What does "The disfellowshipping of xyz is now rescinded" mean

by cognitivedizzy 29 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  DesirousOfChange

  I only know of it happening one time.

  Local elders DF the guy but he eventually appealed to the Service Dept (Brooklyn then) and they determined the local elders had erred. He was not "reinstated". The DFing was rescinded.

  Just another example of the dumbass redneck elders not following procedure. This was probably before the Secret Elders' Book was released, so I guess we'll give 'em come slack. I'm sure the Book spells it out clearly. But then, that means at least one of the Elders on the JC has to be able to read.
  
• 

  iwantoutnow

  wow Crazy! - that is true about being able to read :)
• 

  slimboyfat

  Wasn’t there a paragraph in the branch/correspondence guide/circuit overseer handbook (I forget which) about something like this?

  As I recall, it said something about there being the possibility of a second appeal, direct to the branch, after the first appeal is concluded, and that elders are not even made aware of this provision, and the branch can unilaterally overturn the decision if they wish.

  It really stuck in my mind because, if it is something that even the elders don’t know about, it could perhaps be useful for ordinary JWs to be aware of, if they find themselves in the position of having lost an appeal. (If I am remembering correctly)
• 

  slimboyfat

  Found mention of DFing being “recinded” in the CO guidebook, but apparently only in relation to bodies of elders who failed to follow the instruction to wait seven says before making the announcement:

  13.6. Individuals have the right to an appeal when disfellowshipped, and they should not be discouraged from exercising it. It is necessary for judicial committees to wait seven days before announcing a disfellowshipping, even if the individual says he will not appeal or if he failed to appear at the original hearing. If the individual were to appeal the decision after the announcement had been made but before the seven days expired and then the disfellowshipping were to be rescinded, it could raise unnecessary questions in the minds of some. (If an appeal is made after seven days, the judicial committee should contact the Service Department immediately for direction.)
• 

  RubaDub

  (If an appeal is made after seven days, the judicial committee should contact the Service Department immediately for direction.)

  slimboyfat ...

  I think that is likely what happened in the situation I described earlier here. The person did not appeal but after a short time (perhaps a few weeks) presented proof that he was not even in town at the the time the elders thought they saw him alone with a woman in her house. They called his relatives in another state to confirm that he was visiting and he provided receipts of his travel.

  It all got somehow "rescinded."

  Rub a Dub
  
  
• 

  Incognito

  As related to Slimboy's coment, if the person who was df'd, later procured a copy of the manual and realized written procedures were not followed by elders, he/she may then have cause to appeal directly to WT. Since elders are expected to adhere to all instructions issued by WT and as WT letters and written proceedures have been repeatedly used as evidence by courts of law, WT may feel pressured to rescind the earlier determination and announcement due to a technicality which could bite them if ignored.

  Although to rescind means to revoke, cancel or repeal, it is not a word commonly used by WT or JWs. Perhaps WT expect by using that word, there will be no grounds for legal action, but JWs will continue to shun the person as a 'Judicial Commitee' found the person guilty enough to be Df'd and the person technically has not been 'reinstated'.
• 

  Solzhenitsyn

  There is no HQ provision for this and the times it has happened without BOE repercussions could probably be counted on zero fingers.
• 

  road to nowhere

  SOBs should read that manual. I was told point blank not to appeal for my minor son. Star witness was a husband of a sister who was waiting to complete his military service for retirement before getting in. Also famous for having problems with everyone in the hall.

  Knocked on the door at 11 PM( no white hoods though) and said they would be by next day, took half hour because they didnt want to miss supper.
• 

  zophar

  Well, I know of a reinstatement that was rescinded. Young single woman reinstated and it's discovered she is pregnant. Announcement, " Reinstatement has been rescinded and she remains Disfellowshipped".
• 

  careful

  Yes, it is real, whether individual ex-elders here have experienced or heard of it or not. It's done, just like DOC said, when local BOEs and/or appeals committees screw up. It's done from HQ. It means that the DFing never should have happened. It's rare but it occurs. A CO explained it to me back in the 1980s. I know of one case of a high powered elder getting wrongly DFed by his enemies, other high power elders who hated him. The service department at Brooklyn (pre-Patterson/Warwick days) had to step in and rescind the DFing.
  

  It's mentioned in the CO manual for a reason (see SBF's quotation above).