The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society is a Real Estate enterprise.
Next question?
kingdom halls
by pepperheart 41 Replies latest watchtower bible
-
-
I Faded Twice
Yes I think 3000 is only the beginning. The flock is getting older and losing support from new members.Millenials aren't helping them . I think it's a slow death but only time will tell.
-
pepperheart
Also i think a lot of branch offices around the world are not paying their way So if the branches in
angola
benin
burundi
cameroon
central africa republic
congo
cote de ivoire
dominican republic
ethiopia
ghana
kenya
malawi
mozambique
nepal
nigeria
rwanda
senegal
sierra leone
uganda
zambia
if all these branches are £25,000 short of money to pay bills each year that adds up to £500,000 a year that the watchtower must find
-
fulano
Why do you mention the £25.000? Do you think life is cheap in those countries just because they are poor? £25.000 a year are the costs of a average missionary-home in a mayor city. Life can be very expensive in third world countries.
-
LongHairGal
GIORDANO:
I agree with the observation about JWs complaining about the long dangerous drives to halls that are far away.
Sadly, for these older JWs, the JW experience will be killed for them. It will be the end of an era..Many go for association and they are going to get less of it. I think for some, it was the only time they ventured out of the house.
No way are elderly going to do this long drive on cold winter nights. In fact, some may only do it on a nice weekend.
I had a hard time back in the day with my full time job making meetings with a hall that was less than fifteen minutes away. No way would I have ever traveled to a distant hall.
They would have never seen me and I would have ‘faded’ out of the JW religion even sooner than I did. 😂
-
LV101
Longhairgal - and that's what is cruel and sad -- the elderly having to drive in treacherous weather conditions or forfeiting socialization/worship with their friends in the winter of their lives. One wouldn't expect anything less from the horrifying cult, but it's hard to believe.
I, too, had a difficult time (very stressful) racing to/fro the meetings as my normal life (with UBM and daily driving errands of my child/nephew's dance/sports, etc.) resumed and I didn't work. I do know women JWs who worked part time or always looking for more work. Driving 15 min to meetings was too much time to be made miserable but I do have empathy for the elderly -- important they have social association.
-
LongHairGal
LV101:
Yes, the Witness religion is downsizing and people still attending are going to be inconvenienced and bothered in major ways. Of course, it will always be worse for the elderly. This is sad because in all likelihood these people contributed much and were the backbone in congregations - especially when the religion was in its heyday.
I am a longtime ‘fader’ who finds all these changes in the JW religion interesting to observe. Knowing myself, as I mentioned above, I would never drive a long distance to any hall nor would I be able to stand their constant appeals for $.
I’m out for many reasons but these things would have hastened my departure from the religion. Glad I’m out.
-
pepperheart
long hair girl thats why i an so pleased that the watchtower are now getting rid of kingdom halls, it will help people to fade but even the ones that are loyal must be having thoughts about where all the money is going.And also it will deter new people from getting involved if they have to go long distances
-
dynamiterose77
I would say more will be sold off. With, as others pointed out, some sort of statement about things being held in private homes. It's a good way to hide your actual numbers and stats as people fall away. Also, if people are in smaller groups it can be more of a deterrent to people that may consider "drifting" as they would be easier to notice as missing. Propaganda machine would probably invoke images of "family." Elders as benevolent parental figure, RF/brothers and sisters... say something about wanting to make sure that everyone gets all the personal attention and spiritual whatnots they need in "this time of the end."
"We elders need to humble ourselves and focus our personal attention on our brothers and sisters." I can hear it now.
Its like some big box stores... they put a store in a small town, then when they feel they have less competition, they close the first store and open a mega store further out of town that services several towns. So, in like vein, shut KHs and have everyone travel further once a week (or longer in rural communities to make it sound like a favor) to a bigger assembly hall. If my propaganda studies are right, as people are less likely to drift in smaller groups/easier to keep in check by elders, they will at least keep a certain level of numbers and APPEAR like there are more when everyone goes to one of these assembly style halls. It will keep larger numbers of RF from seeing people leaving, deter gossip and mumbling...
At least, that's me putting on my writer hat and asking "well, if I were an evil org. with dropping numbers, what would I do to minimize that?" I'd also probably send extra people to the assembly hall, just in case, make sure there are no empty seats.
I could be wrong. But, would you put it past them?
-
LongHairGal
DYNAMITEROSE77:
I agree with your post and I actually said so myself on another thread. I was joking but it could become a reality.
If they keep selling off halls and it becomes too ridiculously far to drive to the ‘nearest’ hall, they may very well suggest meeting in homes. Some JWs would like that because many were disappointed that home book studies were done away with...Not that I want to give them any ideas but I suspect this possibility is probably already being talked about behind closed doors somewhere!
All the other things you said make perfect sense: the images of ‘family’ 🤮, etc. Also, it would be easier to keep track of people and would be harder to ‘fade’. You’d have to come right out and say ‘don’t bother me anymore, I’m done.’
The nosiness would be beyond belief and they would be in everybody’s face up close and personal asking for money. You couldn’t escape it. Boy, am I glad I’m out of there.