besty

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Posts by besty

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  3

  Plymouth Brethren have their application for Charitable Status accepted - finally.

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/go/news/article/1226627/charity-commission-will-accept-plymouth-brethren-application-charitable-status/.

  the regulator says the preston down trust, whose initial application was rejected in 2012, has agreed to change its governing documentsthe charity commission has said it will accept an application for charitable status from the preston down trust, a devon-based plymouth brethren congregation.. the regulator announced today that it would accept an application from the trust, which adheres to a doctrine of separation that limits members contact with the outside world, after it agreed to change its governing documents.. the commission said the trust had agreed to amend its trust documents by entering into a deed of variation, which sets out, in a manner that is binding on trustees, the churchs core religious doctrines and practices.. it signals an end to a dispute dating back to february 2009, when the trust first made an application for charitable status.. a draft deed of variation, published by the commission, includes directions on issues such as how disciplinary matters should be dealt with among members.

  it also says meeting halls should display prominent details about how non-members can attend services.. the commissions decision document says that it has heard allegations of harsh disciplinary practices for minor transgressions and people being cut off from the community.. it says there had been claims that threats of legal action had been made against people who spoke out against the brethren and those who leave "are ostracised and consequently treated differently from other members of the public".. in responding to these allegations, the commission said the plymouth brethren christian church had told it some were of an historic nature but it did acknowledge "past mistakes in relation to its disciplinary practices".. the regulator said the trust had "demonstrated a willingness to make amends and to do what it could as a christian organisation to ensure, as far as it was consistent with its religious beliefs, it would act with christian compassion in the future", particularly in respect of its disciplinary practices and in its relations with former members of the brethren.

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  besty

  some commentary on the decision by an activist, Laurie Moffitt

  http://laurencemoffitt.blogspot.co.uk/2014/01/the-sheer-insanity-of-pbcc.html
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  3

  Plymouth Brethren have their application for Charitable Status accepted - finally.

  by besty in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/go/news/article/1226627/charity-commission-will-accept-plymouth-brethren-application-charitable-status/.

  the regulator says the preston down trust, whose initial application was rejected in 2012, has agreed to change its governing documentsthe charity commission has said it will accept an application for charitable status from the preston down trust, a devon-based plymouth brethren congregation.. the regulator announced today that it would accept an application from the trust, which adheres to a doctrine of separation that limits members contact with the outside world, after it agreed to change its governing documents.. the commission said the trust had agreed to amend its trust documents by entering into a deed of variation, which sets out, in a manner that is binding on trustees, the churchs core religious doctrines and practices.. it signals an end to a dispute dating back to february 2009, when the trust first made an application for charitable status.. a draft deed of variation, published by the commission, includes directions on issues such as how disciplinary matters should be dealt with among members.

  it also says meeting halls should display prominent details about how non-members can attend services.. the commissions decision document says that it has heard allegations of harsh disciplinary practices for minor transgressions and people being cut off from the community.. it says there had been claims that threats of legal action had been made against people who spoke out against the brethren and those who leave "are ostracised and consequently treated differently from other members of the public".. in responding to these allegations, the commission said the plymouth brethren christian church had told it some were of an historic nature but it did acknowledge "past mistakes in relation to its disciplinary practices".. the regulator said the trust had "demonstrated a willingness to make amends and to do what it could as a christian organisation to ensure, as far as it was consistent with its religious beliefs, it would act with christian compassion in the future", particularly in respect of its disciplinary practices and in its relations with former members of the brethren.

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  besty

  http://www.thirdsector.co.uk/go/news/article/1226627/charity-commission-will-accept-plymouth-brethren-application-charitable-status/

  The regulator says the Preston Down Trust, whose initial application was rejected in 2012, has agreed to change its governing documents

  The Charity Commission has said it will accept an application for charitable status from the Preston Down Trust, a Devon-based Plymouth Brethren congregation.

  The regulator announced today that it would accept an application from the trust, which adheres to a doctrine of separation that limits members’ contact with the outside world, after it agreed to change its governing documents.

  The commission said the trust had agreed to amend its trust documents by entering into a deed of variation, which sets out, in a manner that is binding on trustees, the church’s core religious doctrines and practices.

  It signals an end to a dispute dating back to February 2009, when the trust first made an application for charitable status.

  A draft deed of variation, published by the commission, includes directions on issues such as how disciplinary matters should be dealt with among members. It also says meeting halls should display prominent details about how non-members can attend services.

  The commission’s decision document says that it has heard allegations of harsh disciplinary practices for minor transgressions and people being cut off from the community.

  It says there had been claims that threats of legal action had been made against people who spoke out against the Brethren and those who leave "are ostracised and consequently treated differently from other members of the public".

  In responding to these allegations, the commission said the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church had told it some were of an historic nature but it did acknowledge "past mistakes in relation to its disciplinary practices".

  The regulator said the trust had "demonstrated a willingness to make amends and to do what it could as a Christian organisation to ensure, as far as it was consistent with its religious beliefs, it would act with Christian compassion in the future", particularly in respect of its disciplinary practices and in its relations with former members of the Brethren.

  Under a section called "compassion", the draft deed of variation sets out how that pastoral care should be provided "including but not limited to where fault occurs".

