Posts by eyeslice

38

Seems to be a census on vaccine status

by Indoubtbigtime in

the upcoming km school for all elders and servants is going to be in person only with no provision for video conferencing.. only fully vaccinated may attend.

meaning if you missed your last booster you are no longer fully vaccinated.. every coordinator of body of elders has to ask every single ms and elder if they have kept up with all their boosters and are fully vaccinated or they can’t attend.. this seems to be a census the gb want to know how many are keeping up with booster shots.

eyeslice

Obviously a touchy subject but the fact is that vaccination has prevented (I won't use the word saved) countless deaths. Older people and vulnerable individuals particularly have benefited from being vaccinated. Have some people died because of the vaccine? Yes, but the same goes for almost all medical interventions.

However, I don't believe that vaccination should be mandatory for anyone. That's an individual's choice.

What I don't see is the actual scientific reason to exclude non vaccinated persons from any situation. Why is attending some sort of Watchtower School any different from going on public transport to get there, or popping out to Starbucks in the interval to get a coffee.

The reality we face is that Covid is with us to stay and we have to learn to live with it. Many choose to get vaccinated, others not, and how ill you become when you get it - not if you get it - depends on many, many factors.

42

Have you ever been on a congregation picnic?

by LostintheFog1999 in

were you ever on a congregation picnic?

i was on several occasions.. the arrangements were often announced from the platform after the closing song and prayer by the last elder up on the platform.. sometimes it was included in the service meeting announcements as "on saturday we're meeting at 10.00am at the kingdom hall for field service, and after field service for anyone who wishes, especially for the younger ones, we will be having a congregation picnic meeting at the beach carpark on seaview road.".

well, according to the new elders manual you won't be hearing those words again.

eyeslice

I've been 'out' for 20 years now but I remember plenty of 'get togethers' with other familes.

The problem with the edict not to announce these from the platform is that it just leads to cliques. You get half a dozen families and there always be one that doesn't get invited and then gets upset.

26

JW Broadcasting - simply a platform for narcissists?

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

one thing i notice from sitting through a number of broadcasts is just how much these guys love their titles.

it's always brother such-and-such, member of the gb, helper to the teaching committee, etc.

it's never simply brother such-and-such, a local elder with such-and-such congregation.. it seems to me the witnesses are pretty quick to pick up on catholics who call their priests father, which at the end of the day is in much the same vein simply a title.. i suspect these titles point to a huge amount of narcissism of the part of those who revel in such titles, certainly it doesn't seem to fall in line with christ's advocation that the greatest amongst you should be be the least.

eyeslice

One thing I notice from sitting through a number of broadcasts is just how much these guys love their titles. It's always Brother Such-and-Such, member of the GB, helper to the teaching committee, etc. It's never simply Brother Such-and-Such, a local elder with Such-and-Such congregation.

It seems to me the witnesses are pretty quick to pick up on Catholics who call their priests father, which at the end of the day is in much the same vein simply a title.

I suspect these titles point to a huge amount of narcissism of the part of those who revel in such titles, certainly it doesn't seem to fall in line with Christ's advocation that the greatest amongst you should be be the least.

13

How come the old boys on the GB don't get kicked out at 70?

by eyeslice in

jw
friends

it would appear that circuit overseers (no dos these days i guess) are taken off at 70 years old.

even older ones in bethels are disposed (sorry 're-assigned to the field) of before they get too past it.. how come though the old boys on the gb aren't shown the door at 70 and replaced by younger men - obviously of the recently anointed type?

they don't look a particularly fit bunch so they can't claim special mightiness because of doing 'the lord's work'.

eyeslice

It would appear that Circuit Overseers (no DOs these days I guess) are taken off at 70 years old. Even older ones in Bethels are disposed (sorry 're-assigned to the field) of before they get too past it.

How come though the old boys on the GB aren't shown the door at 70 and replaced by younger men - obviously of the recently anointed type? They don't look a particularly fit bunch so they can't claim special mightiness because of doing 'the Lord's work'. (unlike the Biblical Joshua who said at 85 he was as strong as he was 40 years earlier).

Seems like one rule for some and a different one for another.

I heard that one CO in UK kicked up a fuss about being put out to grass with no pension but don't know what became of him.

24

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses attend so many meeting?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

ronald curzan ( helper to the teaching committee ) gives a talk on the real reasons jehovah's witnesses should attend meetings.

it looks like the zoom meetings have softened up many witnesses.

many are probably turning off their cameras and zoning out.

eyeslice

stan livedeath

Graham Carmichael

Yes that name rings a bell. We would have been in Mosely congregation, Birmingham at the time

24

Why do Jehovah's Witnesses attend so many meeting?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

ronald curzan ( helper to the teaching committee ) gives a talk on the real reasons jehovah's witnesses should attend meetings.

it looks like the zoom meetings have softened up many witnesses.

many are probably turning off their cameras and zoning out.

eyeslice

BluesBrother

Hey we used to have Three meetings a week, Thursday, Sunday and the Tuesday Group Study. We all felt that they got rid of the best one when they axed the Group Study ….

