Congregation get-togethers (page 2)

Buster

This was the part of being a dubbie that I actually liked. Our congregation in Franklin, MA had a whole passle of of kids within a three-year age range: 15 to 20 kids, depending on how and when you counted. My house had a big, wide driveway for b-ball, a big field next to it and a 20'x40' pool. The deck on the back of the house was where we would break out the stereo and wind down.

The congregation didn't necessarily have an official, organized outing. Sometimes they did. But we had a crew together, often with kids from other halls too, as often as we wanted. Tons of friends, and a lot of good times.

That was the good part.

Mary

We used to have get-togethers a long time ago: picnics down at the park every summer, and we even had a costume party a few times which were a scream! Then head office decided we were having far too much fun on a Saturday night and wouldn't let the congregations have costume parties any more because "would Jesus have a costume party?" I retaliated with "well, I can't see Jesus going tobbogoning either, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with it."

I guess we should have been concentrating on how bad and evil we were and how much more we could be doing for Jehovah on a Saturday night, rather than actually having a good time.

Edited by - Mary on 2 November 2002 14:18:9

jack2

This was such a back-and-forth topic locally. Witnesses would have congreagtion picnics, then one time the CO came through and said no to "large gatherings" due to the chance for 'wrongdoing' to take place among a large number of people.

Then, the green light seemed to be given some years later, and now, picnics are back in vogue. My family was not invited to the last one - I guess making one-two meetings per week was not good enough.

I would have to agree that such gatherings were, overall, discouraged. It would be frustrating to try restricting association to Witnesses only, then finding that crowd size was also a restriction.

nickpark

Picture small groups studying the Bible, allowing lots of freedom of views and enjoying regular get-togethers with fun each time as well as promoting acts of kindness in the community and among one another. Meet other exJWs and Friends for fellowship (Free Christians) now:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/jahchristian

in3D

Hi Freedom96,

I want to tell you a funny story about "Planned Witness Social Events". As someone mentioned, since we were to only associate with Witnesses, it only seems fair that the Congregations or WTBTS would encourage this.

Well, while my sister and I were attending college (I will not say where), but we had got in contact right away with our local congregation that we would be attending. We met for the first time young Witnesses our age who were actually going to college, or had graduated from college and working as independent people, reaping the rewards for their hard work (where we are from, if you don't have a boyfriend or are not dating or engaged by the time you are 18 you are considered an "old maid" or looked on as unusual). College was not even thought about in our area where we are originally from, and most Witnesses marry very young. Anyway, during our time at college, with these friends, we would go out to dinner, meet for lunch, go to the beach on vacation, etc.

One New Years Eve, we got together with some other friends from another local congregation and went to have dinner and then went "All Night Bowling". We thought that this would be safe since we would be indoors and off the roads where people were likely drinking and driving. It was so much fun, so innocent, we were not drinking or cursing and we did seem a little odd to the others there. Anyway, we finished around 6:00am and then a few of us went to have breakfast. What was so wrong with that?

Well, about a month later at the next Circuit Assembly, the CO had found out about this "wilding". (How or why, I do not know). Well, in the talk for the Circuit, the CO was talking about gatherings, and he said, "some in our Circuit had gone 'All Night Bowling', brothers! . . . "On New Years Eve!".

I sunk in my seat and felt so guilty because of this. It did get a good laugh from the audience, though!

I can't understand why these things are frowned upon. The whole time at college, we did not get involved in "wrong doing" or did any immoral thing.

Why do the Brothers or Elders assume that something will always go wrong or will not look good? How do they know but that we gave a "good witness" to others?

While now being in NYC, my Cardiologist often asked me (while I had become single again and was interested in finding a good Witness mate (such a harlot, right!)), he asked, "doesn't the congregations have gatherings specifically to meet others who share your belief and lifestyle?" He is Jewish, and said that most Synagogues, have this type of arrangement, because they realize if they want their people to stay with the religion they have to meet others from their religion.

