the recent buzz that has hit the online communities concerning the watchtower society and their evil offspring - the jw org - revolves around their apparent financial difficulties.
many factors have been discussed - the real estate flips (and flops), the changes in meetings and field service, the need for donations to cover expenses, the push for donations.
where does the money come from to operate the hospital information network?
My mom got an hour or so with an end who was hired by hospital as regular employee and who led mum through a loooong session involving a blood agreement, mum chose from a lot of options after being totally led by JW hospital employee to which option were acceptable.
Catholic hospital, paid by Medicare and group health.
is this true?
has anyone heard of it?
saw it on my facebook.. "jan. 6 bethel update 108 elderly bethelites getting the boot.. brooklyn, ny.
i wanted to relate an experience that happened this morning.
it is regarding the new format for the meeting on thursdays in my area.
its not word for word but im summarizing what i heard, the best i can remember.
so we had brother losch visiting our special assembly day which was weird in itself.
he's not a very good speaker and seemed like he was in dire need of a nap or something.. anyways just a few observations from the assembly program.
theme: imitate their faith.
So, if you see a company with a sign that says "going out of business, are you going to apply for a job there?"
INDEED, there is a question for JWs to ask themselves!
i wanted to relate an experience that happened this morning.
it is regarding the new format for the meeting on thursdays in my area.
its not word for word but im summarizing what i heard, the best i can remember.
My mum is mid 70's and she and her friends do kind of pack rat together a couple of times a week. They have a ladies house that they go to for the broadcast (some to watch for first time, others to rehash and give out spoilers-as my mom described it). They usually go out for lunch once a week and to someones house for sweets another day.Occasional potlucks or game nights(afternoons, really, they are getting up there) My mum is in great shape and many of her friends drive around all the time. She lives in an upscale resort area where there are a lot of healthy and comfortably off retirees (she is less comfortable $, but very healthy). She is among the younger of her group. Those old ladies DO tend to travel in packs, but I don't know that is typical of the age or just that group. She has only lived there a few years, but she does a lot with them when she isn't working (yes, she still works!) I like it better than one of her old congregations where when she was ill, I couldnt get one of them to so much as bring her a magazine or visit. That would not happen in this congregation unless all that crowd dies out without replacements.
I don't find his stories so implausible. He lives in the house of an active, elderly JW lady. There are 2 JW women to every man. And mum has said some crazy things to me as she gets older, so the old ladies flirting with him pretty much seems in keeping with the old lady I know best:)
That being said, there are 7 or 8 of my mum's ratpack.
(my mum's latest crazy talk? She was telling me that while visiting in another country, she was wearing her sandals all the time and as her feet have some very unsightly issues, she was mortified that folks stared at them so much. One day, she "forgot" (which is already nuts for her, ok?) her bra and noticed that no one was looking at her feet anymore. . .so, she stopped wearing a bra for the rest of vacation. Seriously, my JW mum said that and did that. Still shaking my head!)
here in the uk new drinking guidelines have been issued which suggest "no more than 14 units a week - equivalent to six pints of beer or seven glasses of wine.".
another piece of the advice which is getting a lot of attention is that "if people drink, it should be moderately over three or more days and that some days should be alcohol-free.".
already people are making cries of "nanny state!
British movies and tv make it seem like all brits live on a liquid diet. Is it really so bad in the UK?
I don't drink. I see my family with a myriad of addiction issues on both sides. My vice is coffee($$). I'd rather be alert than dulled:)
samuel herd made the following statement at the 2015 annual meeting regarding the reduction of services at bethel.. we will be reducing personnel at bethel.
some bethel family members will be invited to serve in the field.
in addition to their regular work, bethel family members will be caring for many of the services that were previously provided by fellow bethelites.. .
recent developments make me think they might be.
the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.
one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.
They are sitting on billions of assets, but most are not simply disposable in their current model of meetings and worship. They are telling of millions being spent every month to run operations. They only have 8 million people. How many are in 3rd world countries like India(they can't get out of country donations anymore) where they are being supported by the wealthier nations donors? How many are in western nations? How many of those have jobs which sustain families, much less the Borg? Seriously, how many people are supporting the WT anymore? You know the old republican adage about whose taxes are paying for everything? They take out the kids, those on assistance, those who pay no taxes because of income, rich people who get out of it and they figure that they are the ones supporting the whole country.
seriously, in the Borg, they have relatively very few significant contributors and no matter how much their heart is warmed by a kid butchering and selling their pet chicken and donating the proceeds to the Borg, that AINT gonna pay the bills. They are, I believe, living off of their assets/capital. I could be wrong, but the desperate money grabs are coming from some dark place. Maybe the mafia strongmen, I don't know! But as anyone who is unemployed and starts with a nice nest egg knows, that goes fast when there is no new INCOME to replace it. They can poor mouth it only so many times before folks either wise up or can't pay it anymore. That is just reality. I think Tuxedo NY is going to be their resting place and I'm sure they actually planned to make sure that it has a ready buyer when they no longer need it and the few remaining GB members retire to their facility in Florida.
hello everybody :) i have been visiting this forum for some time.
i noticed that many can't really free from the past in the org despite many years outside of jw.
i was awaken with a bang.
hello, this is my first post, i would like to introduce myself and say thank you to every one on this forum, you have been a lifeline to me these last few years.. i had been a jw for 30 years when i walked away a few years ago disgusted by the treatment victims of child abuse, domestic abuse and rape receive from the wtbts.. at first i thought it was a local problem, elders personal opinions, the way they handled the situations, imperfect men etc., until i checked out jehovahs witnesses and child abuse/domestic abuse online.
that's when i realized they had the same modus operandi worldwide.
that led me here, tbuo this forum, and then to crisis of conscience, jw facts, watchtower documents, jw survey, old watchtower literature and cd s, reading a couple of steve hassans books, and more recently exiting the jw cult.. the feelings of shock, betrayal, anger at the wtbts, angry with myself for being so gullible, depression, reflection, loneliness, have taken their toll.
