by AK - Jeff 36 Replies latest jw experiences
I always wondered why there were never any JW's helping in the soup kitchens in the bigger cities....they figure "spiritual food" is more important, therefore they would offer the magazines to a homeless person.....wierdo's.... and I still hate the fact that they first help out their fellow JW's before anyone else in times of disasters.....makes me ill..
Delilah
I heard from my niece [from where her info came I do not know] that when the WTC was hit on 9-11 the bethel-boys stood on the street and handed out magazines to the crowd fleeing over the Brooklyn Bridge rather than actually doing much to help in a real way. She also said they did provide some kind of temporary shelter to about five thousand people too, although she was unsure of in what way they did that. Anyone aware if this it true or not?
Jeff
As an insurance agent, I have seen both the Catholic Charities and the Mormon Church pay premiums for needy members. I know we have a lot of JW clients (they don't know I am an x-jw or they would probably insure elsewhere) and I see ones that can't always pay their auto insurance. I have NEVER seen a check from the WTS or local hall.
Also, growing up we were VERY poor and at times did not have much to eat. We also had times that my mom had to beg to not get the electric turned off. We never got help. One day my mom was trying to help a single lady with kids. She had no money for food. My mom gave her some food, but we did not have much. When she called the elders for help for this women she was studying with she was told that they had no resources to help her. My mom drove the lady to a Baptist church outreach that gave her enough food for a week and told her to come back if she needed more help. The lady never became a JW. Big suprise! I bet she became a Baptist.
oh man o man, did this ever bother me. i was a single mom on welfare with 4 boys and it was wrong to take food from the salvation army....but in our community, it was the only food bank. soooo what was i to do....so i did take and i felt very guilty for doing so. but then again, some bros and sisters shopped at the sally anne, while others would not. and i must say that a couple of times i did get help, but when you are really broke, its an ongoing thing of not been able to buy enough food....so its a struggle every month to make ends meet. and i just hated getting help from the congregation book study like that. and what use to make me really mad was how one older sister bragged on how much food was in her freezer...she just did not know what to do with it....that really pissed me off...she knew my situation and the situation of the other sister that was with us....did she offer to help out and share...nooooo.
I always thought that there should have been a food pantry in the kingdom hall....but it never was done...
ohhh and one time, i did get food from the bros and sisters and some were really good, fresh meat, treats for the kids, but some donated stale out of date stuff...
I guess what i am trying to say is that they should be more community minded and not lay on the guilt to bros and sisters when they do have to reach out for help.
anyways thats my 2 cents worth to the discussion
joanne
Yes yes and yes. I never understood this, and it really got to me when I tried to explain to my Catholic family why JWs did not help people in dire straits. I felt guilty that JW missionaries did nothing to help build schools or hospitals. Now I wonder, "why did it take me so long to figure out what kind of org the borg really was, and why not step away from them sooner."
Yes, a lot. I was embarrassed by it.
I think Midwich Cuckoo makes an excellent point about how KIngdom Halls, which even in the case of those with three congregations meeting, are sadly underutilized and might otherwise be put to use as a real community resource for charitable works by any resourceful organization with a social conscience -- but that, of course, is the problem.
Also, correct me if I'm wrong, but I understand that whenever JW volunteers repair a fellow dub's storm-damaged house, the recipient of this assistance is strongly ``encouraged" to sign over any proceeds from his/her homeowner's insurance in excess of the cost of materials to -- you guessed it -- the boys in Brooklyn/Patterson. So once again, it's win/win-- the borg gets favorable publicity, with photo-ops and all, the rank-and-file dubbies who volunteer to do the work get little more than ``brownie points" with Bethel, and there's even gravy that flows to the top.
It's been said that "charity begins at home", yet rarely have we seen dubs in real need provided with what they need. How can they see the importance of assisting others in need?
On a day when the KH is NOT used, it should be opened for distribution of food for these people. ''God's House'' should be a Sanctuary, not a lock-up shed.
Can't imagine this ever happening. Dubs in Florida have been advised (read that .. ordered out) that they may not go to Kingdom Halls should they need shelter in the event of storm disasters. For insurance reasons of course.
I'm sure that they sorely miss our nice monthly checks and other such donations. We have always been there for dubs or others who need help. That money we used to give to the hall goes elsewhere.
A pock on all their houses.
The UK Watchtower Society is a registered charity with the following aims:
TO ADVANCE THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION AS PRACTISED BY THE BODY OF CHRISTIAN PERSONS KNOWN AS JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES BY: (A) PREACHING THE GOSPEL OF GOD'S KINGDOM UNDER JESUS CHRIST UNTO ALL NATIONS AS A WITNESS TO THE NAME, WORD AND SUPREMACY OF ALMIGHTY GOD, JEHOVAH; (B) PRODUCING AND DISTRIBUTING BIBLES AND OTHER RELIGIOUS LITERATURE IN ANY MEDIUM AND EDUCATING THE PUBLIC IN RESPECT THEREOF; (C) PROMOTING RELIGIOUS WORSHIP; (D) PROMOTING CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY WORK; (E) ADVANCING RELIGIOUS EDUCATION; (F) MAINTAINING ONE OR MORE RELIGIOUS ORDERS OR COMMUNITIES OF SPECIAL MINISTERS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES.
Clever or what!
When I was a kid I was watching a "Feed the Children" program that was asking for donations to help starving people in Ethiopia. After watching for awhile I asked my parents if they would make a donation and they refused explaining that it is more important to sell people literature than to give them food and shelter... anyway, Jehover was going to give them paradise if they starved to death.
After leaving the bOrg I went to www.children.org and "adopted" a child in the Philippines. Every month I send a donation. Also, for different holidays and his birthday I send extra money for gifts and needed household items. Just my way of making up for all of the years I was forbidden to help.
