What was the longest Elder Meeting you have ever experienced?

by Yondaime 9 Replies latest jw experiences

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  Yondaime

  A couple years back my hall had around 12 elders, and the body was literally divided into little factions of elders(Gotta love Jehovah's holy spirit !). The branch sent 2 more elders to help resolve the issues between them, and that didn't help at all.

  So when the Circuit Overseer visited, a meeting was held after the Sunday meeting. I waited in the hall by myself since the rest of my family was out of town for a certain family event. I literally assisted 2 different meetings during my dads elder meeting. One in French and one in Spanish. Luckily I was friends with some people in the Spanish congregation, so I got to go out to eat with a family. I would've asked them to take me home, but I lived  a 45 min drive from the hall I attended,thinking that the meeting would end by the time I returned, I asked them to bring me back.Once I returned to the hall the meeting was still going on, but this time you could hear yelling and a huge table-slapping noise. I was mortified and did not believe what was happening.

  Couple hours later the meeting finally ended, and my Dad finally came out. Everyone including the Circuit Overseer looked tired, and their faces were sweaty. One of the elders looked like they were about to pass out. My Sunday meeting ended at 12:45 pm, and  the elder meeting finished at around 9:30 at night. I was able to assist two meetings and go out to dinner! Once I returned it was still happening.

  After that meeting 7 of the 12 elders were relieved of their positions.

  What was the longest elder meeting you've ever experienced?

   
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  Giordano

  Do you remember what issues they were having? 

  I've served on foundation  boards and one advocacy association where bed and butter issues were important to all of us and never remember anything but civility.

  There was a JW KH building committee where things got a little testy........  this was before the quick built.
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  sir82

  A few years back we had a very elderly CO was teetering on the edge of senility.

  The Friday evening meeting went on...and on....and on.....

  Started at 7:00, by 11:30 he wasn't even half way thru his outline / agenda.

  So we agreed to meet Saturday afternoon. That meeting went on...and on....and on....I forget if it was 2 or 3 hours, and he still wasn't finished with his outline / agenda.

  So we met again on Sunday morning prior to the meeting.

  Subtle hints during the meetings, to the CO, to, you know, step things up a bit?, were met with a withering stare, followed by the old guy droning on....and on.....and on....

  I have no recollection of what he talked about for so long.
  
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  cofty

  We recommended a prominent (wealthy) elder for deletion once. He appealed to the branch and they sent in 3 elders to investigate. The meeting took an entire Saturday afternoon.

  In the end they had to agree with us but it was torture.

  Our PO was useless at chairing meetings so we had a lot of long tedious ones where some elders waffled endlessly. I am very impatient at meetings. If it has already been said shut up FFS!
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  _Morpheus

  Dear god.....  I was on some 3-4 hour mini marathons but nothing even close some of those
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  cappytan

  I was like the OP. I was the guy waiting on my Dad to get out of his elder's meetings.

  For as long as I can remember, my dad was the PO/C.O.B.E. of every congregation we were involved with. He was a real stickler for time. So even if the issue wasn't resolved, he stuck to the 2-hour "rule" and would adjourn the meeting once two hours went by.
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  Phizzy

  I was never an |Elder, but I admired an old boy in our Congo. Long before there was any guidance on how long they should take, he used to set a limit, say 3 hours, after that time he would say "Right, I'm off" 

  The funny thing was that as he lived out in the "sticks" and could not drive, another Elder had to drive him home.

  I bet he really pissed the B.O E off, but they should have sorted their shit out, and he wouldn't have had to do it.

  He also asked me about how to clandestinely record the Elder's meetings, it was a long time ago, so I told him about small recording devices available at the time.; I don't know if he ever carried out his idea, but it was mainly to demonstrate to the other Elders how much time they all wasted.

  He was a guy who thought something through, and then did what he had decided, even if it was wrong, bless him, but he had no time to waste like all the other waffling, up their own arse Elders.
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  stuckinarut2

  There are some really long ones in "my" cong at the moment...

  Probably discussing ME!?! 
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  Athanasius

  I served as an elder from 1972-1984, and don't recall any elder's meeting being longer than 2 hours.  Of course it was a different religion back then.  Still most of the meetings were routine without any conto.  However, the JC meetings were a different matter and could go on for hours and hours.
  
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  I've been in some long ones. I think the longest was 8 hours.
  

  Such a waste of time. I wish I could have those hours... and years back.