by dudeson 15 Replies latest jw friends
I heard recently that 1 of the 4 congregations in our relatively small area has been "dissolved" and relocating many of them to the hall i used to attend. It must be due to the low numbers these days. Our average Sunday meeting attendance when I left was around 75.
Does this seem to be a growing trend recently?
In the past 5 years, 3 congregations in the local circuit have been disbanded. These truly are the "last days".
"These truly are the last days."
I'm sure i'll hear that expression from my mom if this subject comes up when I visit her.
I prefer the term "had its dick knocked in the creek".
A local congregation here was absorbed into a larger congregation. My mom tried to spin it as "The brothers and sisters were chomping at the bit to join us in worship." Yeah, right. They were upper middle class snobs who had a deep dislike towards the inner city JWs.
According to the Annual Meeting there were two new peaks in the USA during the last service year, so why are congregations being merged?
congo are merging and the old kingyhalls are being sold.
In my area it is happening. One reason is there are just so many problems in the congregations. And one hall may have 18 elders and another only 3 or 4 so they merge. I heard at least 4 congregations are merging in my circuit alone, because of too many problems. And they're asking elders and servants to go help out at other halls. We lost a lot of MS to other halls that needed help.
I only wish the same thing were happening here--every time I go online and count the number of congregations around (or the new phone book), there is the same number as last year.
People in these congregations were always forced to be in one or the other based on where they lived. And when you force people together there is resentment and backbiting. People dont choose to go to CHURCHES they dont like and sit with parishioners they dont get along with but the JWs have to. I hardly like ANY of the people in at least two of the congregations I was in. And you then have to deal with them 5 hours a week and for every service time? And all the pot lucks? Ugh...blech.
Sometimes they break up these disfunctional congregations and feed the parts to other congregations in lieu of lining them all up and shooting them and getting the teal and purple paisley carpeting bloody.
