Posts by Dagney

26

The story of my congregation in the last five years.

by Crazyguy in

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.

Dagney

I'm curious as to the real story in the congregations as well. I feel with the young leaving and the elderly dying off, we have the core of the baby boomers and their children. I really wonder what the scoop is.

Today I am meeting a person for the first time who has faded for the past few years. With much family in, the need to be very discreet. They said they heard the attendance at the regional convention in their area was at least 25% less than when they attended. They raised the question how could the WT be growing when it is obvious the numbers are down from we actually see.

Looking forward what people have to say in response to the OP.

36

I've graduated at last

by fulltimestudent in

jw
friends

after a bit of a kerfuffle over a procedural matter, my university has awarded me a degree.

(the procedural problem was caused by my independent selection of what i wanted to study).

award : bachelor of arts.

Dagney

Congratulations fulltimestudent!!

That's totally awesome!

26

Not posted for a year because mum died did not want blood.

by Witness 007 in

i posted here weekly until a year ago when my mum died of a mild form of lukemia which is easy to treat with 2 blood tranfusions a month.

you can live to 100 with treatment, but no my mum chose to die a faithful witness after 2 years of chemo and hell for her family and doctors.

her chemo doctor cried when she only had weeks left to live knowing that she could be saved with one bag of blood!

Dagney

Good to see you 007. So very very sorry for your loss and the reason for it. Very sad.

78

So What Drastic Money Change is Next?

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

okay, they cheapened the product by getting rid of hardcover books.

they reduced printing of mags.

they drastically reduced the number of pieces of printed paper that members would "place" in people's hands in various ways, the biggest one being that they put them on a cart and don't encourage people to take them.they cut d.o.

Dagney

It's a corporation and it will do whatever it takes to remain in operation. Getting rid of halls that don't make sense to keep in operation is smart from a company standpoint. The move to video for areas that have low/small attendance and even less elder support is a solution, and a good plan.

Close by is an area that is growing and they are adding halls because many are moving in due to the low cost of housing and a vibrant retiree population.

I sort of see a possibility of changing the big conventions scheme. But if it brings in a lot of money, I don't see why. They have streamlined the programs with the videos etc., which is a smart move.

They have really good advisors back there. I don't think could have anticipated the impact of the shunning and pedophilia cases and related media. We live in interesting times.

78

So What Drastic Money Change is Next?

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

okay, they cheapened the product by getting rid of hardcover books.

they reduced printing of mags.

they drastically reduced the number of pieces of printed paper that members would "place" in people's hands in various ways, the biggest one being that they put them on a cart and don't encourage people to take them.they cut d.o.

Dagney

AOL is almost dead, but it is still free to have email, same with all the others. They sell advertising and record hits of members to certain sites, they mine members for data.

I meant a nominal charge for privilege of using their site jw.dot.org. It could be marketed as support by donation to the WWW. Those reoccurring amounts really add up.

78

So What Drastic Money Change is Next?

by OnTheWayOut in

jw
friends

okay, they cheapened the product by getting rid of hardcover books.

they reduced printing of mags.

they drastically reduced the number of pieces of printed paper that members would "place" in people's hands in various ways, the biggest one being that they put them on a cart and don't encourage people to take them.they cut d.o.

Dagney

What JeffT said. Like AOL used to charge $12.95 per month before the hotmail's and yahoo's came to play...and it seemed "fair" at the time.

Some monthly automatic debit or charge in a "reasonable" amount would bring in millions.

46

Season 1 Episode 1 A&E Cults and Extreme Belief (Video)

by TerryWalstrom in

https://www.aetv.com/shows/cults-and-extreme-belief/season-1it will post soon on site..

Dagney

I finished watching last night.

The part that is so abhorrent to me, to which I am quite vocal about, is the way the WT treat the victims. They are so over protective of the perps civil rights, they completely ignore the damage and potential damage to victims.

Of course it is because they are not prepared to handle victims and related issues and they know it.

With all the attention to cults lately, and interest in real crime, I think this program will be well circulated. The exposure will be wonderful, finally.

12

"Chicken Soup for the Apostate Soul."

by ChessaM in

my article detailing my experience as a witness and dealing with child sexual abuse as well as outing my abuser is soon to be released.

(i'm told in the next week or so.

) barbara anderson encouraged me to post here.

Dagney

I agree with Simon, the personal stories are very powerful.

I left in the summer of 2001, not influenced by anybody, it was the right thing for me to do. I wasn't very good at finding things on the internet, but somehow I stumbled on some sites, Randy's of course, and a few others that had personal stories of leaving. I remember one that I read through tears over and over again. I think her name was Shaun. I couldn't believe there was someone out there that thought just like me, had issues with the beliefs just like me, had family just like me.

Anyway...it is so encouraging to know you are not alone. Thank you for your efforts ChessaM, and welcome!

18

A & E documentary - family fall-out

by Tallon in

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.

Dagney

One can only hope more and more will respond in the same manner.

23

Banned words in the organization

by Addison0998 in

i was talking to my sister in law the other day about death, and i mentioned something about the afterlife, i don’t remember what i said but it was nothing shocking .

but she squealed, “we don’t believe in the afterlife!

!” and i reasoned, well we kinda do...life after death is the after life..and she just insisted no no it’s not the same thing.

Dagney

I remember a newbie elder telling a brother "it's not a 'podium.' It's a speaker's stand." Idiot.

Gospels - audible gasp from my elder brother when I said I was reading them. He said it was a term Christendom uses. I said " it means good news. who doesn't like good news?" Seriously.