kramer

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Posts by kramer

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  3

  Florida investigating catholic priests, maybe JW victims can join in?

  by Bad_Wolf in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  saw florida is doing special investigation into sex abuse by catholic priests.

  i'm sure if some jw's join in they'll add that as well.

  https://www.tbo.com/news/florida/florida-investigating-allegations-of-sexual-abuse-by-priests-ap_floridac0e8e01931724afa84838a7fb31b4075.

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  kramer

  @smuddy3 I may be wrong, but I think there are only about 475,000 priests and deacons in the Catholic Church. I would imagine 20-30% of congregations are appointed people, so that’s about 2.25m appointed people, far higher than the Catholic Church. So you could argue you would expect far more , not less amongst abuse cases amongst jws
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  24

  Adding insult to injury when the WT kicks out a congregation from their hall

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not only does the organization confiscate the hall the congregation owns.

  but then the former congregants are told to continue to pay for utilities and they are still responsible for upkeep and maintenance.

  so they still have to cut the grass etc.

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  kramer

  Members of local congregations make donations or gifts to their local congregation which is convened by the charitable organisation, the hall is generally owned by a trust who allow use of the hall at no cost.

  So, again, why would a volunteer for a charity who makes a donation to a charity think they have part ownership of a building?
  

  
  

  
  

  
  4 days ago

  Because the local congregations have always paid for their own buildings. Whether they had the cash or got a loan from the society that they paid off themselves. Plus any remodeling along the way. What kind of question is that anyway?! Everyone knows that
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  29

  Not viewed as a JW if not reported for 6 months?

  by kramer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi, i seem to remember that the society have said that you are not viewed as a witness if you have not reported for 6 months.. does this ring any bells?

  someone i know has been called for a judicial, even though she has said she doesn’t believe and is not not attending meetings and hasn’t for 6 months.what she did was 12 months ago when she was a witness.. she is not sure whether she should turn up or not, as turning up shows she thinks she answers to elders still.

  but also doesn’t want to be automatically disfellowshipped which may happen if she doesn’t turn up.. if there is an article to quote saying someone inactive isn’t seen as a witness, this would be helpful.. any thoughts?.

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  kramer

  Does anyone have experience of legal threats working in the UK? My gut feel is that there is less fear of litigation here.
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  24

  Adding insult to injury when the WT kicks out a congregation from their hall

  by nowwhat? in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  not only does the organization confiscate the hall the congregation owns.

  but then the former congregants are told to continue to pay for utilities and they are still responsible for upkeep and maintenance.

  so they still have to cut the grass etc.

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  kramer

  How do you mean, they owned the congregation? In what sense did people who attended meetings own the building?
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  29

  Not viewed as a JW if not reported for 6 months?

  by kramer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi, i seem to remember that the society have said that you are not viewed as a witness if you have not reported for 6 months.. does this ring any bells?

  someone i know has been called for a judicial, even though she has said she doesn’t believe and is not not attending meetings and hasn’t for 6 months.what she did was 12 months ago when she was a witness.. she is not sure whether she should turn up or not, as turning up shows she thinks she answers to elders still.

  but also doesn’t want to be automatically disfellowshipped which may happen if she doesn’t turn up.. if there is an article to quote saying someone inactive isn’t seen as a witness, this would be helpful.. any thoughts?.

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  kramer

  Thanks for your input all, it seems that she will be viewed as a JW - albeit an inactive one, and either attend and play the game, or not attend and get disfellowshipped, or try the legal card for harassment.
  
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  29

  Not viewed as a JW if not reported for 6 months?

  by kramer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hi, i seem to remember that the society have said that you are not viewed as a witness if you have not reported for 6 months.. does this ring any bells?

  someone i know has been called for a judicial, even though she has said she doesn’t believe and is not not attending meetings and hasn’t for 6 months.what she did was 12 months ago when she was a witness.. she is not sure whether she should turn up or not, as turning up shows she thinks she answers to elders still.

  but also doesn’t want to be automatically disfellowshipped which may happen if she doesn’t turn up.. if there is an article to quote saying someone inactive isn’t seen as a witness, this would be helpful.. any thoughts?.

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• 

  kramer

  Hi, I seem to remember that the society have said that you are not viewed as a witness if you have not reported for 6 months.

  Does this ring any bells? Someone I know has been called for a judicial, even though she has said she doesn’t believe and is not not attending meetings and hasn’t for 6 months.What she did was 12 months ago when she was a witness.

