at a recent circuit assembly "business meeting" for elders, a new program was announced: "funds on deposit".. here's how it works:.
each circuit determines a "floor" and a "ceiling" for an amount to hold in their circuit checking account.
when the "ceiling" amount is exceeded, the amount above the threshold is wired to the wts and held by them.. if the circuit checking account drops below the "floor" amount, the circuit can send a request to the wts to request that some of their "funds on deposit" be returned to them so that their checking account resumes a "safe" level.. as explained by the elder explaining the program,, "in other words, the branch is acting exactly like a bank - the circuit will make deposits and withdrawals as needed.
Was there any mention of increasing the circuit's donation to the Kingdom Hall Building Fund?
The reason I ask, is that at our recent Circuit Assembly, they read a letter from the WTS thanking them for the $500 donation made at the last CA. Then they went on to announce that at this CA's "business meetings", the elders had decided to send $2,600 to the Kingdom Hall Building Fund. It left me wondering what the motivation was behind the more than 5-fold increase in the donation.
in my city, there's been a husband and wife who quit this week.
hurray!.
the first thing that came to mind when i heard it was 'they didn't need my help'.. you see, many in my city who quit in the past were previously on my mailing list.
Ok. The two quitters showed up at the kringedome hall. Apparently sat through the 'apostobash' and undoubtedly endured 'the evil eye' staredown from the dubb klan. My question is, what the hell are they thinking?
I have no idea what the motivation of these two were in attending the meeting, but I've also thought what would happen if you disassociated yourself, or were DF'd for apostacy, yet continued to attend meetings. I can only imagine what would be going through the "friends'" minds every time you walked through the door and took a seat. I think it would really rattle the nerves of many, knowing an apostate was "in their midst" at all their meetings. Would they fear the Holy Spirit TM would leave the hall?
I imagine a couple like this, sitting together during the 'apostobash' WT, rolling their eyes and quietly snickering at every "cultish" comment read from the WT, or said from the stage.
Another scene in my head is where 1 spouse becomes an "evil apostate", yet continues to attend to rub it in the face of everyone there that s/he is actually a loving husband/wife/father/mother, and not some beard-wearing, horn-growing demon.
It's a "public" meeting, and to the best of my knowledge they can only "rescind" their public invitation if you are causing a true scene (trying to interrupt the meeting, threatening violence, etc.).
I'm sure many here would not be able to stomach such an approach, but personally I would find it quite interesting to see how the local brothers would struggle to address such a situation.
dear brothers:.
re: personal literature supply.
reducing existing stock at the branch office before the revisions are released.
One metric that I've never seen published, or spoken about, is the total number of reported placements compared to the number of a particular publication printed. I'm sure the WTS tracks that difference and has some level of insight into how many magazines printed are never reported as placed. I'm sure the number is enormous. (Especially considering how many people out there fudge their placements anyway, so as not to be bothered by the elders.) I'd be surprised if even 50% of WT and Awake! magazines are ever placed with non-JWs.
last sunday after sitting through the ca an eldurr whom i know related this story about the warwick compound construction, as related to him by someone who had just returned from their tour of duty.. "the property is over-run with rattlesnakes.
so there are assigned brothers who catch and release them off property.
they won't kill them.
Forget a special wall; they just need this:
Trust in Jehovah!
the following photo is a still frame captured from the latest semi-animated video on jw.org called caleb and sophia visit bethel:.
here is the direct link to this video:.
http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/caleb-sophia-visit-bethel/.
@ Respectful_observer: It COULD be an Invicta like I said, but somehow I doubt it. I mean really, who in WT land is going to question him if he really were wearing a $25,000 gold Rolex Daytona? Even a Patek? I bet 75% of the Dubs at Bethel don't know what a Rolex IS, much less what it COSTS, because they are so secluded and sheltered/clueless. And I'd bet that 99.95% of them wouldn't know Patek from Timex.
Myself, I'm an Omega and Glashutte Original man myself.
@WingCommander: Big fan of Glashutte myself and also A. Lange & Sohne, however another is nearer and dearer to my heart. Alas, I hestitate to post the name since it's rare enough where I'd be afraid it would assist someone in determining my real identity (or at least make them awfully suspicious). Sighhhh....
the following photo is a still frame captured from the latest semi-animated video on jw.org called caleb and sophia visit bethel:.
here is the direct link to this video:.
http://www.jw.org/en/bible-teachings/family/children/become-jehovahs-friend/videos/caleb-sophia-visit-bethel/.
