Greetings,
Well, the shunning begins. We finally had "THE" discussion with my parents, that we no longer consider ourselves JW's, and a little bit of why we felt that way. Of course, "dad the elder and PO" and mom the pioneer dutifully informed us that not only will they be "loyal to the organization" and shun us completely, but that he would immediately let the other elders know, so that proper judicial action could be taken.
It was a heart wrenching discussion, with all of us, including my two young boys (9 and 10) all balling our eyes out. We told my parents that we loved them, and would always love them. We said that our house will always be open to them, no matter what. They, of course, said that WE were forcing them to shun us, that it was our decision to break up the family. Unbelievable, isn't it. I told them that saying that was like a terrorist telling an uncooperative hostage that it is his/her fault that the terrorist has to kill other hostages. They didn't get it, the mind control is too strong in them (they've been active JW's since the 50's).
Anyway, even though we knew this was coming and could predict their response, it is still very difficult to know that they will never talk to us again or acknowledge our presenece even if we meet them in the aisle at Wal Mart. My extended family is also active in the cult, so soon they will follow suit and shun as well. My wife's parents (also "pillars" of the congregation) will inform us today of their decision whether or not to shun us. We all know what the answer will be, so her parents and extended family will be "dead" to us shortly as well.
I don't have time to go into details here, but I'll post more on our discussions with them and the coming JC crap shortly.
Best regards to all here,
Brandon