The Memorial was Useless

cookiemaster

So I just went to the KH here in Romania yesterday, with my parents. Haven't been since the memorial. During the weeks preceding the memorial, they went crazy with the invitations and 'preaching' work, to the point that they'd invite anyone and their grandmother. There were a lot of people at the memorial, so many that there were barely enough seats. Lots of so called submarine witnesses too, the kind that only show up once a year or on special occasions but still consider themselves JWs. Anyway, what shocked me was that yesterday the hall was almost empty. From the 100+ that were at the memorial, NONE of the people invited that day were at the KH for the regular public speech and Watchtower study.

In fact, many of the baptized members of the congregation were missing as well. There were barely 20 people there. From what I gather, this happens every year. At this point I don't see why they get excited to give out the invitations. Clearly, they aren't achieving anything with the invitations. It seems to me that, at least here locally, the memorial is completely useless at attracting new membership and despite all the yearly hype, it never achieves anything in terms of new membership. I wonder if other members of this forum have had similar experiences.

blondie

Thanks for sharing your experience. At one time KHs were built to accommodate 250 people but after 1975, many if not most by now have been downsized. At the old KH I once attended, they had to stop putting out all the chairs because it looked so bad, of course the empty space was still a reminder. Many if not most jws feel their obligation to get everlasting life on a paradise earth in good health and no aging and seeing dead loved ones resurrected (phew) is taken care of by the fake time or ineffective efforts they make in 'field service.' No need to make converts just use god's name once or the word kingdom and everything is fine.

stillin

That's the nature of hype. It's like a sugar high. No real nutritive value, a short burst of energy, often at the expense of your body, then a crash.

cookiemaster

Thanks for your replies Blondie and stillin. That's definitely true. Hype leads to crash and our KH can definitely accommodate more people. I like seeing it empty and airy, but there's something really pathetic seeing it empty for all that memorial hype.

waton

It turns out, jws always do the opposite the bible teaches.

1st Lord's supper : minimum invitations, smallest attendance, total 12.* Anointed partakers 0, Earthly hope partakers 11, next meeting afterwards: attendance 500, not counting sisters.

*now anybody, even disfellowshipped ones like Judas are counted. so: correction:13

Acluetofindtheuser

Here in the states they fixed that empty hall look. Many congregations were merged to fill it up. Two congregations that averaged 70 now have 140 after the merge. Now it's hard to find seats. They are getting the Memorial look every week now. They won't be able to invite the public at the next Memorial because the house is already full.

Biahi

ALL their meetings are useless!

Ding

Few things are as bizarre as a "meal" at which no one partakes of anything.

That said, the Memorial is the closest thing JWs have to a holiday they can celebrate.

I think it has also become a superstition among JWs -- a requirement of spirituality, like people who attend churches only at Easter or Christmas.

blondie

When was the memorial of use, just a pretend show of love and caring and then back to the same lack of love and hypocrisy at the next meeting. A time when elders and other jws would pretend they cared about you and say hi and then back to ignoring you.

Phizzy

I agree with the point the O.P makes that the work leading up to the memorial is a HUGE failure. It evidently does not get "first timers" to return for more, nor does it revive the inactive.

The effort put in before seems to drain even the faithful, so that they have to have a few Meetings off , attendance after the memorial takes some time to get back to "normal", normal of course means that at any one Meeting about 25% of potential attenders are missing.

The Memorial was Useless

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