Sail Away

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Posts by Sail Away

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  47

  I Ain't Got No Religion No More ... (But I Like to Get Myself Some Gospel Music)

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  i love gospel music.

  i don't feel like i need to believe in "jebus" to appreciate the music.

  i can't go into a gospel church because i might just get religion again - that or i'll be grabbing the mic on be on the stage waving my hands and praising the lord.. i particularly like dylan's gospel period.

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  Sail Away

  I love Hallelujah by Lenard Cohen.
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  6

  JW Convention Bingo

  by Tallon in

  1. social
  2. humour

  came across this on exjw reddit and i cracked up laughing.. for those who are still required to attend the convention for one reason or another here is something that could liven up the day - jw convention bingo.

  .

  it would be hilarious if someone were to jump up and shout bingo!

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  Sail Away

  Fun! When I was waking up, it really ticked me off how many times they told us to be in our seats on time for the music to start, stand up for songs and announcements and when to sit down. We are grownups! I didn't comply.
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  26

  The story of my congregation in the last five years.

  by Crazyguy in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  let’s start with the good news for the congregation that is.

  two new sisters were added to the group a mother and her daughter.

  then the bad news.

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  Sail Away

  My Fil's congregation in upstate New York, US:

  50 publishers

  40 in attendance on Sunday

  6 elders ages 70-80

  6 males under age 30 including born ins (hopefully they are on the way out)

  All attendance numbers were double these 40 years ago.
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  17

  My son graduated last Friday

  by Captain Schmideo2 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have talked about him before on this forum.

  he is now a graduate from mit!.

  it was a lovely weekend.. i got to meet some of the friends he has made in the past four years, and some of their families.. they were very nice, decent, friendly, and enjoyable people.

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  Sail Away

  I decided to break the cycle with my kids.

  Captain, this is what I am most proud of in my life, and you should be as well!

  So happy you had the chance to celebrate together!
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  18

  My failed attempts to help my brainwashed family

  by Addison0998 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  first of all i just want to say a quick thank you to all of you who’s been listening to my story and my little rants and dilemmas lol.

  this website has helped me so much to not feel alone and to keep me from feeling like i’m going crazy.

  anyways, i’m defenitly going to try much harder from this point on to play the part until i move out after this summer.

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  Sail Away

  Addison, sad to say it can take an awful lot to wake up a true believer. I was one of them. I struggled with various doctrinal issues for decades.

  Additionally, I needed to go toe-to-toe with the local elders twice. The first time I demanded and received an apology for the way they mishandled a personal matter. The second time they consulted with Brooklyn Bethel and were instructed to handle a matter in the way I had requested. They were none too happy with my pulling rank.

  In the end the cognitive dissonance nearly killed me. The bottom line was I wasn't going to shun my disfellowshipped son. I would like to say there is always hope, but sadly, I took me 42 years to wake up.

  My husband had faded 30 years earlier, and both of my children were already out. Perhaps you will be the one to lead your family out. Unfortunately, one of the things that kept me in for so long was the belief that I had to stay loyal so that I would be there to welcome back any family members who might have a change of heart. Sometimes the last one standing holds on the longest.
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  10

  LEAKED: WHQ Treasuers Office meeting 2018

  by Fay Dehr in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  leaked: whq treasuers office meeting 2018 [part 1 of 6] https://youtu.be/z17b4_qgpto.

  in this leaked 6-part video meeting, mark sanderson leads an insightful look into how the treasurers office and accounts staff operate.

  cmc = cash management center - of which there are 3. the cost-saving game is afoot!these clips are unedited, so feel free to add comments..

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  Sail Away

  Orphan Crow, I'm with you. I couldn't make it through the introduction of the prayer giver at a budget meeting. I can't even tolerate the cadence of their speech. And no, you can't fix stupid.
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  18

  A & E documentary - family fall-out

  by Tallon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just seen this on exjw reddit - sickening beyond belief!.

  long story short, we have not seen hubbys non identical twin nephews (jeremey and jerome) since we gave the middle finger to the jw's 7 or 8 years ago.

  we last saw our nephews when they were 9 or 10ish.

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  Sail Away

  silas hobbs, I'm happy to hear your family has reconciled and that your daughter has forgiven you and is pursuing an education and career.

  May I ask what woke you and your wife up? For me, the prospect of shunning my son when he was disfellowshipped was the last straw.

