Posts by jschwehm

We cannot change the past but you can make decisions that will change your future for the better. The decisions might be difficult if the change you wish to make is very drastic. I would recommend that you see a counselor of some sort that can help you to sort out your feelings and priorities so that you can make good decisions for the future. I did this when I first left the JWs and it was very helpful.

Also, know that you are in my thoughts and prayers.

Jeff S.

www.catholicxjw.com

5

Radio program on the JWs today July 3rd @ 6:30 PM CT

by jschwehm in

jw
friends

i am supposed to be on the radio today (barring any technical difficulties) at 6:30 pm central time for about an hour.. i believe they take calls so if there is something you want me to talk about feel free to call in.. here is the link where you can listen on-line:.

http://www.radiomaria.us/programs.html.

jeff s.. www.catholicxjw.com.

jschwehm

I am supposed to be on the radio today (barring any technical difficulties) at 6:30 PM Central Time for about an hour.

I believe they take calls so if there is something you want me to talk about feel free to call in.

Here is the link where you can listen on-line:

http://www.radiomaria.us/programs.html

Jeff S.

www.catholicxjw.com

2

Interview with Tom Cabeen

by jschwehm in

jw
friends

i thought some of you might find the following podcast interesting.

you can download it here:.

http://catholicxjw.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html.

jschwehm

Hi All:

I thought some of you might find the following podcast interesting. You can download it here:

http://catholicxjw.blogspot.com/2008_06_01_archive.html

Jeff S.

www.catholicxjw.com

501

Warren Schroeder from Bethel on Freddy, Kline and the apostate books!

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

having problem pasting this...

jschwehm

Hi All:

When I was at Bethel, I worked on the Paint and Scaffold Crew. This was when the JWs were buying up property in the Heights like crazy. However, if I remember correctly, they did not buy it up directly. They had a front corporation known as Co-Hi that bought the Bossert and the Standish and then let the Watchtower Society use the buildings and remodel them. I think this is how they got to buy the property on Columbia Heights where the old Margaret Hotel once stood.

I can remember this very guy in a suit coming in periodically and visiting and inspecting the remodeling work on the Bossert periodically. Everyone said that he was in charge of Co-Hi.

I am wondering does anyone know anything more about this group? Around 1988, Co-Hi gave the properties it owned directly to the Society.

Jeff S.

501

Warren Schroeder from Bethel on Freddy, Kline and the apostate books!

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

having problem pasting this...

jschwehm

Hi All:

It was a cool and crisp October evening and I was on my way to get some pizza at a local restaurant in Brooklyn Heights. I had just left 124 Columbia Heights and was walking down the street towards the Towers Hotel when at least two guys jumped me from behind. We fought and I got the short end of the stick although I did drag the guys attacking me for about a block until my pants ripped which made me think the guy had a knife. I gave them all the money I had on me at the time. ($7.00) and the next thing I remember is being assisted up from off the other side of the street by the Bethel doctor. (I cannot remember his name but we used to call him "Fingers" because his hands and fingers were so big and this made a certain part of our annual physical quite uncomfortable.)

They quickly brought me into the infirmary at Bethel and the doctor said that I had a concussion. I think one of the guys had something in his hand as he wailed on my head while we were scuffling down the street. I do remember having a terrible headache that lasted for about three days. The guys on security came into the room once the doctor was done and asked me questions and quickly received word from above that I should report the attack and mugging to the local police. So, a few minutes later some police officers were in the infirmary. They were clearly impressed by the place and had no idea that the JWs had such things in their buildings. They asked me to go to their precinct the next day and look at photos since the neighborhood was being terrorized by these guys and I appeared to me the first one to have gotten a decent look at them.

So, the next day I went to the local precinct and sat there until the detectives had time to deal with me. I looked at pictures after pictures but no one looked familiar at all. I was there for a good 6 hours or so and they asked me to come back the next day to look at more pictures.

When I got back to Bethel, there was note that I was to report to Ralph Walls' office at 360 Furman. I worked in the Paint and Scaffold crew and Ralph was the bldg overseer at the 360 Furman and a member of the Factory Committee I believe. I went over there and spoke with Ralph and there was another guy there whose name escapes me. I think the other guy was my Overseer's Overseer.