Tea and cakes after the group study always went down well. The reason given at the time was to cut the travelling expenses for the brothers, so instead they closed and sold off kingdom halls, merged congregations and made them travel even more.

Also, I remember when circuit assemblies were three days (Friday evening, Saturday and Sunday) and 8 day conventions (they seemed to last an eternity). And then were was the Saturday evening congregation meeting with the circuit overseer. We had one comedian CO who used to say about this 'spiritual meal' - "don't be late, it'd dinner at 8:00, no need to bring your knives and forks, just your mugs".

18

Do the old boys on the GB actually report their field service hours?

by eyeslice in

this came to mind as my 71 year old wife got up at 6:30 to drive 1.1/4 hours to meet the field ministry group.

we live a long way from the kingdom hall and the traffic is horrendous where we live!.

somehow, i doubt the good old boys do much themselves.

eyeslice

RULES & REGULATIONS

Photo Op

Exactly. These all look so staged. Would a member of the public allow a couple of guys to turn up on their door step with a photographer. Somehow, doesn't ring true.

TonusOH

I don't remember if I ever counted the time from the public talks I gave. They owe me two hours!

The counting hours thing relates back to when 'Public Talks' were public talks, i.e. aimed at the public.

As a kid of about 12 (nearly 60 years ago now) I remember being assigned to hand stamp handbills with the time and place of each weeks public talk (the handbills were pre-printed with the title of the talk and some information on the back but each congregation had to stamp them with the date, time and location) to hand to the public. If the householder wasn't particularly interested, we used to give them one of the handbills, with a cheery, "you'd be welcome to attend if you have time on Sunday".

You couldn't count your time if you say conducted the Watchtower study.

But if you think about it, the GB broadcast the rank and file, not to the public, so I assume they don't count their time. But I also suspect they don't put in a 'report at the end of each month on the basis they are in fulltime service. Let's them off the hook for any door to door ministry and I can't imagine the congregation secretary chasing them up for their report at the end of the month.

18

Do the old boys on the GB actually report their field service hours?

by eyeslice in

this came to mind as my 71 year old wife got up at 6:30 to drive 1.1/4 hours to meet the field ministry group.

we live a long way from the kingdom hall and the traffic is horrendous where we live!.

somehow, i doubt the good old boys do much themselves.

eyeslice

This came to mind as my 71 year old wife got up at 6:30 to drive 1.1/4 hours to meet the field ministry group. We live a long way from the Kingdom Hall and the traffic is horrendous where we live!

Somehow, I doubt the good old boys do much themselves. After all, they spend all day in front of the cameras and must be able to count every waking minute of the day as 'field service'. But actually speaking to non believers in the field? Perhaps they are just to high up to get their hands dirty.

Being filmed releasing new language editions of the New Translation is more their style and fuels their egos.

117

The best and worst Travelling Overseers in the UK

by usualusername in

jw
friends

my fave was roy renouf - district overseer.

always had time for me and seemed to keep thigs real.. heard that on a zone vist he told the governing body the branch was told old and grumpy or something like that!.

worst was michael purbrick.

eyeslice

Does anyone know if any named here are still about? In the main, these guys and their wives are at least 10 years older than me, so that is going to put them in their 80s and 90s.

Just to add a couple of more names to the list. John and Pam Andrews a really nice couple. John was the sort of speaker that gave you goose bumps - a very slow and melodic voice. They ended up in London Bethel but the last I heard John wasn't in good health.

Glen McFarland, from Scotland originally. A violin player from the days when we had circuit orchestras! Last I heard he had retired from circuit work and was living somewhere in the north east of UK.

20

What are the odds that Armageddon is soooo close?

by Vanderhoven7 in

well judging from past prophetic pronouncements....go figure.

"surely there is not the slightest room for doubt in the mind of a truly consecrated child of god that the lord jesus is present and has been since 1874;…" watchtower 1924 jan 1 p.5).

"the prophecy of the bible, fully supported by the physical facts in fulfillment thereof, shows that the second coming of christ dates from the fall of the year 1914.

eyeslice

I remember, around the time of 1975, a circuit overseer using the illustration of waiting at a bus stop. 'If the bus doesn't turn up when you expect it to, do you wander off?', he asked. 'No you wait as you know it will be a long in a few minutes' was his follow up.

All I can say is I know a lot of people who have since died waiting at that bus stop.