That day was probably September 11, 1977, at the conclusion of the 63rd Gilead graduation at the Assembly Hall in Long Island City, New York. The chairman of the meeting, Karl Klein (who always seemed to me, as having garbled speech, unless it was just his heavy German accent) was wrapping up the meeting.
13 years later, Barbara Anderson describes him this way.
'Around 1990, enter Governing Body member, Karl Klein into the picture, a doddering old fellow that lacked good sense or judgment at this point in his life.'
And
JAVA wrote: 22 years ago
'I received this from a former member of Bethel.
' ...Karl called me in for an unexpected meeting at his office one afternoon not long after the Sanchez's and Quilan's were evicted from Bethel... I knew I had been in the company of a certifiable nut.'
Karl Klein had been at Bethel since March 23,1925, so who does he call on to give prayer? Himself? Another GB member? No! New boy Leon Weaver, Jr.
Karl Klein seemed lacking in social graces, apparently the Judge didn't know how to pass on proper etiquette to him.
In Karl's Life Story he wrote in 1984.
'Brother Rutherford was like an understanding and loving father to me,
It might be added that Brother Rutherford’s prayers at morning worship also endeared him to me. Though he had such a powerful voice, when addressing God he sounded just like a little boy talking to his daddy. What a fine relationship with Jehovah that revealed! To have a man of such spiritual stature taking the lead was faith strengthening to me,'
So instead of 'taking the lead' like Rutherford did in prayer, Karl Klein calls on new boy Leon Weaver to give the prayer. Perhaps he was so excited that the GB had picked Leon, a black, and member of the great crowd to stay at Bethel and perhaps lead us into the New World with his eventual leadership position that any etiquette he had was abandoned at the time.
Leon and his wife were sitting in the new boy section, second row from the top in the balcony.
This likely was Leon Weaver's first Gilead graduation experience. As he walks down the right aisle, putting on his coat during the song, I'm thinking is this Klein for real? It was the first time I saw an unanointed give a prayer at a Gilead Graduation.
I could tell he was nervous, who wouldn't be, granted he'd been a CO for a decade, but it wasn't you're normal long Gilead prayer. Afterward seemingly to tell Karl, he wasn't expecting that, who chuckled and seemed to reply like, "I knew you'd do fine."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
'For 24 years, I worked in the Service Department, where brothers often deal with sensitive and complex questions.'