Long assemblies (page 3)

fulano

Nurnberg, 1969, with Knorr. Eight days in a trailer, it was fun for a kid.

ring

They were all 4 days when i was a kid, I remember becomming

so bored once, that i would ' time' the prayers on my watch.

I remember one final Sunday, that the closing prayer lasted

28 min 43 seconds that is a lifetime when your're a kid

waiting for the thing to get over

Your post reminded me of an idea I had back in the 70s. Having been to a couple of assemblies and observing my teenage sons, I thought about organizing a JW dating club. It seemed to me that the main reason my boys were going was to observe the "meat on the hoof" not available in the local Kingdom Halls. A formal "club" with brochures and pictures and other information would have been a lot less expensive that traveling to various assemblies. But then I realized that the leadership would shoot the idea down because it would cut down on attendance at the assemblies.

SYN

A 28 minute closing prayer!!!!!!! *gag*

Every assembly seemed to long when I was still Assimilated. And in fact they were. Heaven knows why the Society makes them so long - hell, the Publishers have a hard enough time focusing on 2 hour meetings, then they bang the whole Circuit into an Assembly Hall and have a REALLY long meeting...*nyargh* if I ever find out how much of my life was wasted in Dub meetings, I will probably die from shock, or a self-inflicted gunshot wound, whichever comes first

blondie

Admonition from the WTS regarding long prayers. Note how they give themselves wiggle room: ordinary brothers keep it short, special brothers can pray longer.

*** w99 1/15 16 Lift Up Loyal Hands in Prayer ***

If we are praying publicly before or after a Christian meeting, we do not need to offer a long prayer covering many points. Jesus criticized the scribes who made long prayers for a pretext. (Luke 20:46, 47) Never would a godly person want to do that. At times, though, a somewhat longer public prayer may be appropriate. For instance, an elder chosen to say the final prayer at an assembly should give it advance thought and may desire to mention several points. Yet, even such a prayer should not be of excessive length.

*** w86 5/15 23 Praying Before Others With a Humble Heart ***

How long, though, should a public prayer be? Well, before handing around the emblems when instituting the Memorial of his death, Jesus said a blessing and gave thanks, evidently doing so in brief prayers. (Matthew 26:26-28) On the other hand, Solomons prayer at the dedication of the temple was quite long. So was Jesus prayer the night before he died.2 Chronicles 6:14-42; John 17:1-26.

Hence, there is no rule about how long a public prayer should be. But there is no special virtue in long prayers.

In fact, Jesus criticized the scribes who devoured the houses of the widows and for a pretext made long prayers. (Luke 20:46, 47)

A prayer opening a Christian meeting does not have to be long either

. The one representing a family at the beginning or the end of the day, or the one concluding an assembly in prayer, may wish to cover more points that are appropriate to the occasion.

*** w63 2/15 116 Talking with God ***

Especially if ours is the privilege of publicly representing others in prayer should we give thought to such things, taking note, for example, of the theme of the congregation meeting. A little thoughtfulness by advising beforehand the one who is to enjoy this privilege will aid in having public prayer fluent, coherent, earnest, rich in thought content and apropos to the particular meeting. Such prayers should avoid both extremes as regards length; some clergymen have been known to pray as long as two hours!

Matty

When I was little, about 5 years old I guess, I remember going to a convention at Crystal Palace football ground and every day the sessions lasted till it was dark, about 9 or 10 O'clock in the evening, with the brothers and sisters using torches to read the words in the song book at the end of the session. Sheesh, I don't know how my mum coped with us kids and those long convention days!

Alligator Wisdom

I didn't have the "privilege" of experiencing those 8 day conventions . Only those 4 day conventions back in the 80's at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. Even those felt like 8 days. Ah yes Matty! I never knew how my mother handled my brothers and I when we were kids during those exhausting days in the sun . However, I know of many old-timers who often "exulted" those 8 day conventions as being a spiritual haven and a refuge from the world. I mean, how else could they express their ~~apprehension~~ appreciation!

Alligator Wisdom (aka Brother "NOT Exerting Vigorously")

JH

Eight days long, all day and evening too. I have a copy of the program from the 1963 "Everlasting Good News

Too bad it had to take an everlasting meeting to talk about an everlasting good news.

Room 215

In a thread ``They Don't Make JWs Like They Used To'' some time ago, I referred to these overlong assembl;ies and suggested that Brooklyn/Patterson wouldn't dare to try them again, because of the likelihood of embarassment that so few would support them. Today's JWs simply lack the near-fanatical commitment of those in the 40s and 50s.

Speaking of the 1958 and 1963 NYC conventions, I recall knocking on doors in the Bronx solicting rooms for the delegates. Kind of like begging for the homeless; I'll never forget one householder's comment: ``If they can afford to get here from wherever, can't they afford a hotel room?" I, of course, had no reply.

ozziepost

I have the feeling that the rooming work was as much to do with getting the public "involved", as much as it was to find cheap accommodation.

Long assemblies