YMCA?

LifesNotOver

Hello! My husband's gone to his meeting and I'm catching up with folks here on our forum. I'm sure I'm having a better time :) Anyway, was just following some posts regarding the UN and there happened to be a copy of a magazine article stating brothers wouldn't want to be joining the "Y" because it was "Christian". I think this was back in the 1950's (maybe not). Does anyone remember hearing about this more recently? He's just joined the Y and I'm thinking about bringing this up with him. He's already encouraging me to do yoga if I want, for years he's had a small beard and refuses to shave, and says he'd support me if I were to wear a pantsuit to the meeting. So, small things, I know, but maybe just maybe someday he'll be willing to look at the bigger issues. LNO

DATA-DOG

They kind of dropped it. I would imagine that if a Dub joined the Y, they would receive an "encouraging visit" from Eldurrs.

I wrote the local YMCA and explained the WTBTS view on joining. I believe the Y is also downplaying any Xian significance their organization once had. Probably bad for business.

DD

LifesNotOver

Data-Doug, thanks! I just remembered to do a search and this has been covered before. Sorry, should have searched earlier. Guess I mostly just wanted to join in some discussion without getting into all the heavy duty stuff that is going on around here at the moment. Thinking this over a bit, maybe my best approach would be not to say anything because he's not listening to me on anything much these days - it's all about "you've been on that apostate site again, haven't you?!" I know he's told at least one elder about having joined the Y and how he (the elder) should too. This is the same elder who gave him so much grief about his beard. So if the elders want to give him grief about the Y, better it comes from them than me, then he can get angry with them and not me.

Reminds me of the saying "pick your battles" - something like that. "Bigger fish to fry". Oh, lots and lots of sayings! LNO

Giordano

Here's a direct quote from the Watchtower and one from a newspaper re the UN membership.

Apparently the rub is to be seen as a Member read the second paragraph if you discuss this YMCA issue.

There has been no new information on this since the 1979 that said that being a member of the YMCA would be interfaith. w79 1/1 p31 says, in part:
"In joining the YMCA as a member a person accepts or endorses the general objectives and principles of the organization. He is not simply paying for something he receives, such as when buying things being sold to the public at a store. (Compare 1 Corinthians 8:10; 10:25). Nor is his membership merely an entry pass, as when a person buys a theater ticket. Membership means that one has become an integral part of this organization founded with definite religious objectives, including the promotion of interfaith. Hence, for one of Jehovah's Witnesses to become a member of such a so-called "Christian" association would amount to apostasy."
The most interesting aspect of the WT's opposition to membership in the "Y" is the hypocrisy of it all. How so? From 1991 thru 2001, ten years, the Watchtower secretively enjoyed membership in the United Nations as an NGO (non-governmental organization). This is the same United Nations that has been historically vilified in their literature as the "wild beast" upon whose back Babylon the Great is depicted as riding upon (see Rev 17: 7-8) and yet, the Watchtower organization had the audacity to apply and receive membership in the UN in 1991. When this was made public by the Great Britain's "Guardian" newspaper in Oct 2001, a furor developed among JW's over the hypocrisy of this secretive act. The official excuse for having done so? They needed access to the UN's extensive library. Do you see the parallels? You cannot use the swimming pool at the Y but they can join the UN? Really???

Zaccheus

One reason we may have heard no updates on the YMCA policy since 1979 is the secularization of the Y in the past few decades. When I joined a few years ago, I was expecting to be handed out a list of churches in the area. There was NO MENTION

of religion during my three year of membership. There were plenty of ethnic and religious groups who worked out there, including Muslims and Sikhs in their identifying headgear.

The fact is, what was originally the Young Men's Christian Assocition is now simply called The Y. It is a community-based organization, that unlike the WTBTS, actually provides and promotes positive changes in society, including healthier lifestyles and education outreaches that really give young people a chance for self-improvement.