In any case, Ralph's message to me was that they were concerned that it was a gang that was targeting the Bethelites and others in the neighborhood. Evidently, a sister had had her purse snatched a few days before I was mugged. He told me that he "was not telling me what to do" but that he was concerned that if this gang found out that a Bethelite could identify them then the Society's properties might get targeted and that they could not guarantee my safety. We spoke for a while but it was soon made clear to me, that if i did not drop the whole looking at pictures to see if I could ID the culprits thing, that my life at Bethel would be made difficult. (And, believe me, by this time I was not about to do anything that would make my Bethel experience anymore irritating as it was irritating enough by then.) So, I never went back to the police precinct to look at pictures.

What did ultimately happen after this, however, was that Bethel started their own bus service between the Factory, 360 Furman, and the Squibb Bldg for those who worked late in the evenings.

Not long after this, a friend of mine from home came to visit Bethel and went on the tour. He said, that he found the tour interesting but very troubling because he could see that Bethel seems to place more emphasis on their properties (such as the presses, bldgs, etc) than on their people. It was at this point that I really started having issues with things...........This JW from home had no idea how true that was.

Jeff S.

501

Warren Schroeder from Bethel on Freddy, Kline and the apostate books!

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

having problem pasting this...

jschwehm

Does Bethel restrict where Bethelites are allowed to go??

When I was there in the late 1980's we were not allowed to use the Writing Depts' library........I often wondered why that was the case.

Also, I remember during Morning Worship on a Friday, I think it was Karl Klein who used to like to really "go off" on things on a regular basis.

During this one Saturday morning, he told the story of this JW couple who started their relationship by cheating on their mates and getting disfellowshipped. After getting reinstated and married they had a Down's Syndrome child.

Klein went on and on about how this couple had a "mongoloid" child as a punishment from God for their unfaithfulness to Jehovah when they committed adultery and were disfellowshipped.

It really got the Bethel family upset and the Saturday morning he apologized for his comments.

Ironically, a good friend of mine was asked to leave Bethel a few weeks later for, among other things, being publically critical of comments made by a member of the GB. Evidently, they (meaning the Bethelite spy network) had been working overtime to get rid of my friend and they finally got something. I guess it did not matter that my friend's critical comments on Klein's Morning Worship tirade were well taken and also one of about 2000 critical comments.........

I really believe that the tone of Bethel changed after the 1970's and those of us who served there in the 1980's and beyond were subjected to much more spying and control in many respects. What do you guys think?

Jeff S.

Catholic Ex-JW Conference in Pittsburgh, PA area in August

by jschwehm in

jw
friends

we are having a conference in weirton, wv (about 20 minutes from pittsburgh international airport) on august 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 2008).. i realize that this conference may not appeal to everyone on this discussion board but for those of you who are interested, the conference is for former jehovah's witnesses who might like to learn more about the catholic faith.

in any case here is the website if you want more information:.

on friday evening, mary kochan will be giving a presentation on how cults work and how to heal from our experiences as jws.. on saturday morning mary alice chrnaloger will give her presentation on how to intervene if a loved one has gotten involved in the jws.. on saturday afternoon there are a variety of presentations that will be given by mainly former jehovah's witnesses who are now catholic those who will be speaking include:.

jschwehm

Hi All:

We are having a conference in Weirton, WV (about 20 minutes from Pittsburgh International Airport) on August 1st, 2nd, and 3rd 2008).

I realize that this conference may not appeal to everyone on this discussion board but for those of you who are interested, the conference is for former Jehovah's Witnesses who might like to learn more about the Catholic faith.

In any case here is the website if you want more information:

www.catholicxjw.com/whconference.html

On Friday evening, Mary Kochan will be giving a presentation on How Cults Work and how to heal from our experiences as JWs.

On Saturday morning Mary Alice Chrnaloger will give her presentation on how to intervene if a loved one has gotten involved in the JWs.

On Saturday afternoon there are a variety of presentations that will be given by mainly former Jehovah's Witnesses who are now Catholic those who will be speaking include:

Tom Cabeen

John Davis

James Caputo

If you want to learn more about why some of us have left the JWs and have become Catholic then some of this might interest you.

If you have questions feel free to email me at [email protected]

God's blessings to you all,

Jeff S.

www.catholicxjw.com