The biggest scheme was overlooked:
Mattieu
JoinedPosts by Mattieu
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32
Conventions, Kingdom Halls, Relief Funds, and Other Financial Scams and Schemes of Jehovah’s Witnesses
by Watchtower-Free ina few seconds ago this hit the net todayhttp://jwvictims.org/conventions-kingdom-halls-relief-funds-and-other-financial-scams-and-schemes-of-jehovahs-witnesses/.
conventions, kingdom halls, relief funds, and other financial scams and schemes of jehovahs witnesses.
jehovahs witnesses often note that at their meetings (like church services), they dont pass a collection plate.
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Australian Football player Alex Rance
by Mattieu inhow can i describe alex rance?
if i was from the uk or europe, imagine your best football goal keeper.
if from the usa, imagine your best defence player in the nfl.
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Mattieu
How can I describe Alex Rance? If I was from the UK or Europe, imagine your best Football Goal Keeper. If from the USA, imagine your best Defence player in the NFL. If from South America, imagine your best looking F1 driver. This guy (no I’m not gay – not that there is anything wrong with that Jerry) is the complete package, good looking, extreme athlete and is Australia’s number 1 rated footballer (AFL) playing for the Richmond Tigers.
Yet since late 2012 he has kept a secret from his management, family and football club team. He has been studying with Jehovah’s Witnesses. They have convinced him he has found the “truth”. During that confusing time, he has also had to put up with male and female stalkers (no different from any other celebrity I suppose). Yet his bible study conductor has convinced him that it’s all part of Satan’s plans to distract him from the truth.
He was ready for baptism (his own words) in 2014, though the body of elders in his eastern suburbs congregation in Melbourne said no, as long as he was playing competitive sport, he wasn’t eligible.
You could not meet a more sincere guy than Alex Rance. So to honour his AFL contract to his beloved club Richmond (which finishes at the end of 2015) he is playing every game like it’s his last. He is being offered multimillion dollar contracts as a free agent at the end of this year. He is saying no to everybody based on his religious beliefs. On Australia’s most watched Ch9 Footy Show tonight, it came out that he would not sign with any AFL team due to “outside influences”.
Keep in mind that this guy is an All Australian Footballer. We haven’t see anyone like him in 30 years (I’m thinking Bruce Doull, for those of you playing at home).
They refused to name that outside influence as JW’s. That despite his teammate being a practicing Muslim, who the Richmond Football club and AFL have gone to extreme measures to accommodate his beliefs. But sadly for Alex Rance, the club and the AFL want to accommodate his JW beliefs’, but the JW’s don’t want to accommodate Alex AFL aspirations.
What’s even sadder, is the fact that the reason the elders keep telling Alex Rance that he cannot continue to play AFL is that it promotes self-glory and only god deserves that glory. Yet his bible study conductor continues to promote himself around Melbourne as “Alex Rance bible study conductor” and the other elders in his cong keep saying “Alex is in my congo”. And I’ve heard 2 of his elders loudly pronounce “I went through the baptism questions with Alex”…. Poor Alex Rance has no idea what he is giving up…..
Hopefully, by the time Alex realises “the truth”, he will still have a few years left in him…. Go Tigers!
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Hi Everyone. Answer to prayer countdown...
by Stumpy ini've been lurking for about 3 months now and thought i'd better finally sign up.
you have all been an immense help to me as i have come to realize that this isn't the truth so i want to say a great big thank you!
what a crazy, emotional ride it is to finally face the truth about the doubts that i have carried for many years.
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Mattieu
Hi Stumpy,
I have enjoyed reading your story so far and feel for both you and your wife. Having gone through it and coming out the other side, I'm so glad I faded when I did, better late than never for moi :) I'm in Melbourne, will pm you my details.
Though as Stuckinaru2 said, you may have outed yourself with your previous post. I know for a fact a few in Ingleburn monitor this site, including a few of their pit bulls here in Melbs. They get heir rocks off trying to play private investigators. you would think they had better thing to do, like going door to door......