Not to completely derail this thread, but the gold tones on Tony's watch bracelet seem to span the width, whereas the gold (or gold tone) on both the Rolex Daytona and Invicta Speedway appear to just run down the middle.
It's hard to tell from such a distance, and not disagreeing with anyone, just sharing my observations.
Personally, I'd be surprised if he was actually wearing a Rolex. It's a brand that's too well known as expensive. Now if I spotted him wearing a luxury brand a little more obsure, but just as (if not more) expensive as some of the better-known mass market luxury brands, I'd be concerned.
a friend of mine was telling me yesterday that she goes to school with a girl who is a witness and she has confided to her that she feels the need to marry this guy because simply dating isn't right.
when i explained that they are under pressure because they must not commit fornication, she laughed and said, "oh they do that all right"...it makes me aware of how so many jws are nominally in the religion but do what they want in the end while trying to keep the elders off their back.
The divorce rate for JWS in the age group 25 and under is just as high as the general population.
In my area, that age probably extends to the age group under 45 now. It seemed to really start picking up steam in the late 90s with the rapid adoption of the interwebs and only accelerated with the adoption of texting and mobile email.
It's something of a joke now. A good sized group of us recently were trying to think of anyone recently who was actually a virgin when they got married. More than half were already on their second JW marriage anyway, and those on their first marriage almost all had "sown their wild oats" plenty before their first marriage.
the wt study for sept 7th just breeds such a spirit of paranoia!.
using old biblical references just so as to prevent anyone from using critical thinking skills and analysing the "truth".. then using incorrect, leading reasoning to paint any who "think outside of the box" of the org as "apostate".... pure manipulation!.
I got that feeling a few weeks back, the bro on mics was standing behide me, looking over my shoulder. Not sure what he would have seen, but if he looked hard enough he would have seen that the WT I had open was not the right one, thats because I don't have the current WT and I didn't want to look out of place. Or have someone else give me their WT.
It depends. Are you a woman? If so, it's a well documented fact that those bros running mics have the best, shall we say, "view" of the sisters as they stand leering leaning over them. I've observed plenty of young brothers peering down at something else besides a sister's WT.
more and more jw.org special campain pictures made by the r&f flush over the internet.. it's crazy how this jw.org madness becomes a phallus inside the witness world.. observing it from some distance, it is clear: jw.org is the central theme of the current witness beliefs.
every step they make, is for promoting jw.org.
when they speak, they only speak about jw.org.
More and more jw.org special campain pictures made by the R&F flush over the internet.
It's crazy how this jw.org madness becomes a phallus inside the witness world.
There were no fewer than 5 people at last Sunday's meeting sporting JW.ORG buttons on their clothing, including the chairman. Not sure if this will continue after this month's campaign ends, or become more common as more people jump on the "flair" bandwagon. Who knows, maybe the "direction that may not seem practical from a human standpoint" will be that we all should be wearing these buttons 24/7.
"Let me ask you a question Sr. Independent Thinker, what do you think of a person who only does the bare minimum? We're concerned that you haven't been following the recommendation of the Faithful Slave to wear your JW.ORG button at all times."
the letter has appeared at last - just for uk.
it is a money grab for the new bethel which has been approved.
there is a video to be shown - just watched it - brief summary of uk bethels, why current one is too small, why we need money to build a new one.
2004 – 360 Furman Street – sold for $205 million
2006 – 67 Livingston Street – sold for $18.6 million
2006 – 89 Hicks Street – sold for $14 million
2007 – 169 Columbia Heights – sold for $50 million
2011 – 50 Orange Street – sold for $7.1 million
2012 – 165 Columbia Heights – sold for $4.1 million
2012 – 161 Columbia Heights – sold for $3 million
2012 – 183 Columbia Heights – sold for $6.6 million
2012 – 105 Willow Street – sold for $3.3 million
2012 – 34 Orange Street – sold for $2.825 million
2012 – Bossert Hotel – sold for $81 million
2012 – 67 Remsen Street – sold for $3.25 million
2013 – 173 Front Street, 177 Front Street & 200 Water Street – sold for $30.6 million
2013 – 55 Prospect Street, 81 Prospect Street, 117 Adams Street, 77 Sands Street, 90 Sands Street & 175 Pearl Street – sold for $375 million
TOTAL (so far)
– $804,375,000
...........................................................
You could just list that on the slip.
