My first Kingdom Hall zoom meeting

by RULES & REGULATIONS 14 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  RULES & REGULATIONS

  

  I haven't been to any meetings in the last 9 years. Besides a couple of Elder visits here and there, I've been pretty much left alone. My family has also left me alone, and haven't acted any different towards me.

  This week my brother, his daughter and his son all called me to invite me for the next weeks Memorial and also my nephew's first Sunday talk, which he gave today at noon. I told my nephew that I would watch his first talk. He gives me the user I.D. and password.

  I downloaded Zoom and got in with no problem. You had a choice of being seen on camera or not. I chose not to be seen. There were 120 members on the Zoom meeting. Some chose to appear on camera and many chose not to be seen. They were all greeting each other. The Elder announced that you needed to shut your audio off so there would be no distractions. There was a song and a prayer.

  I chose to have a split screen and watch all the members who chose to show their face. Everyone was dressed as if they were at a regular Kingdom Hall meeting. You could see everyone in their kitchens, dining rooms and family rooms. Some looked bored, some were nodding off for a few seconds and some were motionless. I don't know why anyone would show their face and have every movement shown on camera.

  My nephew gave a very nice talk about Matthew 13, where a fine pearl was found for its value and how it was treasured. A talk I've heard a hundred times. Nothing that was said was ground breaking or new.

  Everyone clapped at the ending of the talk. The Watchtower conductor started his spiel about staying for the Watchtower Study. I decided to log off.
• 

  slimboyfat

  Sounds pretty unremarkable.

  Interesting to hear that many have their cameras off.

  So are you going to the memorial?
• 

  RULES & REGULATIONS

  So are you going to the memorial?

  I think I'm going to listen in. I had an Elder a couple of days ago invite me to the Zoom Memorial. He left a four minute message about how Jehovah hasn't given up on me and that my congregation misses me in this difficult year. I'm not calling him back, but will get the password from my family. The radar is on all the irregular attending witnesses because they need to fill in their service hours with letters and phone calls.
  
  
• 

  dropoffyourkeylee

  I also got an 'inactive' call, the first in ten years or more. I would say that the branch may be reacting to an increase in people going inactive.
• 

  slimboyfat

  Can I ask what country you are in? Because I’m interested when you say publishers need to make up time by contacting inactive ones. This was very much the case in the UK at the start of the pandemic, but a few months ago the branch gave instructions that publishers can write to people they don’t know in the territory “at their own discretion [liability/risk]” taking into consideration data protection laws. This has taken the pressure off inactive and family contacts.

  I wonder if the JWs will contact you to ensure you have unleavened bread and fortified wine at home. Or is that unfortified wine? I know nothing about wine or alcohol.
• 

  RULES & REGULATIONS

  Can I ask what country you are in? Because I’m interested when you say publishers need to make up time by contacting inactive ones.

  I'm from Northern Illinois, U.S.A. My niece is a pioneer and has never called me in the 9 years I've been inactive. She called me to pad her pioneer hours. She told me that she mails letters and calls on the phone. No house to house in over one year. She has a list of return visits and either calls them or sends them a letter.

  So, she called me to see how everyone is and also total the time she spent on the phone with me and add them to her monthly pioneer hours.
  
  
• 

  Magnum

  Has something changed? For as long as I was active, JWs weren't supposed to count time on other baptized JWs except under special circumstances (such as one who was baptized but who had finished studying a second publication).
• 

  Rattigan350

  I got a call from an elder a month ago. Then I blocked his number. He called back and then left a text. I wanted to text back saying how poorly they are at shepherding as I have not heard from them in a year and a half, but I decided to not burn any bridges at this time.

  When I join my dad's zoom meetings, I listen on the headphone but I have music playing on my speakers since the mics are muted. I read emails and do graphics and multitask.
• 

  joe134cd

  Actually I also got a call a couple days back inviting me to the special talk and memorial. I was in a good mind to tell him what I really thought. Instead I was polite and went really quiet. Knowing that JWs have no boundaries. I didn’t want to say to much in that I would never get rid of the guy. I have to be careful because if I told him what I really thought it would eventually get back to PIMI relatives. The call was all over in 2 minutes
• 

  smiddy3

  I DA`d myself a couple of years ago ,so I can understand why I`m not on their list ,but my wife has not done so ,so why wouldn`t she ever get a call.?

  We have now been living here about 14 years now ,and nobody has ever wanted to speak with my wife .

  Our niece lived here for many years and never contacted her to try to get her to go to meetings etc.?

  This religion now, is not what I used to think it was !

  But of course we all know now it is just another American man made religion like so many that was spawned in the 18th -19th Century .