JWs & Haiti... Awesome.
by Doubtfully Yours 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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purplesofa
I read this the other day, here is the last part of the article.
The last reply I got was from an elder at a Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall. He wrote: “Our kingdom hall is used by four congregations to avoid crowding and to allow us to get to know each other better. Each congregation meets twice a week, attendance averages 110 per meeting. No collections are ever taken in any kingdom hall anywhere in the world. No plate is passed, no dunning letters are sent out. We do not tithe. We have no paid ministers or staff. Each congregation is presided over by an unpaid body of elders, none superior to any other. We have a box at the back of the hall with a slot in the top where people can anonymously contribute what they can, if they wish, to pay for the utilities and maintenance of the building. We keep costs down by all of us – elders and publishers – jointly working together on cleaning and maintenance projects. We have another box where people can drop a contribution, if they wish, to the worldwide work of Jehovah’s Witnesses. That money supports the printing of millions of copies of The Watchtower and Awake magazines, Bibles, and other study aids. These publications are not sold; they are given freely to any who agree to read them. The brothers and sisters who live and work at the world headquarters in New York and in branch offices around the world are all volunteers. None – from the newest laborer to the members of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses – receive a salary. The funds sent in for the worldwide work also support thousands of missionaries in other lands. Our missionaries are not school teachers or social workers. They devote their full time to teaching people the Bible. As all our meetings are about studying the Bible, money is not mentioned. Occasionally a letter is read thanking the congregation for contributions received. Every penny contributed is scrupulously accounted for, and any member of the congregation is free to ask any of the elders for an accounting of what the money was spent on. There is no special collection for Haiti; there is no need. Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide consider ourselves a brotherhood, and the problems of our brothers in Haiti are the same as if they happened to our literal family members, so there is no need to urge anyone to contribute. Jehovah’s Witnesses in Dominican Republic were on the road to Haiti with relief supplies within hours after the quake hit. Several Witness doctors from Dominican Republic and elsewhere have been working almost nonstop since the quake. Money and other supplies from the Watchtower Society headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, were sent immediately to Haiti and Dominican Republic, and supplies and money are still pouring in. Of course, no repayment will ever be asked for or expected… we know they would do the same for us.”
Well, that was refreshing. I went to watchtower.org and searched it for references to money, donations, charity. All I found were Watchtower articles such as “Is money your master or your servant?” and “Is pursuit of money making you sick?” Try as I might, there was no way to donate any money to the organization, nor any request for donations. The only mention of money I found, in connection with Haiti, was in a public news release at jw-media.org entitled “Witnesses’ relief efforts well under way for victims of earthquake in Haiti.” A single line at the bottom read, “The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is caring for these expenses by utilizing funds donated to the Witnesses’ worldwide work.”
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wobble
I think this will make the Jw's sound really good, and nearly all of the 6.5 million of them would believe this to be the case.
Sadly the selective distribution of aid and subsequent requests for insurance cheques to be assigned to the Wt that we have seen in other disasters will probably go on in some form in Haiti, though there will be precious little insurance payout there.
For those who wish to give in the U.K a good way is via the Rotarians, here in Kent they guarantee 100% of your contribution gets to Haiti.
Love
Wobble
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sir82
None – from the newest laborer to the members of the governing body of Jehovah’s Witnesses – receive a salary.
That's funny. It's also disingenuous at best, utterly deceptive is probably a better term.
Add up the benefits paid to thousands of Bethelites, COs, DOs, missionaries, and special pioneers worldwide. Health care, room and board, new automobiles, automobile insurance, travel expenses (sometimes first class), clothing allowances, cleaning & housekeeping services...the list goes on and on, and 100% of it is tax-free.
How much salary would someone have to earn to live an equivalent lifestyle? Depending on seniority & responsibilities in the organization, likely $20,000 to $100,000 or more.
JW "volunteers" live better than 95% of the world's population.
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booby
Ah, another chance to pat ourselves on the back. What a gratuitous diatribe. It is true, they don.t pass a collection plate. But they have up to three different contribution boxes in the halls. Local, world wide work, and sometimes for special like kingdom hall construction. They have dozens of boxes closely guarded at every convention, and they even had a contribution box at every book study location when they still had that arrangement, which by the way would be the way of salvation when the great trib and all the persecution started in earnest. Also at least annually if not more they use the watchtower to plead for donations, advising members how they can will their money to them, even donate their jewellery to them. And just think how wonderful they are in not asking for repayment, The wicked world organizations like the red cross of course are going to demand a repayment. They collect vast amounts of money, and after looking after the vast empire (imagine the cost of keeping Patterson running) and themselves there is the opportunity to give some help to situations like Haiti. Is the writer not able to see the dilution of contributions thru the society.
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purplesofa
wobble, sir and booby,
thanks for your comments.
This guy needs the WHOLE picture.
purps
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Gayle
The funds sent in for the worldwide work also support thousands of missionaries in other lands.
According to the 2009 Annual Report, the funds for special pioneers, missionaries, traveling overseers was "over $140 million."
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Mad Sweeney
www.jwgift.org is an official "give to the WTS" site but it appears to be for the British branch only? Not sure.
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rebel8
The only mention of money I found, in connection with Haiti, was in a public news release at jw-media.org entitled “Witnesses’ relief efforts well under way for victims of earthquake in Haiti.” A single line at the bottom read, “The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is caring for these expenses by utilizing funds donated to the Witnesses’ worldwide work.”
A smart strategy on their part.
They have gotten a lot of criticism from us for asking donations not be earmarked for disaster relief in the past, but rather just to the 'worldwide work'.
Posters on this forum have said many times this probably means they aren't using any donations for disaster relief--seemingly that was the case but no longer is.