The only time I remember being encouraged to exercise while growing up were those occasions we actually walked from door-to-door. Remember "the Witness shuffle?" Not quite as popular as the 1985 Bears' "Super Bowl Shuffle," but it sure was a great way to burn precious time on those field service reports.

daringhart13

I wrote a blog on the YMCA, Birthdays, and obesity......according to the Watchtower. You can read it here. It's ABSURD:

http://hubpages.com/religion-philosophy/Jehovahs-Witnesses-A-Study-in-Hypocrisy

Nathan Natas

This is an interesting question.

I went to the homepage of the YMCA and read their "History" pages. Good stuff, well-intentioned and upright. In part, it tells us:

"George Williams founded the YMCA in 1844.

In 1844, industrialized London was a place of great turmoil and despair. For the young men who migrated to the city from rural areas to find jobs, London offered a bleak landscape of tenement housing and dangerous influences.

Twenty-two-year-old George Williams, a farmer-turned-department store worker, was troubled by what he saw. He joined 11 friends to organize the first Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), a refuge of Bible study and prayer for young men seeking escape from the hazards of life on the streets.

Although an association of young men meeting around a common purpose was nothing new, the Y offered something unique for its time. The organization’s drive to meet social need in the community was compelling, and its openness to members crossed the rigid lines separating English social classes.

Years later, retired Boston sea captain Thomas Valentine Sullivan, working as a marine missionary, noticed a similar need to create a safe “home away from home” for sailors and merchants. Inspired by the stories of the Y in England, he led the formation of the first U.S. YMCA at the Old South Church in Boston on December 29, 1851..."

I note with no small amusement (i am EASILY amused) that the YMCA was well underway BEFORE Pastor Russell had his scheme hatch.

On the official YMCA website there is no statement that "The Y" is no longer a "Christian organization. I have sent them an email requesting clarification.

If they reply I will update here.

Village Idiot

Even if the YMCA no longer considers themselves a purely Christian organization the Watchtower will despise them anyways simply for having the word Christian as part of its title.

OUTLAW

It`s Fun to Stay At The Y-M-C-A!

Nathan Natas

While I'm waiting to see if the US YMCA will respond to my email, I thought I would see what the International HQ of the YMCA had to say about their organization. They are much more transparent than the US organization.

On http://www.ymca.int/ under "Who we are: Mission" we are told:

"The World Alliance of YMCAs was founded in 1855 at its first World Conference, held in Paris. At that time, conference participants developed the YMCA’s first mission statement, the Paris Basis.

Since then, the YMCA’s mission statement has been interpreted to reflect contemporary realities, first in 1973 with the Kampala Principles, and most recently in 1998 with Challenge 21.

Challenge 21, adopted at the 14th World Council of YMCAs, Frechen, Germany, 1998 states that:

“Affirming the Paris Basis adopted in 1855 as the ongoing foundation statement of the mission of the YMCA, at the threshold of the third millennium we declare that the YMCA is a world-wide Christian, ecumenical, voluntary movement for women and men with special emphasis on and the genuine involvement of young people and that it seeks to share the Christian ideal of building a human community of justice with love, peace and reconciliation for the fullness of life for all creation.

Each member YMCA is therefore called to focus on certain challenges which will be prioritized according to its own context. These challenges, which are an evolution of the Kampala Principles, are:

• Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ and striving for spiritual, intellectual and physical well-being of individuals and wholeness of communities.

• Empowering all, especially young people and women to take increased responsibilities and assume leadership at all levels and working towards an equitable society.

• Advocating for and promoting the rights of women and upholding the rights of children.

• Fostering dialogue and partnership between people of different faiths and ideologies and recognizing the cultural identities of people and promoting cultural renewal.

• Committing to work in solidarity with the poor, dispossessed, uprooted people and oppressed racial, religious and ethnic minorities.

• Seeking to be mediators and reconcilers in situations of conflict and working for meaningful participation and advancement of people for their own self-determination.

• Defending God’s creation against all that would destroy it and preserving and protecting the earth’s resources for coming generations. To face these challenges, the YMCA will develop patterns of co-operation at all levels that enable self-sustenance and self-determination.”

YMCA?

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