by Amazing 24 Replies latest jw friends
hi amazing -
its amazing to see what the different congregations allow or forbid across the country or even the world. in my hall, sideburns are pretty much forbidden and you can't do microphones if you have them longer than halfway down your ear. weird, eh?
I would like to add two more to your list:
Youth Watchtower Study. My congregation, back in the early 80's, had a number
of young people who got together weekly to study their Watchtower, and have a
little gathering afterward. It was shut down by official word from the Society. It was
possible for it to become a forum for independent ideas.
Internet sites. When the internet first came out, Witnesses would get together to
fellowship on-line. We all know what happened to that.
it seems like every other local needs talk is on independant thinking.
Gosh, during the 80's (in Pennsylvania) we used to have yearly talent shows and plays. It was all JW's. We did Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs (edited so no magical powers existed) we had ballet recitals. One year there was a spoof of a ballet class & all the elders in our hall wore tutus and danced on stage. (Several videos are out there of this) It was a riot. We would rent out the cafeteria of the local elementary school. They had a stage and there was coffee and desserts. Everyone was invited (even surrounding congregations) It seemed every other year we had a guy leaving for Bethel - so the event was combined with a going away party.
After about 8 years of this - the Society got wind of all this and shut it down. For the record, not one judicial committee was formed over these events.
We also had yearly congregation picnics at Green Lane Park and the entire congregation would come. This also was shut down.
Every year about 8 - 10 families (with tons of kids) would go camping in the Pocono's we would have the Watchtower study on Sundays. There was always at least 4 or 5 elders. This too was shut down.
Talk about sucking the life out of us.
Have I mentioned lately how much I hate them?
closer
Once my elder husband and I were with a group of JW's at a friend's house. Somebody started a game which my husband (now ex-husband by the grace of God) did not understand. It was one of those where you pass an object around and have to state a sentence with an item in it that begins with the same letter as your last name,and he never caught on, but everybody else did.
It's never any fun if there's an elder right in your household, especially one with the reasoning ability of another species.
Hi Amazing!
Enjoyed your list above and things definitely happened that way here in the five boroughs of NYC even though some congs would follow the "rules" and some would not.It all depended on your CO and/or your body of elders, or your PO if he was particularly powerful.
With all these halfway or not followed at all "rules" its just more confirmation that "God" was not, is not, and never will be the force behind the wts.
To add, one of our CO's in the early 90's told us elders that the society said that any if any elder or ministerial servant was caught going to R rated movies or known to watch them at home, that this would be grounds for their removal.
Such nonsense!
I watched them anyway and I'm glad I did.
worf
I remember getting into an argument with my parents one time as a teenager. I was about 14 or 15. I said to them, "Don't do this! Don't do that! Don't say this! Don't say that! All you do is make rules for me of what NOT to do, but you don't give me any ideas of things I CAN do. I am the only JW in this entire town and I can't associate with ANYONE? What do you plan on doing? Keeping me in a tower like Rupunzel?" Or something to that effect. But I think I made some headway with it. Not long after that my parents realized the trouble they were having with me and we moved to a larger city where there were thousands of JWs. (Coincidence or my argument made sense? I still dunno.)
But the JW's there really did try to spend time with their youth. We had volleyball and basketball at the park every Sunday with hordes of youth from many different congregations. I even have pictures of our Circuit Overseer playing basketball with some of the younger ones. I really do miss some of those friends!
Andi
We resorted to playing Cards or Trivial Persuit. But, we were encouraged to first sit around with maybe one ot two other families, and study the Watchtower magazine. We did this, and then we fell out of the Troof. -
Obviously you missed the crackdown on private non-family studies. Private group studies of any sort were strongly discouraged after the 1980 apostasy, though I don't know if that was ever in print or if it was just done verbally.
Can't have these brothers meeting on their own to study, too many new religions get started that way (like the one that famous apostate C.T. Russell started).
Tom
"The truth was obscure, too profound and too pure; to live it you had to explode." ---Bob Dylan
Hi Runningman,
"Youth Watchtower Study. My congregation, back in the early 80's, had a number
of young people who got together weekly to study their Watchtower, and have a
little gathering afterward. It was shut down by official word from the Society. It was
possible for it to become a forum for independent ideas."
The exact same thing happened where I live. Funny thing was, there were MS's and pioneers there too. The exact same reason was used. If I remember correctly that was in 1983. It was too bad, because it was really good chance to associate with people our own age (early 20's). Seems you couldn't associate with people outside the JWs OR inside. And they wonder why young people leave!!
Dan
(I notice you are from Canada too. Maybe we were at those gatherings together!!)
Amazing,
Your post resonates with me, as well.
When I moved back to Michigan in the early 90's my congregation was known as a "party congregation".
A group of friends frequently went out for ice cream or even dinner after the school/svc. meeting.
There were OFFICIAL congregation picnics at least twice (often 3X per year).
In the Spring, baseball was in order, and the guys were really good with the little ones.
In summer, fierce volleyball matches were played out [much to the chagrin of the elders in attendance!].
In the fall, a bonfire with a sing along, and touch football ( just the guys, Gopher! though the girls could pass a few back and forth).
GOOD food always plentiful. Worldly spouses, children welcome. If the park allowed it, beer and wine flowed.
Then came the word that no more OFFICIAL picnics could be held.
The picnics continued, but couldn't be called "congregation picnics".
Then the guest lists were made smaller, for better "control". And the picnics were held at parks where alcohol was not permitted.
House parties that once included those pre-fun WT studies were pared down, too. Even spiritual widows like me who enjoyed having the responsability of the family study being taken over by someone else were denied that respite. Private, non-family WT studies were no go's. Nothing official or overt, just the refusal of the former brother-conductors to lead the study anymore.
We ice skated on someone's private lake in winter and drank wine and played cards.... Annual trips to the zoo ... the science center IMAX theatre...
it truly was fun. My kids really, really liked the social events.
We enjoyed planning the parties we threw for the 'friends' when my husband went on his yearly golf vacations. That was our chance to return the hospitality extended to us during the year. One year the guest list became so long that we had to throw TWO parties 6 days apart so that the hostess -- me -- could be sure to know what was going on at all times. (There's that 'control' again!)
AHHhhhhhhh!!!! Those were the days.
But by the late 90's it was all mostly private parties for neo-Bethelites or 25th wedding anniversaries or graduations. No more big picnics. Very few large parties.
And then... I left!
outnfree
Par dessus toutes choses, soyez bons. La bonte est ce qui ressemble le plus a Dieu et ce qui desarme le plus les hommes -- Lacordaire
