Cost of living crisis

ExBethelitenowPIMA

During the height of the pandemic all elders had to report to the CO anyone who was struggling with bills or who couldn’t pay the rent. The CO reported it to the branch.

I don’t know what happens next. Do the branch help at all? I think they just ask elders to help and wash their hands of it.

Once again all elders and group overseers (as sometimes MSs are now group overseers due to shortage of elders) have been asked to report anyone who is struggling with food and bills. What happens next after they have been reported?

Here in the UK food inflation is through the roof and there is rationing of this high price food. Food banks are overrun.

Peoples wages are not keeping up with inflation and there are strikes everywhere. Many losing their homes and having utilities cut off as they can’t pay their bills.

what happened in Venezuela when people were starving did the branch send funds to buy food? I remember that video of a sister in Venezuela who was starving and the branch basically asked the congregation to help her but they are all starving as well.

will the branch need to start saving funds on building hollywood studios to help its members starving around the world?

no my guess is the fat overfed Rolex wearing old men will still keep begging for more even if you are starving please still give more contributions.

there will be lots of articles and videos about being careful with money and making do with less, but will the Rolex wearing fat old men follow their own advice and cut down on first class flights and hotels on donated funds?

enoughisenough

I think somewhere on this forum there was recently posted a "letter" to the elders with a list of "social services" to share with the needy. No mention of applying to WT

LongHairGal

EXBETHELITE NOW PIMA & ENOUGH IS ENOUGH:

Last I heard (unless something has changed 🙄) the JW religion has no social programs whatsoever to help the hungry, poor and needy. People have to look to ‘Babylon the Great’s’ churches and other government programs for help.

ExBethelite: here in the USA as well as the UK, prices of food, rents, etc. are going through the roof. There are needy people everywhere.

People blame the economy (as well they should) however…the Witness religion knocks college/careers and makes poverty out to be a virtue.. So when times get bad, who ends up the worst off? You guessed it.

So, in those few instances (the pandemic and now) when they asked around who is having a problem - just who was supposed to do anything about it?? We all know the already financially overburdened rank & file are the ones hit up for money.

The JW religion is now having its own ‘perfect storm’. All the underemployed people -pioneers as well as others there who deliberately never got decent jobs and lived on the edge waiting for the ‘new system’ as well as others who lost jobs because of the economy - are all gathered in the same place! Very undesirable!

dozy

I remember when I was an elder quite regularly in elders meetings we would have a discussion about a needy JW in the congregation who was saying they couldn't afford to go to the convention or pay their electric bill or whatever. The problem was that we weren't allowed to use congregation funds for this kind of purpose ( this was before the Society appropriated them all ) and because an announcement was made every month about how funds were spent it would have had to include such an announcement.

What tended to happen is that one of the elders would say that they would give (say) $100 to the sister and deduct $20 a month from their donations for the next 5 months so in essence the congregation would be paying. I actually did this myself a couple of times. It was the only way we could work things around.

wozza

dozy "It was the only way to work around things"

Because there was a conspiracy of silence because of WTS rules.

Heaven forbid it getting out that "trust in god to provide" did'nt really work as promised. So the elders would sometimes shame brothers and sisters quietly to leave food parcels on the bonnet of their car or on the doorstep of the afflicted.

Beth Sarim

"I think somewhere on this forum there was recently posted a "letter" to the elders with a list of "social services" to share with the needy. No mention of applying to WT.""

The hypocrisy never stops. The Borg then encourages the sheeple to rely on the governments,,,which the Borg condemns.

hoser

The elders here don’t seem to give a shit about the congregants monetary situation.

As a business owner we from time to time get gift cards from some of our vendors and customers at Christmas time and other times of the year. We are doing good enough that we don’t need them and pass the generosity of our clients on to others.

I offered to give the gift cards valued at several hundred dollars for gas, groceries and I think a few prepaid visas to the elders to distribute anonymously to needy members of the congregation. I don’t need to know who is in need and they don’t need to know who the giver is.

The elders said the congregation doesn’t do that and by the way your field service report for last month is late.

LongHairGal

HOSER:

That was very nice of you to offer those gift cards to the elders ‘to distribute anonymously to needy members of the congregation’.

But they refused to take them saying ‘the congregation doesn’t do that’. However, I remember from time to time people were privately approached with an envelope asking for money for whoever.. So, they don’t have a problem asking.. Giving would be another thing entirely.

What I gather is they don’t want to be in the position of figuring out just who is entitled to this gift;.. and/or what happens when people who did not get this gift go to the elders and say ‘hey, where is mine. I’m needy too’, etc.

So, the elders would be in a funny position. I don’t want to defend them but this situation would inadvertently start trouble and somebody would come down on them hard, in my opinion.

hoser

LOngHairGal:

I don’t think the elders in our congregation give a rats ass about poor people. They are too busy going on vacation, playing sports, moving to more prestigious neighborhoods, riding their expensive motorcycles AND telling me I’m not spiritual enough to give a shit about some single mother that can’t afford milk for her kids.

BoogerMan

Dozy said - "...an announcement was made every month about how [KH] funds were spent..."

Any chance a JW can ask Warwick HQ how they are spending donations?

Go on lurkers, I double-dare you to ask for a statement! (ever had a judicial meeting before?)

Cost of living crisis

Share this