  My daughter walked away at age 17 and committed the exact "sins" he was disfellowshipped for. Because her transgressions were not known to the congregation, I was told I could have a relationship with her. She would have to "make things right when she returned", but my son was "being disciplined by Jehovah", and if we were back in Israel, I would have to have thrown the first stone.

  It was all about appearances. Half the elders told me I would have to shun him when he moved out, and the other half (who, by the way, had relationships with their DF'd children) advised to go ahead and check in with him about his well being, but not let it be known in the congregation. Hypocrites!
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  18

  A & E documentary - family fall-out

  by Tallon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just seen this on exjw reddit - sickening beyond belief!.

  long story short, we have not seen hubbys non identical twin nephews (jeremey and jerome) since we gave the middle finger to the jw's 7 or 8 years ago.

  we last saw our nephews when they were 9 or 10ish.

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  Sail Away

  So happy these boys had a soft place to fall and will be loved and supported through the aftermath.

  May the GB and their corporate drones go down in flames. Parents like this don't deserve custody. They deserve time in jail. Any parent with an ounce of humanity would not abandon their own choldren. I do hope A & E does a followup.
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  18

  A & E documentary - family fall-out

  by Tallon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  just seen this on exjw reddit - sickening beyond belief!.

  long story short, we have not seen hubbys non identical twin nephews (jeremey and jerome) since we gave the middle finger to the jw's 7 or 8 years ago.

  we last saw our nephews when they were 9 or 10ish.

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  Sail Away

  I'm with dubstepped on this. My husband was raised in by two fanatical JW parents. Father was an Elder and later the presiding overseer. He was a school teacher, and my husband was not allowed to ride the bus to school. He had to go with his father in the family work van and wait for hours after school doing his homework even in sub-zero winters.

  Absolutely no contact with "worldly" children allowed. Even association within the congregation was severely restricted. During breaks at assemblies, as a young child, he wasn't allowed to leave his seat while his father worked on staging and his mother gossips.

  During summers, Instead of normal childhood play, my husband worked every week day digging foundations by hand, framing walls and later doing roofing for the family real-estate business. Of course, the WTBT$ gets it all. Book study and service from the family home every Saturday. Meeting and field service every Sunday. The only vacation ever was to the 1958 Polo Grounds District Convention.

  They never had a television and only a radio with one station. My husband was not allowed to use the phone. His curfew was 9 p.m. until he moved out. That meant lights out at 9 p.m. sharp.

  My husband pioneered out of high school and was accepted to Bethel. Upon departing his parents told him to never come back, not even for vacation. This was when he was in good standing. Imagine how they were when he faded.

  I won't even get into further of abuses, because that is not my story to tell. Let's just say the severity of "discipline" required a judicial committee meeting on more than one occasion.
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  49

  Motherly Love, that "Unbreakable Bond"

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  my father died a couple of months ago.

  he'd been ill for some time and had many health scares and heart troubles over the years but always managed to keep on going.

  then one time he didn't.. i'm glad i got to know him again and spend some more time with him after so many years missed because of the wts but those years will always be lost forever.

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  Sail Away

  Simon, I'm so happy that you and your son got to spend time with your brother and family at his wedding and that you had some precious time with your Dad at the end of his life.

  It has always been important to my husband to stay in contact with his JW parents even though they have shunned him (necessary family business only; they never initiated contact) for nearly 50 years.

  When my MIL died a few months ago, I asked my husband how he felt about her passing. He said she was, "just some crazy old bitch that hated him", so no great loss.

  Now that my FIL needs help running his real estate business (he is 90 years old, and my MIL always handled the business admin), and my FIL's congregation elders have made it clear that it's not their job to care for him other than spiritually, my FIL expects a call every day at 6:30pm sharp. My husband is glad for the brief check in and has travelled 500 miles to see him 4 times in as many months, and we have just retained an attorney to try to protect him from a local scam artist.

  We did not see my in-laws at all in the last 7 years. My MIL was definitely the hardcore JW, and it's hard not to feel used now. The thing is we all get to choose how we respond to other's behavior. We choose not to let others define who we are. At the same time, there is absolutely no reason to subject ourselves to abuse. Sometimes no contact, as with your mother, is the only option. It's a shame it has to be this way, but it's on her, not you.

  Diane