Dudley in the West Midlands UK was my go to assembly hall. Needless to say I haven’t been there for some 7 years. 😝
But I will say this, it’s a beautiful assembly hall! I always did enjoy going there. I remember when it was a really run down place before it was refurbished. The transformation was breathtaking.
It was also here that I received the push to leave the religion. Oh brother Algarve! (District overseer at the time - remember those? 😜) He gave an example of the dangers of the internet with all the apostate material there is. A missionary couple returned to England in order to care for an elderly relative. They were given an assignment - they were head of the entire foreign language field for Britain. They were a super duper spiritual couple. At some point though they went on the internet and researched Jehovah’s witnesses (no reason as to why they should do this) and only after a few days of reading and researching they handed in their notice of disassociation. Brother Algarve shrugged sombrely and uttered “such are the dangers of the internet”. Whilst most people in the audience nodded their heads in agreement with staying away from the internet to research Jehovah’s witnesses, for me I couldn’t help but think “what on Earth is on the internet that would cause such a spiritual couple, who have devoted and sarcificed years of their lives to the organisation to only go and throw it all away after just a few days?”
So I went and looked for myself. Dudley assembly hall brought me into the organzation (I was baptised there at 15 on a most joyous day) and it also gave me what I needed to leave.
Thank you Dudley assembly hall for being a part of my life.
😊😊😊
