When you write a letter to Bethel, you will receive an acknowledgement letter. It usually starts by stating the date of your letter, and they restate the general question or matter you wrote about. Then they will give a non-committal answer, and encourage you to study and preach. For example:
Dear brother/sister Blank:
We have received your letter of May 20, 2009 in which you inquire about whether or not a child molester can have a position in the congregation....
However, often they INCLUDE A COPY of the letter to your body of elders, and to the circuit overseer. Depending on what is in your letter, the elders may want to speak with you.
The letter is signed Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses, but does not have the name of the person at Bethel who wrote it, ostensibly to give the impression the Holy Spirit, and not a person, directed the writing of the letter, and to avoid focusing on the letter writer. However, THEY KNOW who wrote your response, it is at the top of the letter. It used to be a two-letter code, I am not sure if they still use that. The Service Committee of the Governing Body used to use GSC at the top of their letters, and then a slash, and then a two-letter code to identify TO THEM the writer, for example: GSC/AR. The Executive Offices used to use AE, and then the two-letter code. The Service Department used SSA.
So you might be able to figure out what department wrote your response, but that's about it.
Now, suppose you want something done, and you write a letter about it. Often, nothing will be done except to encourage you to keep faithful. However, if your letter includes a serious accusation against a specific person in the congregation, and you include your name, Bethel will send a copy to the C.O., and to the body of elders. The elders will then be contacted by the C.O, EVEN IF IT IS NOT THE TIME OF THE C.O. VISIT, and he will tell them to get on it right away. That is because the C.O. has to write a response to Bethel as to what was done about that situation. I have had to write numerous letters to the Branch to show that I had contacted the elders, and they had handled the situation, and it was resolved.
I know of a case where a sister was being harrassed by someone in the congregation. According to her, he was over-friendly and made crude, sexual remarks. The sister went to the elders, and they didn't do anything. She then wrote to Bethel, hinted at legal action against this brother, hinted at secret sins the brother may be committing, and that the elders view HER as the problem and won't help her.
The elders were contacted by the C.O., they met with that sister and told her not to worry, she was not the problem, and they cared about her all along. Also they said she shouldn't have threatened legal action, she should have waited on Jehovah. The person that was harrassing her was deleted of his position, he changed congregations, and stayed away from her.
I am not recommending you do that, but there are special circumstances that if you handle it wisely, you can sometimes get the elders to get a certain person to leave you alone.
So have you written to Bethel? What was your experience like?
BF