  "No action should be taken in any way to treat vindictively, maliciously or unfairly persons whether within or outside the community, including those who were within the community and who are leaving or have left the community," it says.

  "Every care should be taken to provide for and support the welfare and education of children and young persons within the community. Where persons seek to leave the community, reasonable assistance should be afforded to them in terms of support and/or financial assistance relating to employment or other matters, where they have been dependent on the community for that support."

  It also says that "reasonable steps" should be taken to allow the continuation of family relationships where a family member has left the community, including providing access to family members, in particular children.

  The commission rejected an initial application from the trust in June 2012 because the regulator was not satisfied that the trust had been established for the advancement of religion for public benefit.

  The trust then appealed to the charity tribunal in July 2012, but the case, which has now been dropped, had been on hold since last February because of cost concerns.

  William Shawcross, chair of the Charity Commission, said: "I am pleased that the PDT has agreed to adopt a new governing document and am confident that the organisation now qualifies for charitable status. This was a complex and sensitive case, which involved strong views and feelings on both sides of the argument. I am grateful to all those who shared information with us, and for their patience in awaiting today’s decision.

  "I hope that the organisation’s new explicit focus on compassion and forgiveness will help allay the concerns of people who remain uncomfortable with some of the practices of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church."

  Gerry Devenish, a member of the Preston Down Trust, said it had been a complex case. "We’re relieved that the commission has made this decision after a thorough examination," he said. "It’s confirmed our place in the Christian church."
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  33

  Morris in Italy

  by Achille in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  morris in italy, january 5, 2014. http://forum.infotdgeova.it/viewtopic.php?p=281371#p281371.

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  besty

  And rude people who don't welcome new posters on JWN ....
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  2596

  The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

  by cofty in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

  we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

  they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

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  besty

  go on phizzy - take a crack at the OP now you have had a beer :-)
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  2596

  The Pastor of my Old Church Tried to Re-Convert Me Yesterday

  by cofty in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  yesterday evening my wife and i were invited to friends house for new year's eve.

  we met them when i was a christian and we have kept in touch.

  they had a few other friends there as well, including the new church pastor and his wife.

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  besty

  "we don't know what we can't know" = it's a mystery

  next.

  nice try flamegrilled. pls keep posting on other topics - i like your style.
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  18

  Are Jehovah's Witnesses Scottish?

  by RottenRiley in

  1. social
  2. humour

  my experience with jws, often they were very frugal and cheap, willing to use my car in field circus every weekend.

  why are jehovah's witnesses so dense and obtuse when it comes to sharing costs and contributing?

  has the topic of district convention 'tight-ass cheap-skating' jehovah's witnesses been talked about?

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  besty

  you're scottish as much as I'm english - pull the other one RottenRiley...
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  40

  2014 Yearbook Stats - 7 Countries account for > 50% growth

  by Westenddave in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i thought i'd share the 2014 yearbook stats.

  i converted the file to excel format & sorted the increase in publisher's column from largest to smallest.

  as i suspected, the growth is limited to a very few # of "lands.

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  besty

  Before you make way too much fuzz over Slovakia - the figure is totally and utterly wrong!

  keep up theoldhippie - 88JM already noted his own type earlier on in the thread
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  27

  UK Family Law re child custody where one parent is a JW and the other is not

  by Frazzled UBM in

  1. social
  2. family

  for those who are interested i came across this case relating to a dispute about how much exposure a jw parent could give her child to the jw'religion'.

  the case is interested because it shows how much weight the courts put on freedom of religion and the right for a parent to expose the child to their religion provided the religion is 'socially acceptable' while also being mindful of the impact on the child's welfare.

  i think the judgement is quite naive in its assessment of the potential harm and spends to much time concentrating on blood issues and birthdays and christams and not enough on the wbts techniques for recruiting and manipulating members while they are vulnerable children.

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  besty

  would be great if N's dad (or even mum) would show up on JWN at some point...
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  40

  2014 Yearbook Stats - 7 Countries account for > 50% growth

  by Westenddave in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i thought i'd share the 2014 yearbook stats.

  i converted the file to excel format & sorted the increase in publisher's column from largest to smallest.

  as i suspected, the growth is limited to a very few # of "lands.

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  besty

  nice to see that Brazil had a new record in 2013 - 'smallest increase for at least 10 years' - won't be broadcasting that one I guess...

  wow - Germany and Japan are basically death of a 1000 cuts - these are heartland countries for JW's
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  84

  Witnesses: Why The 1/19/14 WT Lesson Is Dangerous

  by Apognophos in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  today's watchtower lesson touched on the history of hezekiah's reign, and then made a surprising modern-day application.

  having used my time before the meeting to research the underlying material instead of highlighting my magazine, i personally found this to be an upsetting study, and decided to put this warning here in the hopes that some active witnesses read it.. the most important thing i want to say to you is that the actual flow of events in this bible account were severely misrepresented, and that there are some disturbing implications in the distortions that were made.

  1. hezekiah's father ahaz makes himself a vassal to assyria out of fear of their overwhelming might (2 kings 16:7, 8).. 2. upon becoming king, hezekiah rebels against assyria (2 kings 18:7).

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  besty

  great post apognophos - thanks