  She is not sure whether she should turn up or not, as turning up shows she thinks she answers to elders still. But also doesn’t want to be automatically disfellowshipped which may happen if she doesn’t turn up.

  if there is an article to quote saying someone inactive isn’t seen as a witness, this would be helpful.

  any thoughts?
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  5

  more possible KH closures/sell off London area

  by jookbeard in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  about the mid 1980's they purchased a large plot of land in an area called addington a suburb of south london to build a kh complex comprising of 3 kh's with the options to add further congs to each kh, basically each kh could house 3 congs so the complex could possibly house 9 congs, it was a huge vanity project for the uk branch, you'd hear stories of how these congs are bursting at the seams etc, i think at one stage one of the congs had over 200 publishers, it was a huge construction project even bigger than the ca hall they were building a few miles south.

  fast forward to last night and i got chatting to a couple of jw's in my local pub, i knew one of the guys as i used to sometimes see him in the town, he's a nice pleasant guy and i didn't get into any doctrinal discussions just chatted generally about how life is as a jw these days and the changes going on world wide etc, i touched on the vast kh and branch sell offs going on and he mentions that the addington site is to be sold!

  i was astounded, nothing confirmed yet and but the land is prime real estate for housing development, the uk branch must have been offered a deal they cant refuse..

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  kramer

  @jookbeard , you are right, as Paddington was the home of the original UK bethel back in the 1900’s
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  5

  more possible KH closures/sell off London area

  by jookbeard in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  about the mid 1980's they purchased a large plot of land in an area called addington a suburb of south london to build a kh complex comprising of 3 kh's with the options to add further congs to each kh, basically each kh could house 3 congs so the complex could possibly house 9 congs, it was a huge vanity project for the uk branch, you'd hear stories of how these congs are bursting at the seams etc, i think at one stage one of the congs had over 200 publishers, it was a huge construction project even bigger than the ca hall they were building a few miles south.

  fast forward to last night and i got chatting to a couple of jw's in my local pub, i knew one of the guys as i used to sometimes see him in the town, he's a nice pleasant guy and i didn't get into any doctrinal discussions just chatted generally about how life is as a jw these days and the changes going on world wide etc, i touched on the vast kh and branch sell offs going on and he mentions that the addington site is to be sold!

  i was astounded, nothing confirmed yet and but the land is prime real estate for housing development, the uk branch must have been offered a deal they cant refuse..

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  kramer

  I have heard from old friends that the hall in central London that covers Paddington/Marylebone/Notting hill area is being closed (worth £5-7m) is being sold , also other congregations are being told in north west London that changes are to be made. A new property for about £1m has been bought to replace the property possibly. Interesting times.
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  53

  What is the current pulse in the organization with the reductions?

  by SouthCentral in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have not seen jehovah’s witnesses in my neighborhood for several years now.

  it appears that the cart witnessing has taken over.

  congregations are being consolidated and witnesses are being forced to travel a greater distance than before.the burdens/privileges of elders seem to be ever increasing!.

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  kramer

  Isn’t the google trend search more to do with many/most jw.org visitors were jws , and when they launched the app tablet and smartphone users stopped using the website? I haven’t been on it for years
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  11

  JW elders told abused girl’s parents not to report sex offender (another one)

  by Tahoe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.gloucestershirelive.co.uk/news/gloucester-news/jehovahs-witness-elders-told-abused-1636907.

  a bradford man's sex offence against a little girl was kept quiet for 23 years because elders of the jehovah's witnesses church persuaded her parents not to report him, a court was told.. robert lee's crime in the forest of dean was not revealed until the victim had grown up and went to the police, gloucester crown court heard on friday.. .

  both the victim's family and lee were jehovah's witnesses at that time, said prosecutor kerry barker.. he told the court that having avoided justice, lee, formerly of coleford, but now of alexandra road, bradford, went on to commit further child sex offences in 2008 and 2016.. lee, who used the surname howarth at that time, admitted indecent assault of the girl in march 1995 in coleford when he was aged just 17.. sentencing lee to two years jail suspended for two years and ordering him to sign the sex offender register for 10 years judge ian lawrie qc said he was 'concerned' at the church's advice to the mother not to report him.. he also placed lee under a 10 year sexual harm prevention order.. “i've raised concerns about how this came to the attention of your church authorities and was not reported.

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  kramer

  There is no obligation to report child abuse in the uk, except in certain professions, social services, teachers, health workers etc