Banned from the second school!

by purrpurr 34 Replies latest jw friends

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  Pete Zahut

  Definetly about control and not trusting that individuals know how to conduct themselves without being monitored. As is always the case with JW's , It's not enough that one attends meetings, reads the literature and applies the counsel in ones life as one sees fit. It's about small minded uneducated individuals who've been given the authority or have taken it upon themselves to enforce, monitor and generally intervene in peoples personal relationship with god.
  

  I went to a congregation once where the P.O. wasn't happy with the teenagers level of participation during the meetings so he made all of them sit in the first few rows on Sunday. He'd assign each one of them a paragraph or two to answer during the previous Watchtower study and they were to have it prepared when he called on them the following week. This went on for some time until the teenagers all decided to get up after the public talk and go have their own Watchtower study at one of their houses. One young brother went from 19 years old to 20 years old in this time period. He sat in a regular seat one Sunday after he turned 20 and the usher came back and told him to move up front. This brother flatly refused and kicked up a fuss during the meeting.
  

  Eventually the parents put a stop to it all but had to have their teens sit by them instead of with their friends during the meeting.

  This same P.O would also sit behind the young brothers and observe their hair length. If their hair was getting anywhere near their ears, he'd lean forward, tap them on the shoulder and whisper "get a haircut or I'm pulling your publishers card". Once again the parents kicked up a fuss once the young brothers began saying "fine....go ahead and pull it".

  This guy and the elders under him came to be known as the "Gestapo Crew" and people started leaving the Congregation (including my family) and attending the other congregation that met there or the one in the next town.

  For some people with anxiety, it's a comfort knowing the back room is available should they start feeling overwhelmed, same thing for people with small childeren. Also for those who find themselves running late, they go ahead and attend the meeting knowing that they can just duck into the back room without disturbing anyone. Without that option, they might decide to stay home.
  
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  KiddingMe

  
  

  JW GoneBad43 minutes ago

  It won't be long before they start putting restrictions on the use of the 'phone-in' feature for those who opt to stay home but for whatever reason have a need to phone in to listen to the meetings.

  They already did this in our hall. We had a local needs about it but the direction come from the society. Basically said what you said, its for the shut in. Not people with short term illnesses. Said so many are phoning in that the ones that need it, can't get through the line because there is a limited no. of spot available on the conference call. They said they did an audit and even had callers from out of state calling. So they changed the pass code and only gave it to a select few.

  It was interesting that they stressed that the direction was coming from the society. At first I was thinking the society was doing it keep apostates at bay, but i didn't notice postings about it here, so I assumed it must be more of a local issue.
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  blondie

  I was in a couple of halls that allowed parents with disruptive children to go in there. It worked. In one congregation they tried to keep people out of there like they tried to determine who could sit in the back rows...no one was very cooperative especially the elders wives.

  the story about teenagers in the front...shame on the parents letting them take over control of their children. I was in one small congregation with only one elder and he was disappointed in the participation at the WT study. He told everyone that if no one raised his hand that he would call on anyone who was there, even if they did not volunteer.
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  KiddingMe

  One of our elders recently told my husband that he wants to get me to give a comment (I haven't commented in over 3 yrs). Lol. He's been assigning scriptures to one of my husband's buddies, like he's a kid. I told my husband, that's not going to happen. I will give a comment when i want to give one- for myself, not for brother --.
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  kairos

  @KiddingMe-

  That description about the restrictions on the call-in features sounds just like what I experienced in Napa, Ca. Are you sure we weren't in the same hall?
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  ZAPPA-ESQUE

  I was fetched and taken to the "barber-shop" by one such overbearing elder when I was about 19 yrs. He then also proceeded to instruct the barber on how my hair should be cut [I came out looking like a cross between a Nazi and Kim-un-Jerk of North Korea]. I then rebelled totally...........left home [Dad was an abusive alcoholic anyway] and grew my hair + beard ............

  This elder screwed with many lives ......
  
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  purrpurr

  Thanks everyone for the replies. It seems this is a new policy, it seems to me that the harder they oppress the flock like this the more people will rebel and stay at home listening in instead.

  Where will all the anxious, germ and fragrance phobic go now? What about the df'd ones and the children who are just being children go?

  Frankly little short of dragging the flock out of their houses and making them sit in the main hall at gun point I don't see how they will make this work?
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  KiddingMe

  
  

  kairos9 hours ago

  @KiddingMe-

  That description about the restrictions on the call-in features sounds just like what I experienced in Napa, Ca. Are you sure we weren't in the same hall?

  I'm on the Easy Coast. But now I'm wondering if this direction is more widespread than I thought, or a new policy.

  @Kairos- do you remember how long ago this happened at your hall? Ours happened this past January?
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  KiddingMe

  purrpurr
  

  Where will all the anxious, germ and fragrance phobic go now?

  A friend of mine attended this congregation where they had a third school that had a sign on the door that said "fragrance free room" with a closed circuit TV. They said there were times when the 1st and 2nd schools would be full and have no empty seats and no one was allowed to sit in 3rd school. There was one time when a sister went to sit in there and was turned away from the room. They said she was upset about it and ended up leaving the KH and going home.

  The main person using the 3rd school was the P.O.'s wife and her family.
• 

  MarkofCane

  Listen, Obey and be Blessed. What part of that don't you understand. lol

  They used me as an attendant for many convention and assembly's. The brother in charge of the attendants gathered us together before the convention to give us marching orders mainly because we had a guy run up on the stage and confront the speaker one year. I don't know what he asked him but the brother was dumbfounded. Anyways a brother at the meeting said "do we really need to tell people where to go it pretty obvious where the exit is." The brother in charge said " Brother sheep need to be told where to go."

  At my Hall they close the back rooms and turn off the lights, rope off the last 2 rows of seats and control the call in's. Oh and no gum chewing.