Anywho, I hope you both are ok, keep up the long walks, it helps one emotionally, not just physically.
Cheers, Mattieu
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Attending memorial tomorrow?
by Ghiagirl inthis is my first year i will not attend memorial.
to be honest if it wasn't for my husband i would probably be going still.
he says what's the point, don't be one of those people who doesn't give a sh** but just shows there face once a year.
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Mattieu
My kids are with their Mother right now at "The Memorial" in Melbourne as we speak. I'm about to partake ........... Of a glass or two of Giesen Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc - Best thing to come out of NZ since the Finn Brothers.... Nice clear night here, the full moon looks amazing!
Cheers...
PS - Chiagirl, its so liberating not going after a couple of years..... And yes having a wonderful Friday night :)
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Groanfest. Share your daftest jokes .
by jhine inlots of serious stuff being discussed on site .
i thought!it would be nice to make each other groan/ smile for a change .please share your corniest ,punniest , or daftest joke .. i will start with this shocker , borrowed from tim vine .. vandalism in a multi story carpark ....... ...................................,............................ wrong on sooo many levels !.
come on now share yours.
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Mattieu
A dyslexic man walks into a bra......
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New Formula 1 season kicks off and we get ...
by Simon in... coverage of it on the channel that advertises it in the listing as "formula 1 practice session"?.
what could be more important?.
a review of some junior hockey tournament.. for gods sake, wtf is wrong with this country?!?!?.
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Mattieu
Albert Park is the best! As someone who stays up late at night for every F1 race regardless of the time zone (hello Canada, US & Brazil) its nice to have the 1st F1 race of the calendar season in my back yard, literally!
Agreed, Mercedes look like front runners, though Vettel/Ferrari are holding back. But go Dan & Red Bull!!
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50th anniversary of "Bloody Sunday" -- WHAT???
by Marvin Shilmer intake a look at the linked ap photograph and tell me what you think:.
- miss black u.s., miss black georgia and miss black teen .
what would the likes of al sharpton say if the hallowed event this weekend at the edmund pettus bridge in selma, alabama had been attended by a miss white u.s., miss white georgia and miss white teen?
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Mattieu
Totally agree with MS on this one.
If I was to ask Miss Black U.S., Miss Black Georgia and Miss Black Teen Who was killed on this historic day? Name them? Their skin colour?
I'm pretty sure I would hear " Whilst I don't know their names, these 3 Black Americans took the stand......."
Wrong... What your pathetic President Obama didn't recognise during his publicity oriented walk across the bridge was that the majority of the protesters killed were white..... But, don't let that get the way in of a good feel news story....
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Does anyone remember a district overseer Joe Slaiman?
by stuckinarut2 injoe slaiman and his wife jean were in the travelling work in australia throughout the 90's... ( i may have spelt the name incorrectly).
anyone remember them?
they were very well liked by many of the brothers and sisters.. i wonder what happened to him?
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Mattieu
Haven't posted in 3 years, but this thread got me out of the woods :)
Joe was an amazing person/CO when I met him. The day I was baptised at the Melton ASSenbly hall, he put his arm around me and walked with me to the backstage and had the most normal chat. Whenever he & his wife used to come to my Mums house in Preston (every visit), it was like having a family member over, not some pompous CO who wanted to be treated like royalty. My fav memory is of Joe falling asleep one day after lunch in front of the TV before the afternoon group rocked up. Looking back it was probably because he was up to 1AM that same morning dealing with all the crap that was Preston cong (how it never got disbanded is still beyond belief).
Its funny, I heard all the same rumours posted here about him and his wife, strange how the rumours about him were being spread by an ex bethelite elder with strong connections in Ingleburn. The same person who gives talks at every CA/DA in Melbourne still, the same person who's brother in law is a current c/o..... Nice smear campaign William....
Joe was the first person I wanted to talk to as I began my fade, wanting to know his thought process and what helped him. Have always wondered these past 5 years or so..... Fortunately I had this site and JW facts to help me (thx Simon & Paul) and others like Randy and Blondie, Sadly a few others who I enjoyed reading in the time I lurked before joining (and since) have passed on...
