while sorting through old papers and files in my closet getting ready for a move, i came across a bunch of papers and forms from bethel.
a lot of them are outlines and directions for the first few days and weeks while at bethel.
in addition, there are some typed notes from the 2002 annual meeting (the kind you're not supposed to post in the interwebz), a few letters from the gb to bethelites (mostly telling us how to dress and so forth), and some other random junk.
I believe I have a lot of my old forms as well.
Stuff like dish duty assignments, night watchman stuff, even a couple copies of Dwelling Together in Unity, the pre and post 1990 versions. I even saved my old bethel phone directory - it's hopelessly out of date by now. I also have some GB letters to bethelites
I'll think about blacking some stuff out and scanning it as well.
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This is one of the single best threads I have ever read and participated in.
I will suffer no guilt for reminiscing with others about our shared history.
I have read each page of the thread and have seen no posters make light of how much importance brothers and sisters out in the congregations placed upon Bethel and how that did affect the lives of millions. It is certainly disgusting that the WTS directs individuals lives to such a high degree. But, that doesn't preclude those who have escaped the machine from reliving shared experiences.
The simple fact is these things happened, and by retelling these true tales the mystique that Bethel is a spiritually magical place can be exposed as a falsehood.
For any of us who grew up with Witness parents who thought beating the crap out of us was scripturally acceptable or who cajoled us into joining the school at very young ages and guilted us into being different at school over the holiday issues and used our family vacations to visit bethel and work where the need was greater and used any available extra money to grease the palms of bethel heavies this thread can be as liberating as it can be enlightening and frightening.
Oh yeah, Bethelites are always finding deals on airfare and such. Plus friends from their congregations will offer to fly them out or at least help them out so they can do an extended trip to attend their home congregations District Convention.
I went on vacations as often as I could. Officially you get one day off for each calendar month you work (12 days in a year). But, you usually seem to find more time off than that. I always did.
Lots of times we would do an all night weekend driving trip. Leaving just after work on Friday and returning in time for work on Monday morning. Yes, we weren't too productive on that Monday. You can't do that all the time because you only get one Saturday a month off if you're a brother.
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Tom,
Can you provide some stories on what being friends with Sydlik was like?
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Can anyone provide an update on Tim Pappas?
http://www.slate.com/id/2194321/>1=39001.
just turned on my internet, and this was on the front page..
Exactly Mulan. My first thought when reading the article was how bad an example the Williams' are for the witnesses. Did you ever see their reality show? Oh man that was really bad. If they're not marked I would simply be amazed.
because i didn't go out in service today the wife tells me i don't love our family.
she's only going because she has no time in this month.
so off she goes into the rain.
Hang in there.
Tell her that your love for your family is evident in the fact that she has the necessary things to go in service (like a car, gas, nice clothing, etc) and the freedom to spend the family's money on her cause.
http://www.slate.com/id/2194321/>1=39001.
just turned on my internet, and this was on the front page..
I saw it too. Read it.
All in all it was an ok article. It brought up the 1999 WT QFR about voting being a conscience matter and that even if witnesses did vote they wouldn't be courted by anyone because their just too small a segment of society.
from reading reports on jwd it seems that many are in the process of quietly leaving the watchtower organization.. it's almost become disease like - and spreading rapidly, even acutely in lands where access to information is greater.. people who i've known for years have suddenly disappeared - it reads like a stephen king novel.. what have you noticed?.
Actually I've recently discovered a couple people who moved to a new town and new hall - actually moved and faded.
I was completely taken aback to realize they faded away and I didn't even know it. Of course, they were just as surprised to find out I faded too.
I've noticed a lot less energetic activity being performed by even the most zealous dubs. It's become a tradition or routine. The message has lost its emergency factor.
