OUT THAT WHERE THE CONVENTIONS USED TO BE HELD AT THE CIVIC CENTER IN PROVIDENCE, RI THE SOCIETY HAD AN ARRANGEMENT FOR THE USE OF THE PARKING FACILITY AT "NO CHARGE" AS THE SERIES OF CONVENTIONS EACH SUMMER WOULD BRING COMMERCE INTO THE CITY. BUT THEN THEY WOULD TURN AROUND AND CHARGE THOSE ATTENTING FOR PARKING. I REMEMBER STRONGLY BEING ENCOURAGED TO GET OUR PARKING TICKETS AT THE KINGDOM HALL BEFORE THE CONVENTION. WE WOULD PURCHASE THEM IN ADVANCE AND HAVE A TICKET WITH A WATCHTOWER SYMBOL TO PUT ON OUR DASHBOARD. FROM WHAT I NOW UNDERSTAND---THEY POCKETED THE $.

  FOOD FOR THOUGHT
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  hippikon

  I've been out of toush for a while but is the society noe charging addmision to assemblies or is it just the parking they are chargin for?
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  joannadandy

  Last I checked, parking was free here, tho you could offer a suggested donation...a pocketing of funds just the same...
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  zev

  THE CIVIC CENTER IN PROVIDENCE, RI THE SOCIETY HAD AN ARRANGEMENT FOR THE USE OF THE PARKING FACILITY AT "NO CHARGE" AS THE SERIES OF CONVENTIONS EACH SUMMER WOULD BRING COMMERCE INTO THE CITY. BUT THEN THEY WOULD TURN AROUND AND CHARGE THOSE ATTENTING FOR PARKING.

  sister act:

  have you anything that could back this up? newspaper articles, anything? i remember this one: http://www.watchtowernews.org/tacomapark.htm

  on the other coast, but i was never able to find any "proof" it happened here. i think we stopped using the providence civic center about 6 years ago (now called of all things-the dunkin doughnuts center) but they moved it to amherst mass to the u-mass college campus.they charged for parking there as well...up untill 2001. thats when it stopped, mysteriously right after the tacoma parking scandal.

  thanks
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  Big Tex

  Of course they profit from conventions. Money is the second most important thing to WTS. It is the fuel to drive the organisation. They are there to leech people dry and then dispose of them as worthless. Anyone who can't keep up is to be ignored and thrown away. WTS cares for nothing but themselves; only the organisation matters.
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  Dutchie

  I don't know how accurate this information is, but I was told that the real reason that the society does not allow the food concessions to open during the assemblies is because they asked for a percentage of the profits from the total sales of food and the union for the concessionaires refused to allow that.
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  FiveShadows

  It's like all the other religions really. I remember being at a Baptist Church because i was 'sent' to speak to the pastor about what he was preaching (he got mad and threw me out practically)

  I noticed though as i was sitting there waiting for the meeting to begin on both sides of the Cross they had an overhead projection system working on advertizing just about anything. I heard the spirit telling me about how Christ came to Jerusalem and threw all the merchants out because they were making money off the temple. I see this to be the same with the Witnesses...and Baptist...or any other religious organization. It's actually very sad. ~FS
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  Derrick

  I mean, the city or whomever ownes the stadium, they are going to make their money. I could accept that. But, to find out that the Society gets a percentage of that money for themselves, and do not bother to tell anyone, I was blown away. I suppose nothing should suprise me these days. But I believe that to be another example of how the Society works on the sneak. They sure as hell were not making that public knowledge.

  With all due respect, the more I read, the more the Society is starting to resemble a religious-non-profit subsidiary to Enron Corporation.

  How do you suppose they are using this money? Seriously, now, let's give them credit where due...

  Perhaps some of the excess charges for parking are siphoned to financially destitute widows, i.e., to stave off bank foreclosure of their lifetime houses, by giving them a free Watchtower magazine? Anyone who was a baptized Witness 1, 2 or more decades ago and continues to faithfully go door to door, will attest to the fact that if it weren't for the Watchtower magazine, they would be burdened with material things like retirement accounts, deed to their own single family residence for their retirement years, and other worldly burdens.

  Perhaps some of the excess parking fees are also going to feed orphans and the needy, by handing out tracts and extra copies of old Awake magazines at rescue missions and in third world starvation zones? Keep in mind that these orphans are too weak from hunger to do anything, so giving them a tract or extra copy of an old Awake will keep these young ones occupied. Would you rather see them turning tricks in seamy hotels, or sitting in an alley engrossed in reading a tract or Awake magazine? Those who wonder why not use the excess parking fees to get them off the streets, ask yourself what food the Governing Body considers more important? Spiritual food or literal food?

  Maybe the parking profits (oops, I meant non-profits) are going to build a new Kingdom Hall in Bangladesh? What about assist the Red Cross in providing much needed medicines to the poor in Zambia, by providing Red Cross workers with the latest new publication from the recent District Convention? They worked hard distributing this medicine that was bought by money that grows on trees, so why not give them a break by handing them part of a tree in the form of an uplifting magazine? (Of course, I wonder what would happen if those Red Cross workers accepted "the truth," became JWs, and realized that it's not necessary to raise money to distribute medicine to poor countries, because Jehovah will handle this task while they go door to door distributing the Watchtower magazine? Brain overload... this logic is too circular for me, so you go figure.)

  Derrick

  Edited by - Derrick on 6 September 2002 23:2:35
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  Prisca

  LOL @ Derrick - that was one funny post dude!