This week's "Give Us Your Money" meeting item. (page 3)

road to nowhere

would that elder that knows about lawsuits be on here?

I always wondered why they don’t pass around the collection plate , then it dawned on me that what they want is everything money , time and no room for self satisfaction. Bastard thieving religion has mastered money extraction.

konceptual99

Just watched the segment from the meeting and noted a couple of points.

Firstly the premise of the video was that there a new way of donating via the website and this had raised some questions. I guess this could be a reasonable thing to discuss but of course much of the video was on the many other ways giving can be done, especially the end of life stuff which is the bigger ticket stuff in terms of value.

The other thing was that of course every Witness is going to die eventually. By encouraging EOL donations they are tapping into a source of income that reflects the failure of their own doctrine. I suspect the irony escapes the majority of course.

freddo

K99: Firstly the premise of the video was that there a new way of donating via the website and this had raised some questions.

Hilarious and good final point in your post - what questions could it possibly raise?

Ageing Dub "Hmmm. These people told me and my generation I could live forever without dying. Now I'm gonna die and they want my estate so they can live in comfort and tell the next overlapping generation they won't die either?"

smiddy3

. By encouraging EOL donations they are tapping into a source of income that reflects the failure of their own doctrine. I suspect the irony escapes the majority of course

.Good point konceptual99

dozy

Oh the irony that the Society does what they have long condemned Christendom for doing.......

*** w75 11/1 p. 651 Insight on the News ***

“Pray Now, Pay Later”

● The phrase “pray now, pay later” appeared in a headline of the Philadelphia “Inquirer” in reporting on a church experiment due to go into effect shortly. A group of ten U.S. religions, including some major Lutheran, Episcopal, Methodist and Baptist denominations, have decided to try church collections by credit card. The experiment, sponsored by the National Council of Churches, will encourage participating church members to authorize credit-card transfers of a specified contribution to their church each month. The idea, a Council spokesman says, is that “this will provide the local church with regular income whether or not the local congregation is in attendance,” especially in “off-seasons,” like summer vacation time. The report on the experiment says that those joining the program will be “giving unto business what belongs to business—a profit.” How so? “Participating banks will charge 65 cents a transaction, and the credit card companies will rake off 3 percent of every donation.” Obviously someone benefits, but how much spiritual benefit is the modern churchgoer getting?

*** w71 8/15 pp. 505-506 How Religious Expenses Are Met ***Certain clergymen in the New York area are very businesslike about the matter. They send out monthly statements to their parishioners reminding them of the amount they owe their church. And one Congregational preacher in Vermont was reported in the press as having installed a credit-card machine inside the front door for those who would prefer to contribute by this means.
*** g03 8/8 p. 29 Watching the World ***“A growing number of Canadian churches” are adopting “modern banking practices, introducing bank cards and credit cards as convenient ways for parishioners to make collection-plate donations,” says the Vancouver Sun newspaper. Debit machines have been placed in church halls along with “donation envelopes with options for automatic account withdrawal and credit card payment.” Individuals simply swipe their card, key in the amount they wish to donate, and then put a copy of the receipt in the collection plate. As one pastor stated: “A cashless society is where society is going. Why not the church?” A church treasurer joked: “You get air-miles on your card, plus you go to heaven for donations. Just think of it as double reward points.”
*** g73 12/8 p. 29 Watching the World ***Some religious organizations are going to new ends to acquire money. The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church in Buffalo, New York, now accepts credit cards, not just cash donations. One finance committee member says: “A church can’t survive on 50-cent [cash] donations.” Credit-card donations are up to $30. Admission is now being charged visitors to London’s thirteenth-century Salisbury Cathedral. A London Observer article calls this “a last-ditch attempt to find a way of meeting the desperate need for funds.”

carla

Haven't they historically begged for money in late Oct- November? maybe more subtle, but I do remember Nov. seemed to be the time they would have articles about giving blah, blah, blah.... Why do I remember that? because I was always thinking that my jw better remember Christmas is right around the corner! ah, the joys of living in a divided house. Not that we discussed it but it hung around in the air, one of many unspoken topics.

darkspilver

carla: Haven't they historically begged for money in late Oct- November? maybe more subtle, but I do remember Nov. seemed to be the time they would have articles about giving blah, blah, blah....

Yes, they publish an article in the WT around that time, along with a BOX detailing all the ways the R&F can donate

FYI below is a list of the magazines it has been in from the last 15 years - along with the associated article titles:

Watchtower November 2017: “The Generous Person Will Be Blessed”
Watchtower November 2016: "The Work Is Great"
Watchtower November 15, 2015: Show Appreciation for Jehovah’s Generosity
Watchtower December 15, 2014: Jehovah Richly Blesses a Willing Spirit
Watchtower November 15, 2013: How We Can Help to Meet the Needs of Others
Watchtower November 15, 2012: Their Surplus Offset a Deficiency
Watchtower November 15, 2011: Do You Find Joy in "the Privilege of Kindly Giving"?
Watchtower November 15, 2010: 'Let Us Present Jehovah's Offering'
Watchtower November 15, 2009: Cheerful Giving From the Heart
Watchtower November 15, 2008: Serving God With “One Heart and Soul"
Watchtower November 1, 2007: "The Silver Is Mine, and the Gold Is Mine"
Watchtower November 1, 2006: Unitedly Building to Praise God
Watchtower November 1, 2005: Contributions That Warm God's Heart
Watchtower November 1, 2004: Do You Know the Happiness That Comes From Giving?
Watchtower November 1, 2003: Cultivate a Giving Spirit

dbq407

posted this comment in another thread but this is what my wife got out of the meeting.

My wife went to the meeting Tuesday night and said the whole local needs was on donating. They accept cash, check, credit, debit, wills, inheritance, land, stocks etc. If its worth something, they want it. You can set up recurring donations if you don't want the hassle to remember to donate. The video showed kids dropping in their money and they even gave a tutorial on how to use the website to donate. And to top it all off the WT has a hotline you can call if you have any questions on how to donate!!

Last time i checked the WT doesn't have a hotline to call about questions regarding the society or to answer bible questions.

Also the comment was made the more you give the more you receive. Always using twisted scriptures to support their money grabbing.

Greedy pigs is all they are.

punkofnice

spilvy - Super list of propaganda. Why around November time? Some TAX year or similar thingy?

This week's "Give Us Your Money" meeting item.