Posts by slimboyfat

112

Congregation Reassignments in Ohio?

from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.

obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.

can anyone confirm this?.

slimboyfat

I don’t think the GB would ever voluntarily lose membership or contract their presence if they had any other option. If there was any possibility of growing and remaining afloat they would pursue it full on. The idea that you can have a controlled decline of the religion is probably a bit like trying to have a controlled fire in a barn full of hay. Anyone stupid enough to attempt it will soon have a pile of ashes for their trouble. Because loss of morale can take on a decisive downward trajectory of its own and declines can compound before you know it. Credibility, once lost, can be difficult to impossible to regain.

Plus as former Witnesses I think there is a tendency to overstate the strategic prowess of the GB. If it looks like they are presiding over an incompetent almighty mess, then that’s probably because that’s exactly what it is. Arguing that it’s really part of some ingenious strategic plan is just another variety of exceptionalism akin to the pedestal of “faithful and discreet slave”.

112

Congregation Reassignments in Ohio?

by My Name is of No Consequence in

from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.

obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.

can anyone confirm this?.

slimboyfat

How desperate must the org. Be to have to do this?!

They are in existential crisis. It’s not clear if KH sales will be enough to reverse the situation. Selling KHs will bring in some quick money, but it will also result in a pretty swift reduction in donations. They are on a downward spiral, and the amazing thing is that the financial cost of settling abuse cases is bound to get much worse before it gets any better. If they are already in this much trouble, is there much chance the organisation can survive this crisis?

112

Congregation Reassignments in Ohio?

by My Name is of No Consequence in

from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.

obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.

can anyone confirm this?.

slimboyfat

They are in serious trouble. I told you so. (Where’s Morph?)

Closing KHs is an absolute disaster for morale and long term growth. And they know this. The only possible reason they would be doing this is because they have absolutely no other option. The money has run out.

Will KH sales bring in enough money to save them? That’s the question.

112

Congregation Reassignments in Ohio?

by My Name is of No Consequence in

from what i understand, a letter was read this past week in regards to congregation reassignments and that the elders want to meet with people at their homes to tell them where they have been reassigned.

obviously, this would be due to the merging and dissolution of congregations.

can anyone confirm this?.

slimboyfat

1975 - no light bulb
A generation is "2 overlapping groups" and can span 180+ years - no light bulb
Taking blood "components" is a sin worthy of eternal destruction, but taking blood "fractions" is A-OK - no light bulb
Your Kingdom Hall loan is forgiven, replaced by a never-ending monthly demanded payment - no light bulb
Dozens of branch offices closed, Awake magazine reduced from 768 to 48 pages per year, 100+ year tradition of Yearbooks abandoned, etc etc. etc. ad nauseum & infinitum - no light bulb
Why would "we're closing your Kingdom Hall, drive somewhere else" cause any such "light bulb" moment?

Because each of the other changes involve just accepting abstract changes or a reduction in what you are receiving.

Actually rearranging your life so that you can travel greater distances to make meetings involves you actively having to do something.

Plus it comes on top of all the other changes you mention. So there is likely a cumulative effect as well. For many the additional ask will surely be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

68

Cart work faces headwinds.

by lastmanstanding in

my little bethel bird has whispered in my ear some encouraging news.

it has been reported to the canadian branch that some witnesses doing cart work had police stop them from carting in public parks.

the direction sent to the southern ontario congregations is to cease carting until further notice.. this is no joke.. have a jw-free day..

slimboyfat

The whole idea is getting a bit old. I think JWs are thoroughly fed up with the whole thing. It’s a lot more pointless and depressing than door to door work. If you’ve not even got an interesting partner to chat with on the carts it must be excruciating.

3

Is this the future for the org?

by careful in

the catholic church is really having to fess up.

check this out:.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/harrisburg-pennsylvania-diocese-priests-accused-sexual-abuse-today-2018-08-01/.

slimboyfat

It doesn’t seem right that Watchtower can pay money in exchange for silence about what has happened. They should pay compensation and the matter should be public. I agree it will have an impact on donations if the details and the amounts paid become public knowledge. More importantly it may have an impact on changing their policy.

28

I don't get why some point to the no tolerance for gays and subjugation of women as a JW thing.

by blownaway in

some churches have taken the step to allow gays, women instructing men ect.

but its not a jw thing.

its a bible thing.

slimboyfat

Saying that homosexuality “should not be accepted by society” is an even stronger statement against gay people than opposition to gay marriage. Dictionaries define homophobia as prejudice against homosexual people. If saying that homosexuality doesn’t belong in society is not prejudiced, then what is?

Anyway my main point is that, whatever the question, or whatever your definition, JWs stand out as being more opposed to homosexuality than other groups. This gap will probably widen even further, until Watchtower changes its teaching.

14

Paranoia at Britain Branch?

by The Fall Guy in

i just 'phoned britain branch and asked to speak to someone in the public information department.

it looks like the days of questioning the branch over the 'phone are a thing of the past.. here is the substance of my conversation with the sister who answered the telephone:.

operator: "what sort of information, please - is it a legal question or an accounting or construction question?".

slimboyfat

I would hate to answer the phones at bethel, it must be the most hated job.

To lighten the mood, and because Morph’s comment reminded me ...

I saw a man in the supermarket throwing around yoghurt and milk and cheese. I said how dairy!

28

I don't get why some point to the no tolerance for gays and subjugation of women as a JW thing.

by blownaway in

some churches have taken the step to allow gays, women instructing men ect.

but its not a jw thing.

its a bible thing.

slimboyfat

According to the Pew survey JWs are by far the most homophobic religious group, more so even than Mormons or Evangelicals. And those groups are likely to soften more quickly than JWs in response to societal norms. So I think it’s fair to say JWs are beginning to stand out on this issue.

The chart on this page shows that JWs stand out.

https://religionnews.com/2015/11/03/mormons-50-more-likely-to-accept-homosexuality-than-in-2007-says-new-pew-study/

14

Evolution of a congregation 1978- 2018

by joey jojo in

our whole congregation was excited as we stood in front of our brand new kh and smiled for the photographer from the local newspaper.. for years we had been travelling 30 mins each way to attend the meetings and now, after a big effort of donations and hard work we finally had our own kh in our own town.

in the picture, there were 45 smiling faces of all ages, from the newborn to the old brother that had turned 100 and everyone in between.

the year was 1978.. the congregation grew and shrank over the years, probably hitting its peak during the 80's and 90's, there was even a renovation in the early 90's that the local brothers donated towards, for the benefit of the local town to hear the good news about the imminent arrival of the end.

slimboyfat

Thanks, very interesting account. Could be replicated many times, I suspect. I wish we had a database of KHs so we could chart the decline.

When the talk about KH consolidation was delivered a few months ago, a local elder joked at the end of the item that the local KH was going to be closed and we would attend a nearby town. At least the elder and the congregation took it as a joke. But I wonder if it will actually happen. At its peak the congregation had around 90 publishers in the 1980s. Now it’s about 45 and half of those are over 60. Ocassionally two children come, no teenagers, a couple of people in their 20s.