Was it the same for you all?

Peppermint

Do you think Jehovah?s Witnesses act differently in parts of the country or world other then your own?

Witnesses claim that one congregation is just like another, sort of like McDonalds. However in my experience this does not seem to be true.

When I first became a witness (aged 16) the congregation I joined was to be honest, enjoyable, open minded, and very liberal. The elders allowed us to party in large numbers, drink, go away on trips together, camping etc. All this was done in a spirit of trust.

The funny thing is although on the outside we may have appeared ?worldly? in JW. Circles, we were infact well behaved.

In other congregations near to us, the elders banned all their teens going on any of our trips. Those congregations contained bitter and angry young man and women, who conformed on the outside.

Alas during a growth period in the eighties my congregation split and everything changed, to be honest it may have been a bit of a one off. But it now shows me that oppressive rulemaking does no good.

I have also noted that witnesses in America seem to be controlled by the elders more then here in Europe.

Midget-Sasquatch

From my limited experience in a handful of congregations, I agree with you Peppermint. The Italian congregation I grew up in was made up of people who were not as anal and restrictive as those I've come to know in several of the english congregations. A wide variety of cultural traditions and fun activities were enjoyed and young people were having all sorts of parties and fun trips. You just had to be part of the incrowd but what else is new?

As to religious matters, my father was even an MS for over a decade, despite having us go to a catholic school all that time (my mom was not a dub back then). But when a new elder from Toronto was moved into the congregation and made PO (to set maters straight according to the CO), he quickly brought the rest in line with WT rules. He got on my Dad's case big time and cracked down on a lot of the "questionable" traditions. I ended up switching school systems in my crucial final year so they wouldn't remove my father as an MS. Alot of the teens and young adults figured they'd switch to the english and enjoy the party scenes there. They were looked upon as more materialistic and worldy by the dubs in those congregations.

Sunspot

With the exception of a few KHs here in the NE United States, I think it's more of a matter of how things are viewed as the years go by. Things that were allowed back in the 60's and 70's are really discouraged now. As the "end" gets closer, the WTS cage gets smaller, and hardly anything fun is done on a group basis.

I do remember back in the 80's---a young 25 year-old sister had just moved here from FL. It was summertime, and she was wearing a very "daring" backless and low-cut sundress that raised a lot of eyebrows! Talk went around that the congos in FL were more permissive that they were in northern NY........I never really knew if they were or not :-)

Annie

Mulan

It sure was different in the Seattle area. I must say though, that when I was growing up a JW, things were pretty much the same in all the congregations I visited. We used to have large JW parties, for the young people from all over the area, with one or two parents there to supervise. Nothing bad ever happened either. We were good kids. (early 60's)

When we were raising our children, there was a marked difference between the Seattle side and the Bellevue side of the circuit. Bellevue is an upscale community on the other side of Lake Washington from Seattle. The congregations there were more affluent. The kids were encouraged to go to college long before the WTS gave it the go ahead. The men wore their hair longer, (when long hair was in style but JW men had to look almost military) and their clothes were flashier. We heard many stories about the goings on in Bellevue.

So I must say that nowadays, congregations are definitely not all the same.

new light

I have found that each congregation has a distinct personality. It would seem economic prosperity is a major factor, along with teenaged population, number of "old school" elders, and so forth. I was in one particular congregation with a high number of professionals which meant families with disposable income and parents who worked around normal people, not by themselves in an Applebees scrubbing the grill at 3am. Frequent vacations and fun hobbies lead to a very laid-back JW, and that congregation's elders were some fun guys (for JWs). Let me put it this way: It would have been a lot harder to leave the org if I had been in this cong at the time, beacuse there would have been so much more to lose.

I've seen other congs where a KH explosion would have been a welcome event. Everyone dragging their feet, delivering their parts from the stage as if they are going to the chair after the meeting, no social activities, depressing accounts report, you get the idea. Come to think of it, this might just be an example of dubs that can't afford anti-depressants. Maybe that is the difference.

Evesapple

No they are not, we grew up in an extremely strict congregation where you were counseled for any gathering over 10 even in your own home. That was one Janesville, WI congregation on the other side they were far more lenient. While living in AZ I was DF'd and one of my mom's ways of trying to make me come back was to tell me that her cong. is not as strict, so I didn't have to go out in service all the time nor attend all the meetings no one told on you.

Also, when my parents were in the Netherlands for 5 weeks (my dad's work), after the bookstudy they broke out the alcohol for a social hour.

Yeah Unity Schmunity.....it doesn't exist like they profess.....

Preston

From what other people have told me my congregation was VERY liberal. After I came out to several people in the congregation as gay I was surprised that I wasn't disfellowshipped on the spot. The elders knew about my sexual orientation but after I refused to answer any questions regarding if I was having sex or not (I didn't feel that under the circumstances they had to know), I guess they felt there was not enough evidence to initiate a committee. I left, and long after I got married to my husband. None of them knew about my wedding to my husband though, I'm sure if they did then they'd df me.

Doubtfully Yours

I'm certain that it might be a bit different in agreement to the locals' culture, but the same in the core of the religion.

Like in some regions the women might not wear pants because the local culture frowns upon it. I even know of a region of the world where they all go topless, and guess what?! Our missionaries there have to preach topless as well! One missinary couple told this experience in a gathering recently.

So, there you have it.

DY

BrendaCloutier

The cong I grew up in was pretty good. Lot's of laughter. There was a great amount of brotherly love that I recall, and a lot of charity when an individual or family was in need of help. In the late 60's and 70's us gang of kids would pal around together. When we were younger, it was with young adult supervision. When we got older, it was just us. We were all basically good kids. We'd go out to a nice dinner as a group and the waiter would allow a glass of wine. Etc. We went swimming, bowling, rollerskating, and so on.

After the cong. split, and my dad was asked to stay with the old cong because it was mostly black and in need of elderly guidance, I missed my friends because most of them got to go to the new cong in the new hall. I just realized in the last few months here on the board how hurt and abandoned I felt... and was.

The new cong was cool though. It was mostly black. There was a lot of fellowship in that new hall. When the KM would allow 15-30 min of our own program, we would often choose to SING! Brother O would be up on the platform at the mike flailing away singing off-key and we'd all be standing and singing. He'd usually have a continuing theme to the songs and give a very short discourse between them. Brother B was often counselled - sometimes teasingly, sometimes seriously - because he looked like a peacock! Flashy shirts and ties. But they suited him.

When I married and moved to my husbands cong. First I wondered where nobody was... the seats were mostly full, but because there were no beautiful black faces, it looked mostly empty! And no one sang! Everyone hid behind their hands or books and mumbled. I had to learn to tone it down because here I was singing out and off-key.

There were other things wrong with that cong. that I moved into. But I've been through that before and I don't wanna rehash it this fine Monday morning

Merry Merry Christ Mass to you all

Bren

BluesBrother

It was interesting that Peppermint was talking of her experiences here in the UK , because I would say exactly the same .

Same faith, different interpretation. It all depends on the body of elders. If you get a bunch of rule-book men who have not the courage to set the agenda, then you have a dull as ditchwater congo. I believe also that our observations reflect the changing times. Elders too often today have beem brought up within the borg, and can only see the outside as a dangerous place because they have never been there.

My other theory refers to the withdrawal of the elder rotation. For a few years we had the benefit of different men leading every year. Now it is Bro So and So's congo and if he gives a negative attitude to the body, then that is it

NB I would have loved to have been the only white boy in Brenda Cloutier's congregation. Sure sounds like fun!! The way worship is meant to be

Was it the same for you all?

Share this