Well, good for you Venice! That took some guts.
Last spring two elders showed up at my house under the pretense of inviting me to the Memorial (I had been inactive for three years). When I declined their invitation they came out and admitted that the real reason for their visit was that a judicial hearing was scheduled and that I was accused of having been witnesses socializing with a disfellowshipped person.
Long story short, I didn't fight the accusation, and in fact brought my DF'd friend with me to the initial hearing. They said, "We have no choice but to DF you." Duh. I did appeal, referencing the _Flock_ book and also a 1987 Watchtower:
"Depending upon length of inactivity… elders may determine to hold the matter in abeyance." (pg. 100 of the book _Pay Attention to Yourselves and to the Flock_)
"If Mary had reported first to the body of elders, they would have been faced with a similar decision. How would they handle confidential information coming into their possession? They would have had to make a decision based on what they felt Jehovah and his Word required of them as shepherds of the flock. If the report involved a baptized Christian who was actively associated with the congregation, they would have had to weigh the evidence as did Mary in determining if they should proceed further. If they decided that there was a strong possibility that a condition of "leaven" existed in the congregation, they might have chosen to assign a judicial committee to look into the matter. (Galatians 5:9, 10) If the one under suspicion had, in effect, resigned from being a member, not having attended any meetings for some time and not identifying herself as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, they might choose to let the matter rest until such time as she did begin to identify herself again as a Witness." (WT 9/1/87)
Since I had no dealings with anyone in the congregation since I quit going to meetings, I argued that there was no reason for me to have to face the disfellowshipping procedure.
The elders ignored these directives. I also pointed out that the Society's website says that those who simply cease to be involved in the faith are not shunned. They said, "Some alleged website is not our authority."
So I got DF'd. It seems to me that it happened a long, long time ago. My wife is still a JW. Her JW family doesn't have much problem with me. One elder on the committee told me that it would be a "real test for your family to have to avoid you now." I laughed at him and said that no one in my family would follow those stupid rules. And they haven't. Had I DA'd myself, I think that would have looked worse. So I'm satisfied with being DF'd for such a bullshit reason.
