by Lynnie 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Just found out from my JW mom that the congregations located in the suburbs north of Seattle
will be renting buses to shuttle people back and forth to the International convention at Husky
Stadium. And of course they will have to pay extra for this lovely privilege. There is already an excellent
municipal bus system in place but of course they felt the need to get their own private buses.
Just found it interesting and another way to fleece the flock.
I live near Seattle. Husky stadium is in the city itself, and isn't easy to get to. The university mostly blocks one side, Lake Washington the other. That leaves three roads to the site itself. I wondered how they were going to get people in and out of the place.
edited to add, parking down there is also a mess.
You expect JWs to mix with "worldly" (yeeech!) people on their way to the "holy convention"?
Heaven Bethel forbid!
Yes I agree that Husky Stadium is difficult to get to. The UW does have a huge parking lot however and
was also wondering how much they were charging for parking for the poor R&F. Maybe parking wasn't included
to save money, HAHAHA~!The U District is somewhat sketchy too when it comes to crime so that should be interesting as well.
Our cong. is doing the same thing. The bus system from where we are is spotty, so it makes sense. But the rental is pretty spendy. Can't recall the exact cost, but I was surprised when it was talked about months ago. The cong. isn't fleecing. The money is going directly to the bus company. But the fact that WTBTS put an International Convention in Seattle in an OUTDOOR STADIUM kinda makes one wonder what they were thinking. The weather could be nice in July, but it could also be miserable. We'll just have to wait and see and hope for the best.
Pasadena, California, September 1963 was an International Convention.
The Rose Bowl is totally open to the elements.
People came from all over the world.
Sept in Los Angeles is hot, humid and muggy.
Ah... What did Brother's Knorr and Franz and other's have to say?
I don't know, but I can still remember some of the dresses I wore and how I fixed my hair and who sat with whom and who was pregnant and what guys I saw.
LoisLane not of the religious persuasion.
Cost of bussing in metro detroit is 50/person for all three days. For a family of 4 thats $200. Definitely a pretty big expense for some families.
This is an e-mail that was circulating among JWs a few weeks ago about the convention in Seattle and the claimed obstacles WT was having finding a convention site. As is usual with these stories, JWs spare no effort with their self-important view of JWs and the WT, and how Satan tries to stop the work but Jehovah™ wins everytime.
Incidentally, I did a fair amount of research trying to substantiate the claims in the e-mail. All I can say is, what a pile of bovine residue this whole "experience" is. While the JW who wrote this claims Husky Stadium is never, ever rented out to anyone for any reason, the fact is, if you go directly to the University's website, they have an entire section dedicated to nothing but information on how groups can rent their facilites! They do it all the time:
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Here's the e-mail:
"Below is a report about preparing for the Seattle, Washington International Convention. Helps you to realize that it is Jehovah’s will that we attend conventions and assemblies and that Jehovah is the one who makes it happen as long as we obey him and his channel. To begin with, the brothers involved in working with the public for these international conventions all had to fly to NY and attend a special training on how to handle this according to the branch's specifications. Had to be done very professionally... Originally, the brothers tried to get either the Safeco Field (where the major league baseball team plays) or Century Link (where the football team plays) but neither place would schedule out as far as we needed (since they started this process a couple years ago). So they turned to the University of Washington for the beautiful Husky football stadium. They were promptly told they do NOT rent their stadium out to anyone! EVER! That it had to do with security issues and it just couldn't happen. So the brothers told the branch they couldn't get a place and the branch told the local brothers there would be no international convention on the west coast if they couldn't get a facility. So they went back to the UW and talked to them some more. Again it was about security. So the brothers told them about our own security but they said it was Homeland security issues. They were told we would all have to submit to being searched before entering - bags, et al. The brothers said no problem. Well, next they said to try to discourage us was they would have to have references (probably thinking we wouldn't have any!) from BIG stadiums like theirs - not little ones like the Tacoma Dome where we usually have the convention. So they told them they could call QualComm in San Diego and Dodger Stadium in L.A. So they called and asked them how they handle working with us; the security, cleaning, etc. and they both basically said they just hand the keys over and we take it from there... So UW FINALLY decided to make this 1 exception to rent it out to us! However, there was only ONE weekend all summer long that we could have it - the 4th of July weekend! It turns out - that was the one weekend the branch WANTED us to have it!!! They want this to be a HUGE witness to Seattle! (There are 3 states invited to attend - us, Idaho and Montana with a total of 34 or 37,000 expected.)
Next, the brothers had to find lodging at hotels that were used to getting $300/night and they were offering $140.! The hotels all said "NO WAY! We have gigantic cruise ships coming in here that are full of people who are willing to pay the $300. So after this went on for a while, the brothers got to feeling really disheartened about the whole thing and so they had to call the branch again and tell them they couldn't get lodging. The branch told them - "you keep hitting the walls and Jehovah will blow the trumpets" so they kept on asking. Finally, 1 of the major hotels changed their minds and gave in. After that, one by one they all gave in and accepted our offer! All the attendants and brothers working in the facility, the parking lots and everywhere else will be having special training. The Governing Body wants EVERYONE to attend this event - including the elderly and infirm - so extra special attention is being given to how they can be accommodated comfortably. From the drop off and parking to their seating which will be the closest to the doors. And the congregations are expected to take care of the elderly and infirm in their own congregations while at the convention. There are big, giant video screens in several places so that no one will have to turn their heads to view them and everyone will have a good view of the speaker!
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Like I said, go the the U of W website and see their webpage detailing how anyone can rent their stadium. This story is pure WT bulls**t ! But JWs will lap it up without question and use it as "proof" that Jehovah™ loves the WT.
Renting Husky/UW facilities (something the above account says never happens!):
http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&ATCLID=208228762&DB_OEM_ID=30200&DB_OEM_ID=30200
Husky Stadium Capacity: 72,500 Built: 1920, Renovations: 1950, 1987, 201-12.
Husky Stadium | Seattle, Washington
Annually voted the most scenic football structure in the nation, Husky Stadium has proven to be a monstrous opponent for visitors hoping to pin a loss on Washington's gridiron heroes. With nearly 70 percent of the seats located between the end zones, Husky Stadium can be one of the loudest stadiums in the nation, with crowd noise averaging over 100 decibels. Nestled high above Union Bay on Lake Washington, Husky Stadium's seating capacity of 72,500 makes it the largest stadium, college or professional, in the Pacific Northwest and ranks it among the nation's top 15 largest on-campus facilities.
The view from Husky Stadium is unmatched, overlooking Lake Washington and offering sweeping skylines of Downtown Seattle, Mt. Rainier and the Cascade Mountains to the east and the Olympic Mountain Range to the west.
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Facilities rental info. Page:
http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30200&ATCLID=208588960
2. AUTHORIZED USERS
"Authorized Users" are those groups that are allowed to use the ICA Rental Facilities/Fields. These user groups are categorized as follows:
Please contact the Event Management Office at 206-543-2246 for availability and rental rates.
http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=30200&ATCLID=208228752
http://www.gohuskies.com/ViewArticle.dbml?ATCLID=209261492&DB_OEM_ID=30200&DB_OEM_ID=30200
It actually makes sense to rent busses because having 50 000 extra people in town is going to overload existing public transport. They could get the bus company to put on more buses like in Sydney for the international the public train network put on more trains from the city to the stadium. It's a logistical problem to move thousands of people to stadiums rather than a money making scheme.
