Did You Ever Make the Pilgrimage?
by Quendi 45 Replies latest jw friends
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Aussie Oz
I went to Bethel australia in about 1978 as a 16 year old. The first construction on the farm at Liverpool was on the go, My brother and i satyed in the caravan of a friend who was on construction. I remember the mud. It was all MUD and boardwalks.
Went back later when the wifes sister was in bethel along with her husband, and stayed several times.
We later applied to a construction expansion in 1992 and were excepted and if we had not become pregnant we would have gone...
oz
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erbie
I've never been there personally but I eagerly await seeing it in the new system as that is where our direction will come from ;)
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jookbeard
never done Crookyln but my father did around 1989 and the enthusiasm and new found zest he came back with was unforgettable he made many friends and even flew over a boring dour Bethelite to stay with us and give 2 talks the week he stayed with us, ( he was a boring poor public speaker) I think his name was Gerard Tabarez, or close as I can get to the sir-name.
I remember 2 visits to the London Bethel in the years I was a Dub, the first when I was 5 or 6 (still have memories of it) and the during the Queens jubilee in 1977 when a Bus tour was organized, the old London branch was called the "Ridgeway" and I was always impressed about the cleanliness and how well the lawns and gardens were maintained, then they purchased Bittacy Hill 200 yards away which was a big construction project that relied on volunteer labour during the years it was built and I never saw it until last year , it was just a 4 floor gated facility with no outstanding features, I walked up to see the old "Ridgway" which they still own and was surprised how it had been left to deteriorate, gone was the lovely kept gardens and what I saw was almost rundown.
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factfinder
The Bethel facilities in NY have always been very well maintained and the printery stands out in sharp contrast to newspaper plants due to its outstanding cleanliness. I never considered it a "pilgramage" and never expected it to be a "religious" experience. I wanted to see the printing facilities and was greatly impressed by the large size of the buildings and the printing operations. I loved visiting Bethel-it seemed peaceful and secure. Yes I did see some unfriendly ones at Bethel during some visits- I guess those ones never should have chosen Bethel service since they were unhappy there. A brother from my original cong is still at Bethel- he has been there for 35 years and I never got the impression he was unhappy there. That type of lifestyle is not for everyone but some adjust to it and find satisfaction being there.
The expansion at the WEC (Patterson) and the new complex at Warwick should be completed within the next 5 years. Then, the society will move out of Brooklyn all together. I hope I get to tour the Brooklyn Facilities again before then- i have many happy memories of visiting friends at Bethel and taking the tours. I'd gladly go again if I could.
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charlie brown jr.
Never went ....
Never wanted....
I hated hearing those tell stories of the Pilgrimage to "Where-ever"........
Like seeing the Temple Solomon Built