Posts by darkspilver

45

2017 Annual Meeting

by obarac in

on saturday, october 7.. any chance to get user name and password for stream?.

darkspilver

steve2: I wasn't expecting the end of the Yearbook - so wow! Can anyone confirm that the annual service report will still be available though? On Jworg?

According to the letter to be read out at all congregations, it would appears that, yes, the annual service report will still be available on jworg

October 7, 2017 - Re: Annual Meeting Announcements
The Yearbook will no longer be published. When the worldwide field service report for the 2017 service year becomes available, this information will be published in the "About Us" section of jworg.
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5134799058501632/_post/6251129845317632

Last year (2016 report) I believe was the first time that the WT had actually placed the entire annual statistics page onto the web (excluding the PDF of the publication).

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2017-yearbook/jehovahs-witnesses-service-report-2016/
(click on 'click to enlarge' to expand the table)

The issue maybe the following year - will the 2017 report be removed and replaced by the 2018 report?

I honestly don't think the numbers are the big reason for not producing the Yearbook.

True the numbers will not be so readily viewable via the printed form - and of course I presume the WT think that that's no bad idea.

But I think the real driving force was the desire by the WT to cut-back as much as possible on the actual work needed to be done (to a 'deadline') to produce the (printed-format) Yearbook - research, both archive for country histories, and field ministry experiences from around the world plus layout and pictures for a 'printed/PDF' format.

Remember the WT seems to be dropping a number of graphic printed/PDF content (produced primarily for children) too according to the above letter.

WT is now much more set up for VIDEO - one comment from the Annual Meeting said something like the WT says there set-up at Warwick allows them to produce around 400 videos-a-year (!) - of course most may be only relatively short, but still...

45

2017 Annual Meeting

by obarac in

on saturday, october 7.. any chance to get user name and password for stream?.

darkspilver

Below is apparently the letter being sent out to all congregations regarding the Annual Meeting (unverified - source link at bottom)

October 7, 2017

TO ALL CONGREGATIONS

Re: Annual Meeting Announcements

Dear Brothers

In order to put more emphasis on starting Bible studies and to reduce the amount of material that our brothers must read, the Governing Body recently made a number of exciting decisions. These were announced at the annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania held on Saturday, October 7, 2017.

Beginning January 2018, the public edition of The Watchtower will be published three times a year instead of six times a year. The same will be true for the Awake! For example, the first issue of The Watchtower for 2018 will be distributed during January and February. The first issue of Awake! will be distributed during March and April. Each issue will focus on just one main subject that will have broad appeal.

The number of books, brochures, tracts, contact cards, and videos that will be featured in the field ministry is being reduced. Essential literature items and videos that have proved to be effective in the ministry will remain in our Teaching Toolbox.

Beginning January 2018, specific monthly literature offers will be discontinued. More emphasis will be placed on starting and continuing conversations. Publishers will be encouraged to use good judgment in deciding which item from the Teaching Toolbox to offer and when. Periodic campaigns to distribute Memorial and convention invitations will continue as in the past.

If the book What Can the Bible Teach Us?, which is the simplified edition of the Bible Teach book, is available in a particular language, then production of the Bible Teach book will be discontinued. Publishers may decide whether to transition Bible students to the Teach Us book now or to complete the Bible Teach book with the student. Until supplies of the Bible Teach book are depleted, publishers should continue to offer it to interested persons who show appreciation for the Bible's message.

A simplified edition of the book "Keep Yourselves in God's Love" is being prepared. The new book will be entitled "How to Remain in God's Love". Once this new book is available in a particular language, production of the "God's Love" book will be discontinued. Publishers may decide whether to transition Bible students to the new book or to complete the "God's Love" book with the student.

Encouraging reports about the activity of Jehovah's Witnesses in other lands are now provided regularly by means of JW Broadcasting and jworg. Therefore, the Yearbook will no longer be published. When the worldwide field service report for the 2017 service year becomes available, this information will be published in the "About Us" section of jworg.

The website will continue to publish the features "Activities," "Bible Questions Answered," "Frequently Asked Questions," and "Young People Ask." In addition, the website will regularly publish the features "Help for the Family," "Imitate Their Faith," "The Bible Changes Lives," and "Was It Designed?"

No new content will be added to the following features on jworg: "Bible Character Cards," "Family Worship Projects," "Illustrated Bible Stories," "My Bible Lessons," "Picture Activities," "Study Activities for Children," study guides for What Does the Bible Really Teach?, Young People Ask worksheets, and the video series What Your Peers Say. However, the existing content will remain for now on jworg.

It is hoped that these organizational refinements will help us to focus on our goal of teaching "all those who [are] rightly disposed for everlasting life."—Acts 13:48.

We send our warm Christian love.

Your brothers

PS to bodies of elders:

Please arrange for this letter to be read to the congregation at the conclusion of the next congregation meeting. If the circuit overseer is visiting your congregation, he should read this letter at the conclusion of the meeting. At circuit assemblies and conventions, the letter should be read by the last speaker on the program at the conclusion of his talk. Thereafter, the letter should be posted on the information board. This postscript should neither be read to the congregation nor be posted on the information board.

Congregations will soon receive their supply of issue No. 1 of the 2018 public edition of The Watchtower. As noted above, each magazine for the public will be distributed for a two-month period. Therefore, we have automatically increased your standing requests for these magazines. The service overseer and magazine coordinator (or magazine servant) should carefully monitor the distribution of magazines and adjust the congregation's standing request to match actual needs. - See the October 20, 2015, letter to all congregations.

