Well it’s not really new light, but it’s hilarious, you’re right !
2019 BOE Elders letter May 13 England - Ireland Data Protection
by Not_Culty 62 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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nicolaou
Honestly, I think my hardcore jw mum (75) will just carry on jotting down not-at-homes and making notes about 'interest shown'. Might take a while to get this bedded in but it's certainly a good development.
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Spiral
Growing up and being a young adult JW, having good records and a "magazine route" and a full book of RVs with proper records about the interested person was paramount.
Is anyone doing any RVs any more, anywhere?
Recently, we had JWs come to the door. Hadn't seen any in over three years. We didn't answer. But we watched (lol). They walked up, rang the bell, waited maybe 15 seconds, and walked off. No attempt to leave any literature (I guess that whole thing is gone) and no records were taken. I'm in the US, but I'm thinking this trend is everywhere, given the interest in many countries about privacy protection.
I guess if you have interest, you have to remember it in your head? (yeah, like that's going to happen)
I didn't realize the extent of this, and I wouldn't want to bring it up to the JWs I know. (They'll want to instruct me.)
Service is just wandering around now, it seems.
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slimboyfat
Stopping not at homes will be a relief, and not a big deal. But how is the ministry supposed to function without taking notes for return visits? It doesn’t seem feasible. Who would want to pioneer when there is not even the prospect of making progress with calls?
Are publishers even allowed to ask the householder if they can take a note for a return visit. The letter doesn’t make any allowance for that. Apparently it’s no notes at all! Did I pick up right, that they are allowed to give householders their phone numbers? But how many householders are going to take the initiative to contact? Zero, I suspect. And what publisher wants to hand out their number to first calls anyway? Unless to arrange a rendezvous, which does happen I suppose. My imagination is getting carried away.
And how are foreign language congregations supposed to locate and visit people in the target language? It seems impossible.
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smiddy3
And how are foreign language congregations supposed to locate and visit people in the target language? It seems impossible.
That is a good point slim ,not being able to make a record of foreigners with a different language than the country they reside in and speak little or none of that language.
And not able to pass it on in the congregation.
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slimboyfat
Presumably they have sent letters to foreign language congregations to explain how on earth this is supposed to work. Or will they just leave them to their own devices?
I can imagine a lot of pioneers being quite distressed about the pointlessness of ministry after this change. And pioneers in foreign language congregations times ten. They will feel confused and abandoned.
Watchtower must have been pretty scared of being fined to make this change.
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sir82
Yeah I didn't think of that - foreign language congregations.
In such congregations, maybe one house/apartment out of, what? 1 out of 100? 1 out of 1000? ...might have a speaker of that language.
Those congregations rely on records of addresses of foreign-speakers, so they don't waste time (well, don't waste it any more than usual) calling on 99 or 999 residences which are "someone else's territory".
If you can't keep such records, how is that even going to work?
As I said, if this is a real "thing", and its effects ripple across the world, it is the end of the door to door ministry as we know it (it might still exist in some modified form but it will be much different).
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smiddy3
When its going to affect their hip pocket (money) that`s when they make changes .
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slimboyfat
Could I point out that this letter is addressed to Britain and Ireland, not England and Ireland - for some of us, not a trivial distinction.
The letter says you can “arrange a return visit” but you are not allowed to record their name or address. How are you supposed to do that?
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3rdgen
Illegal aliens who risk being deported do not want their Names and language recorded by strangers selling religion.