Did anyone really enjoy assemblies?

SydBarrett

The Twickenham post made me think of this.

I have a few JW family members on Facebook and being summertime, their pics of the convention have shown up in my FB feed. Along with their comments about "I wished it would never end" or "what a glorious weekend".

JW's were saying that stuff when I was in too. But did anyone here really ever feel that way. To me it was a dreaded part of my summer vacation from school. There were peripheral aspects I liked. I liked seeing people during lunch intermission that I hadn't seen in a while. Usually a large group would go to dinner on Friday or Saturday night. That was fun I suppose.

But the actual session itself? It was a torture to be endured. The most fun part was that feeling on Sunday afternoon when the most long winded human being they could find in the region finally finished the closing prayer and we could go home. The feeling of it being over was a huge adrenaline rush.

Did most of you feel this way or did you truly feel you got something out of it at the time?

stan livedeath

my first twickers--the one i stayed at a rented room--was spent trainspotting on Wimbledon station platform--for hours, while mum attended the assembly. This lasted each day till it got dark--and mum got off a train and collected me--i was about 12 years old !!! ive no recollection of the assembly itself.

the next 2--and those at murrayfield--was spent with my mates--it was a holiday. I never sat and listened to any talks.

Slow forward a few years--newly married and attended rain soaked Wembley old stadium--actually sat in the rain bored stiff and not listening. Utter waste of time..and i'm proud to say it was the last big ARSEmbly i ever went to--about 1970 ?

Rivergang

The time I most looked forward to was when the bloody thing was over and done with!

(Apart from the 1973 Divine Victory International Assembly, when I fell in love for the very first time. That did add a bit of gloss to it).

blondie

No, I did like some of the food. I took notes commenting on what was fake and contrived (I took a lot of notes, used shorthand though).

titch

Well, yeah, I did, to some extent. When I was young, I was able to work at a Refreshment Stand. One of the brothers would manage the stand. AT those district assemblies---in a large stadium like Dodger Stadium---loudspeakers had been routed into the Refreshment Stand, so we didn't have to go out into the seating area, to listen to the program. We could listen to the program inside the shaded area of the food stand. Thinking of assemblies---it has now been 54 years since the "Peace On Earth" International Assembly was held at Dodger Stadium. For 7 days, July 14th to July 20th. Is there anyone else who's reading this who was there? Just wondering. Best Regards, Everyone.---Titch.

SydBarrett

"Well, yeah, I did, to some extent. When I was young, I was able to work at a Refreshment Stand. One of the brothers would manage the stand"

I remember getting to work food service one year at a circuit assembly as a teenager. (1980's) Being able to move boxes and push food carts around and chat with others felt like heaven compared to sitting for hours while your butt went numb.

SydBarrett

@ Blondie

No, I did like some of the food.

Spiritual or literal?

I liked those morning things with the cream cheese in the middle. And the frozen solid orange juice that became a slushy as the day wore on.

InquiryMan

I did enjoy the programme a lot. Especially the release talks, final talk subdayy, reports from other countries, interviews, drama... But I also looked forward starting school again during the middel of school holidays. 🤣

BluesBrother

Yes.. I did... call me a nerd ( probably right) but there were times when I was really motivated as a dub. Some of the old time speakers were really good at it and had a freedom that you don’t see today . They could really motivate. At trend , At Twickenham with a huge crowd singing “ We Thank You Jehovah “ .... brought tears to the eyes.

The whole experience was better too, with food service and all.

slimboyfat

I liked the book releases best. They are really missing something without the book releases. I guess they want to save money, but they are probably underestimating how much it motivated people to attend all the sessions and speculate on what themed talk was a book title.

Did anyone really enjoy assemblies?

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