by new boy 38 Replies latest jw friends
A pedal organ in our KH..attendants at assemblies wore a long chevron that stated "attendant" - servants wore one that said "servant" - 3 hour breaks between afternoon and evening sessions - huge cafeteria tents. It goes on and on.
Look at this: http://www.britishpathe.com/video/witnesses-baptised/query/jehovahs+witnesses
I remember as a young child hearing the announcement that a person was disfellowshipped for fornication. I didn't even know what fornication was at the time. I remember the skits on the stage in which sisters were allowed to act out an opportunity to 'incidental' witness, which was later changed to 'informal' witnessing, because it "shouldn't be an afterthought, which incidental implies....the end is so close....must actively engage people in lifesaving discussions". The piano playing was always...entertaining....when the regular piano player wasn't there.
As a young boy, at a Circuit Assembly, I had placards advertising the talk tied to me, front and back . We all then went out into the street during the long Ministry Break.
I felt a complete dork handing out invites and hoping that nobody I knew would see me. If enough people could be mustered up , a long "crocodile" procession would walk the Main Street - suitably placarded
I just remember the piano (no stories) and the skits lasted a bit longer - into the late 60's.
I vividly remember a reversible coat demo so that "when the persecution came" the sister could reverse the coat to a different colour in the ministry.
A "householder" with a rolling pin in her hand told the sister she would be reported to the police for "banned religious activity".
A brother in a UK policeman's helmet (where he got that from I don't know!) pretended to question her asking if she had seen a woman in a blue coat (which she had reversed to a brown coat) - and she coyly pleaded innocence and said she had seen someone down the next street (which of course was her with the coat reversed the other way.) and off he goes down the aisle blowing a whistle calling out "come on chaps we'll find her and lock her up!"
All hammed up and very English. As a kid I loved it.
Demo in public talks.
This was late 70's and a visiting speaker turned up with a young couple in tow who did a demo about not having paid their electricity bill and that the red letter reminder had arrived and so they immediately paid it and resolved never to do that again because we should pay our debts promptly on time!
Oh the guilt! They hammed it up like they had defrauded an old aged pensioner!
Honiton, Devon congregation had a young lady who played the recorder to accompany the singing of Kingdom songs
In the early 70's we had along with our piano player a sister playing the violin and one of the elders playing his bass guitar, that lasted about a year or so.
Since there is so many stories about the pianos.
Here is a strange piano story. Does anyone here, know Gary Kennedy? I went to Bethel with him and his brother Jim. lives in Alabama or Georgia. He lived many years just north of San Francisco. Any way he told me a story that is kind a weird.
His father had special job for the society back in the 1960's. He was a terrible shooter for the WTB&TS. They would send him and his family into congregations they thought were hiding something. They sent them to this rural congregation in Georgia. There was rumors of spirit activity in the hall. So he told me they went there to there first meeting. They stood up to sing the song and piano started playing but there was no one there playing it. It wasn't a player piano! He said they had to disbanded the congregation.