When the congregation's supply of Bible Teach books runs out, additional supplies should be requested from the branch office until you are notified that the supply is depleted. To make good use of remaining supplies of that book, the service overseer may choose to feature it in the congrega-tion's public witnessing activity. He may also direct well-qualified publishers to distribute copies of the book to institutions such as libraries, schools, universities, retirement communities, and nursing homes. - See the October 14, 2016, letter to all bodies of elders.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/74xkt6/re_annual_meeting_announcements/

5

March 2, 2017 BOE Re: Broadcast Events Held in Kingdom Halls

by wifibandit in

march 2, 2017 to all bodies of elders in the united states branch territory re: broadcast events held in kingdom halls.

darkspilver

Interesting comment regarding contributions from Annual Meeting at a KH :

I just got done collecting my congregations donations. Literally $15. The elders had earlier decided to combine the WWW and the local congregation boxes into one. If they hadn't, the amount to send to the branch for this wonderful program would have been $0.00 as all of the $15 was in the local congregation box. Hilarious.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/74rger/annual_meeting_2017_megathread/do1loi1/

Also - despite the OP letter it seems that, although the above BoE followed guidance on 'combining' the contribution boxes - they DID NOT place temporary 'Worldwide Work' labels over the 'Local Congregation' labels.

Also, if the congregation contributes $150 each month to the KH Operating Committe (for KH expenses and utilities) - that works out at around $15-per-meeting EXPENSES anyway that could be subtracted from the contributions before sending to WT....

October 2, 2017 - Re: Contributions Received at the 2017 Annual Meeting

• Please place temporary labels on the contribution boxes so that all boxes are clearly labeled “Worldwide Work.”
• The elders may estimate expenses that were incurred during the use of the Kingdom Hall for the annual meeting and deduct the total from the contributions received. The expenses may include utilities and supplies, but not the purchase or rental of audio/video equipment.
• Please transfer the net contributions to the branch office using the jworg website. The amount should be submitted as a donation to the worldwide work.

45

2017 Annual Meeting

by obarac in

on saturday, october 7.. any chance to get user name and password for stream?.

darkspilver

2018: They will no longer produce the Yearbook The GB has decided that all the info will be on jworg and broadcast. YB 2017 is the last one.

It doesn't necessarily mean the WT will not publish the full country-by-country listings/numbers/statistics.

What was interesting about last year was that I believe it was the first time that the WT had actually placed the entire annual statistic page onto the web (excluding the PDF of the publication).

In fact it made it so much easier the 'read' the table this time because you could simply copy and paste it into a third-party spreadsheet program such as Excel and play about with the columns etc.

Of course, losing the Yearbook will be a huge ground-breaking hole in the JW Library - and the stats, if presented online in the same way as last year, will not be so readily readable by most JWs even those with internet access, but still, it doesn't necessarily mean they won't actually be published at all....

https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2017-yearbook/jehovahs-witnesses-service-report-2016/

(click on 'click to enlarge' to expand the table)

45

2017 Annual Meeting

by obarac in

on saturday, october 7.. any chance to get user name and password for stream?.

darkspilver

Highlights/Lowlights

Approximately 3.5 hours in length.
Jersey City Assembly Hall with 4,509 Locations tied in across the United States. Annual Meeting Combined attendance 671,126

Year text: Isaiah 40:31 - But those hoping in Jehovah will regain power
Starting Jan 2018 only 3 public editions of The Watchtower and 3 public editions of Awake! The whole magazine will cover ONE subject. "Is the bible still relevant today?" will be the first new magazine.
2018: They will no longer produce the Yearbook The GB has decided that all the info will be on jworg and broadcast. YB 2017 is the last one.
New Book: How to remain in God's love - It'll replace the current gods love book Keep Yourself In God's Love
A "Toolbox" section will be in the JW library app.
Spiritual Paradise is a state of mind.
Ezekiel's temple vision was fulfilled in 1919
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/74rger/annual_meeting_2017_megathread/

Ezekiel's temple vision

Temple has no high priest or day of atonement
Temple is a worship arrangement
Paul shows us worship arrangement
Ezekiel shows us Jehovah's standard for worship
Ezekiel's temple vision is fulfilled in final days
Temple was fulfilled 29 c.e. Ezekiel's temple was fulfilled 1919
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/74rger/annual_meeting_2017_megathread/do1lqbf/

Making Our Blows Count (talk by TPT on the change to ministry)

We are involved in the greatest preaching work in all history. We produce quality publications. The GB wants us to be clear that what Paul said reflects on everyone of us. "Not running around aimlessly." We are living with limited time left in this system. To truly make our blows count. Turn to acts 13:48, "all those rightly disposed for everlasting life became believers." To try to help someone who is not rightly disposed is a waste of time. Jehovah draws people to "the truth." Not our personalities.
The GB has identified two problems that adversely effect our effectiveness in the ministry. For many years we were focusing on placing magazines. For many years, people read our mags but have done nothing to make progress. We need to refocus. Jesus said to go and make disciples. Jesus did not say go place a lot of literature! We're reminded of Ezekiel 33:31, 32. "They will hear your words, but no one will act on them."
This is a time for decision, for people to act on what they learn. Let the angels and god's spirit take you to rightly disposed ones. Our work is two-fold, a warning work and a praise to God by being out there.
Problem 2 is this: too many tools. All of these publications are too overwhelming. It has become a tool shed! In view of this, the GB is making an adjustment. Jehovah's spirit is moving it.
Starting Jan 2018, there will only be 3 PUBLIC editions of the WT and 3 editions of the Awake for the year. And only one subject per magazine.
They will re-evaluate how this goes for two years, and then make any needed adjustments.
Changes to the STUDY EDITION to the WT, to simplify the style of the standard edition. Allows for a larger font style. The GB decided, as of January 1, 2019, they are combining their editions (so no more printed simplified and standard editions). Also, a new book, that has been dumbed down, I mean simplified.
https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/74w7fc/making_our_blows_count_talk_by_tpt_on_the_change/