I hope Joes story and his message to move on and enjoy life for what its worth gets through to as many lurkers/faders as possible.... For what its worth, I've spent the last 2 years working full time and gong to University to get a degree, a real education. Something that in 1969 (and today) the wbts/jw.org told my Mum was worthless..... Stay classy San Diego....
Cheers, Mattieu :)
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Not just elders in Victoria who need wwc
by Mattieu inin reference to the comments that it should not just be the elders getting the working with children check in victoria, i just caught up with my mate who is still an elder and his 2 buddies (who were also elders), one who turned out to be the p/o (sorry, still stuck with the old lingo).
3 elders and a so called apostate, and yes we were all drinking beers, ok, i wasnt, that nz sav blnc was too good to pass up.... the direction from bethel is that all elders/ m/s's and pioneers in victoria have to get the wwc, so its not just for elders.. the deadline for all elders, ms's and pioneers to get this check passed a few weeks ago.
in my mates congo, there was still a few m/'s and pioneers who had not yet submitted their application yet as well as 1 elder.
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Mattieu
In reference to the comments that it should not just be the elders getting the working with children check in Victoria, I just caught up with my mate who is still an elder and his 2 buddies (who were also elders), one who turned out to be the p/o (sorry, still stuck with the old lingo). 3 elders and a so called apostate, and yes we were all drinking beers, ok, I wasn’t, that NZ sav blnc was too good to pass up…
The direction from bethel is that all elders/ m/s's and pioneers in Victoria have to get the wwc, so it’s not just for elders.
The deadline for all elders, ms's and pioneers to get this check passed a few weeks ago. In my mates congo, there was still a few m/'s and pioneers who had not yet submitted their application yet as well as 1 elder.
We spoke about the ramifications of it not being done and why it was necessary. They overwhelmingly agree with it being done, especially when so many jw’s shift around the country. I was pleased to hear one of the elders say he knew of child abuse being covered up in the past and he thinks this new policy is heading in the right direction.
There were so many hypothetical’s being mentioned and all agreed that despite a letter being read out in the congo, the average body of elders is being left in the dark, relying on hearsay and gossip to read between the lines.
Even if the court case doesn’t go the distance, with Steve raising the profile of the issue, it’s done a lot at a local congo level for the average pub (my ex wife excluded) to sit up and take notice… Thanks Barb for the updates too, looking forward when it progresses to the courts here in Melbourne…
PS - they all thought I was a good upstanding ms jw - my mate hadnt told them about my fade.....
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Letter read to Victorian congregations re WCC
by Mattieu inhad an interesting chat with my ex re the current debate over working with children checks - of which she has one due to her volunteering at our childrens primary school.
i remember when she had to apply that i made the comment elders & mss should be having background checks due to the history of abuse in the borg and covering up (these discussions normally dont go down well as she is well and truly blinded, well meaning, but blinded).. anywho, she told me about the recent letter that was read to all the victorian congregations, she couldnt tell me verbatim what it said, though the gist was that is no real need for elders to get this check, but rather they are complying with what has been asked legally.. now i dont know if what she said next was based on the letter read or the after discussions at the k/hall, but she made the comment the elders do not need the wcc as they are not strangers, they are our brothers... i tried reasoning that another elder who moves in from interstate is certainly a stranger, until you get to know him on a personal level.
didnt matter how i reasoned or what incidents i bought up, the view amongst her and the other mums that she hangs around in the cong is that the elders getting a wcc check is totally unnecessary and that the jws are being picked on.. next week, i am meeting up with a mate who is an elder here in victoria and trying to step down, so will pick his brains and see if he can get a copy.... .
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Mattieu
And I stress that this line:
the elders do not need the wcc as they are not strangers
is not made up, actual words. I just want to clarify if they were in the letter that was read out or not. They way my ex kept reciting them, they werent her words, it was like they had been drummed into her for 2 hours at the kingdumb hall....