the year was 2010. .
this has always infuriated me.
i was pomi ( but didnt know it).
Actually it was 2013 when the Silver bible came out.
For me at the time it was the last high point of Watchtower - even dulling the bewilderment of the 2010 overlapping generation - but before the 2014 emotional hoopla conventions and the slow slide to GB-Rolex-TV, kingdom hall sell offs and congregation mergers.
Then the ARC - with Justice McClellan's kind but firm fist in a velvet glove and Angus Stewart's incisive professionalism which was more silver scalpel than silver sword.
i have a document containing a list of all congregations in the uk.
periodically i go through the links and check to see if they're still registered as charities and if the location of the congregation is the same.. instead of posting a large list of changes all at once, i will be adding each change that i find in a new reply to this thread.. please check back here periodically.. truthseeker.
I've posted some of this before but an update.
BATH - the historical Roman and Georgian city in North-East Somerset has a population of about 100,000 people and up until the 1990's had three congregations meeting in two of their own Victorian halls. Bought cheap - made nice and with lots of character and valuable.
In the early 2000's one of these congregations closed and was merged with the other two.
This summer 2018 the last Bath Kingdom hall in Oldfield Park (valuable property of course had two congregations and a Chinese group/congregation).
Now they have been booted out - renamed Bath West and Bath East to the nearby towns of Radstock (including the Chinese group) and Trowbridge to share there.
This means that residents of central Bath have to drive out if their own city over ten miles instead a mile or two or even on their doorstep.
Also - to have a city as historical and as prestigious as Bath with NO kingdom hall must be a real demoraliser on the ministry.
Even the Christadelphians have a hall in Bath ... here it is!
i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.
memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.
my jw family has even mentioned it.
The congregation I know well has a territory which is compact and so no-one is further than 5 miles from the Kingdom Hall. It is quite normal that midweek out of 65/70 publishers you will have 40 at the hall and 10 dialling in from home.
I remember when we would have 90% attendance AVERAGE in the 1980's. And that is backsides on seats - not listening in.
Attendance definitely down.
i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.
memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.
my jw family has even mentioned it.
Love these comments ...
LTPF - "Seems the merging JW's came to get a quick look-see and went back to their fishing business."
Waton - "Midweek meetings are a bore except for bullies, so the rank and file senses that and voting with their slippers at home."
i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.
memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.
my jw family has even mentioned it.
Down round my way. 20 years ago high 80's on a Sunday, now 50 ish. Midweek 45 with highs of 55 and lows of 35.
Publishers gone from near 90 to mid 60's.
Two congs within 5 miles dissolved in the last five years.
what started as news of a man and woman being found unconscious on a park bench 12 days ago is escalating into an international incident.. sergei skripal had worked as a double agent for british intelligence mi6 before he was discovered and imprisoned in russia in 2006. he was later flown to england as part of a spy-swap in 2010. on sunday 4th march he was discovered along with his 33 year old daughter yulia close to a shopping centre in salisbury.. since then the story has become increasingly bizarre.
a policeman who was first to attend the scene also became critically ill and remains in hospital.
government scientists at porton down have confirmed that the cause is a russian military-grade nerve agent novichok.
Now come on Corney! If you had three days sightseeing in London after flying in from Moscow it's obvious that ...
You would travel 90 miles to see Salisbury Cathedral (twice) because the English early spring snow put you off travelling to Stonehenge. I mean you're a Russian from Moscow aren't you?
Snow would be so scary for a Russian wouldn't it? (Even if it didn't land on Salisbury for a three days after you went there.)
And after all why would you stay in London? Nothing to see or do there ...
ok. we are all aware of the scandal around the non reporting of child abuse cases to the authorities by the elders and how it was part of watchtower policy.. this has probably been discussed before, which i apologize for now if it has.. the obvious view that most of us make as to why the gb are so reluctant to comply with the authorities by revealing their database around child abuse allegations, is that the leadership at watchtower hq likely were trying to safeguard the reputation of the organisation.. however, (just a theory) are they hiding something more sinister which could in effect devastate the organisation ie could it be they are hiding some things within the gb itself, whether it be some individuals within the gb of the past or even present who might have had some serious allegations made against them which the authorities are never going to know about?
i mean why the hell are they going to such lengths to hide everything???.
any thoughts?
Is it my imagination or did I read on one of the "exjw forums" that Pat Garza died several years ago? Maybe even before Jaracz died?
Would Barbara Anderson know?
ok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
Let me tell you about a well known congregation (to me.)
In the mid 1990's when all was forward moving and building for increase it peaked at 89 publishers. Since then it has slowly but inexorably reduced to about 65. The congregation next to it on one side has been dissolved - its kingdom hall sold.
This congregation had six group study locations at its peak, now it has four. Rumour has it this will soon drop to three.
Now - one of these areas of this congregation had three groups at its peak - it was the hub of the hall with several elders and their families living there. It now has one group with the following make up ...
Out of 15 members (2 elders - no MS's)
10 are over 70 - of which 3 are housebound and over 80.
1 - late 60's disabled
2 are in their 40's to 50's (1 pioneer) and are the core of the groups ministry.
2 - couple late 20's born ins - him not reaching out - her mental issues and just coping
In the last three years - two other over 70's have died and one brother in his 60's has been DFd. Two teenage girls have left before baptism.
The downhill trend is speeding up ...
ok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
Actually Morpheus I said flatlining and declining in Europe/USA.
Europe in 2016/2017 "Peak publishers" according to the borg's own figures.
2016 1,490,882
2017 1,486,445
Drop of 4,437
I've not even included Russia in that either.
ok so this is a topic i've pondered and go back and forth on.. i can easily see a point where lawsuits cause massive deficits in the organization.
honestly i feel like we are seeing the tip of the iceberg in regards to lawsuits on child abuse.
to me it looks like the property sell offs are to be able to get ready for this.
Flatlining and declining in Europe/USA
Last two years baptisms for Germany/Italy/Poland/USA
2016 3224 - 4915 - 1740 - 28588
2017 2839 - 4542 - 1571 - 27674
(Borgs own figures)