And I know some Witnesses who will not even attend any gathering if a non-baptized associate will be there. How are these ones supposed to make new friends within the KH and leave behind their old associates in the World?

I know this is kind of long, but wanted to post to this topic.

Edited by in3D to correct (while my sister and I was attending college) to: were attending college. Oh Well, I attended an Art school and my grammar has always suffered! Hee Hee!

in3D

Edited by - in3D on 2 November 2002 17:52:13

Bendrr

In our old congregation (Fort Valley, GA) we used to have them all the time. Cookouts, football games, softball games. Always a blast because everyone was welcome. Young, old, black, white, come out and have a ball. Even elderly Brother Skwarlo would join in sometimes, but always dressed in meeting clothes which he didn't mind getting dirty.

Then we moved to Perry, GA. We tried a few times but it just didn't work. That was too much like having fun which was a no-no.

Mike.

BONEZZ

ChakkaConned...you nailed it. I remember well, the few and far-between picnics and "gatherings". In my current profession I had occassion to visit a very large 7th Day Adventist Church. This place was huge...with grounds that held a day care...playground for preschool...a baseball diamond...an after school place for kids to play pool and misc games. I waited inside while they finished their church services which included enthusiastic singing and following the words on an projected screen. After it was over they fired up the kitchen and invited me to eat with them...probably all veggie stuff but hey it was nice. When was the last time a "worldly" came to witless function and was invited to join in...unless of course they thought they could get a study out of it. I'm sure 7th Day's have their own hangups but with their hospitality they made the Witlesses look like real losers...which of course they are. I have always been irritated because the Org gets sooo much in the way of $$$ and gives absolutley NOTHING back to the flock.

-BONEZZ

dsgal

The Mesquite Central congregation in Mesquite,Texas rarely had get-togethers.Last December they rented a building and had a talent show.It was organized and the invitations were sent out by two elder's wives.It was planned in October but I was never told about it nor did I receive an invitation.After the event,I kept hearing different ones talking about the "talent show" so I thought"Hey, the Witnesses are finally going to do something fun".So I asked a sister who I thought was a good friend what was all the talk about a talent show and she said"Oh,that was two weeks ago".Now,mind you,this event was suppose to be for the entire congregation but it was kept a total secret from me and my son's study conductor never mentioned it to him either.A sister who video-taped it did give me a copy of the tape(How sweet of her to think of me.)You should have seen them all sitting there cramming food in and telling their stupid jokes and lip-synching to worldly songs.It was on December 15 and they even had Christmas lights around the floor for a stage.Even though I very rarely missed a meeting and went in service every week not one person uttered a peep about an upcoming get-together.I don't think that would be possible without a bunch of people conspiring to keep it secret.If anyone from the Mesquite Central congregation reads this I would just like to say right now"You're all a bunch of sorry sons-of-bitches and I would never want to live in a world with a bunch of stuck-up a$$-holes like like you.

dsgal

PS,

Yes,I am baptized but married to an unbeliever and I would just like to say that since I faded away from JWs in January my entire family has been invited to my uncle's Assembly of God church four times for dinner and singing and they all welcomed us and were very nice.HOW REFRESHING!

Vitameatavegamin

I remember going to some gatherings say on a Saturday night, and invariably we always ended up having to go over the

Watchtower for the Sunday meeting. It seems like just when you were having fun, it was time to study. Geez, they just

could'nt spare one damn evening without some sort of "spiritual food". I began to hate cong. gatherings after a while, especially the

stupid "entertainment nights" we had, where people would sing or do some sort of cheesy skit or something, kind of like the

Gong Show gone horribly wrong. What really fried my ass was that sometimes people would be chosen to go on the stage

to do some game or whatever, and the only people that were ever asked to participate were either Elders or Pioneers, or the

elder's wives. Talk about stuck up! It was really awful.

I can truly say that I have never met a more snooty, nose-stuck-in-the-air group of people in my life.

Thanks.

Congregation get-togethers

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