My first visit to Bethel included the unique opportunity of meeting Sister DeCecca. She was quite old at that time (1976 or so) and didn't say much. At the time I didn't know who she was, but later I learned that her husband had been one of the seven sent to jail with Rutherford in 1918.
dropoffyourkeylee
JoinedPosts by dropoffyourkeylee
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Hotel Bossert, a storied hotel on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, was sold
by Balaamsass2 inmemories..... a 1970s-1980s meetup location to grab a ride to local trips on the subway...or a bite on montague st.. brooklyn heights hotel to be turned into homes.
the hotel bossert, a storied hotel on montague street in brooklyn heights, was sold to someraroad, a new york city and nashville-based real estate investment and development firm.. bk reader staffmay 31, 2025 10:00 amjun 2, 2025 9:20 am.
photo: supplied/jim.henderson via wikimedia commonslisten to this article00:01:23. .
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Predictions for the next decade?
by jehovaxx inas it’s nearly the new year my prediction over the next decade or so will see the sense of urgency dwindle.
then some huge huge changes.
for example by 2034 in a decades time, they will have address the 1914 issue and will come out and say we can’t be dogmatic.
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dropoffyourkeylee
Concerning the number of congregations, one thing to consider is the 'foreign language' field, at least in the US. From about 2010 until the Covid years, there was a concerted effort to have foreign language groups associated with congregations, then when there were enough attendees and elders, create a foreign language congregation with its own separate meetings in the same KH. After Covid, many of these 'groups' and 'congregations' were ceased and everyone went back to the English hosting congregation. This is reflected in the number of reported congregations.
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Predictions for the next decade?
by jehovaxx inas it’s nearly the new year my prediction over the next decade or so will see the sense of urgency dwindle.
then some huge huge changes.
for example by 2034 in a decades time, they will have address the 1914 issue and will come out and say we can’t be dogmatic.
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dropoffyourkeylee
The 2020 Religion census was apparently the first one the WT actually participated in. The 2010 report had one and only one metric for JWs, the supposed number of congregations, but it was obviously wrong in that it is a majorly understated number. The 2020 Religion census document is really an interesting read; I found it has caused me to rethink my understanding, not only of JWs, but of the changing religious landscape of the US.
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Predictions for the next decade?
by jehovaxx inas it’s nearly the new year my prediction over the next decade or so will see the sense of urgency dwindle.
then some huge huge changes.
for example by 2034 in a decades time, they will have address the 1914 issue and will come out and say we can’t be dogmatic.
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dropoffyourkeylee
Recently I spent quite a bit of time reading the 2020 US Religion Census.
Posted about it here:
https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5152073910321152/2020-us-religion-census
A lengthy read, but it has made me more aware of the effect of immigration on the religious landscape of the US, including JWs. From what I see where I live in the midwest US the JWs appear to be stagnating, if not declining. But with the overall numbers continuing to increase, it is apparent that there are areas of growth, with immigration being the driving force.
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Hotel Bossert, a storied hotel on Montague Street in Brooklyn Heights, was sold
by Balaamsass2 inmemories..... a 1970s-1980s meetup location to grab a ride to local trips on the subway...or a bite on montague st.. brooklyn heights hotel to be turned into homes.
the hotel bossert, a storied hotel on montague street in brooklyn heights, was sold to someraroad, a new york city and nashville-based real estate investment and development firm.. bk reader staffmay 31, 2025 10:00 amjun 2, 2025 9:20 am.
photo: supplied/jim.henderson via wikimedia commonslisten to this article00:01:23. .
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dropoffyourkeylee
I had a family member in Bethel in the late 70's. Funny, when visitiing, we stayed a couple nights in the Bossert when it was still a hotel (1977 or so). Later when it was purchased by the WT we stayed there again. There were still some non-JWs living there, as the NY laws didn't allow eviction of current residents as long as they paid their rent on time. The WT volunteer/labor/slaves had really spruced up the appearance of the rooms as well as the lobby. What happened to it later I don't know, but I expect non-JW financiers eventually bought it and made a nice profit from it.
Edit to add, I appreciate the video of the A-train, but I'm pretty sure the Bossert was in Brooklyn not too far from the JW HQ. I remember walking from the Bossert to 124 Columbia Heights
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Letter of Disassociation to Former Religions / Baptism Questions ?
by HereIam60 inthis was prompted by some comments in another thread, but since it was somewhat "off" the original topic, i'm posting/asking seperately.... i was born in 1960, and baptized as a infant in a catholic church.
obviously i have no personal memory of this, and only know, because i was told, and we had a family photo of my parents holding me before the baptismal font while the priest prepared to do the sprinkling.
i was taken probably no more than 3 times to the catholic church in my early childhood and had no clue as to what was going on.. from the ages of 10 to 12 i attended a methodist sunday school, rarely the actual church service, but sang with the class in an annual christmas presentation in the church.. in the 1980s, studying with jehovah's witnesses, and considering baptism, i was told i had to write a letter to any religious group i had previously been involved with, stating i no longer wished any contact, wanted to be removed from their membership lists and witnessing as to why...(separation from satan's world, false religion, babylon etc.).
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dropoffyourkeylee
I believe the WT originally introduced this for legal reasons. The WT has a history of having difficulty exactly how to define a member of the religion. It dates back to 1917 when Rutherford et.al. were on trial for discouraging the draft/selective service, which was illegal under the Espionage Act. They were issuing affidavits to brothers saying they were members of a pacifist faith, but didn't have any way to substantiate they were members. No record of baptism/consecration, no record of preaching, no ministerial training, nothing besides anecdotal statements that they attended meetings. Those affidavits were damning and were a big part of what landed Rutherford in jail. Before and during WW2 the WT had very little success in keeping the brothers out of jail over the draft issue.
Post WW2 they took a different tack, 'all JWs are ministers', introduced the pioneer status, hour requirements of preaching, baptism questions, baptism and preaching records kept, etc and they began to have comparatively more success in getting the brothers the 4-D classificaton. Part of the strategy was having a record that the brother was a JW and definitely not a member of another faith; hence the letter to officially break off from the previous religion.
My thoughts, anyway, others may disagree
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I need this stuff ...
by vienne ini'm trying to gather research material for a chapter in uncle b's third volume of separate identity.
here's the list.
i hope someone here can help.. a. s. herr: a letter to major whittle from the berean bible class of tiffin, ohio, 1898.. horace randle: future probation, 1901. a. b. dabney: questions answering questions, 1909. william crawford: the three great covenants of scripture, 1909. margaret russell land: the wonderful story of god’s love, 1909. e. h. sutton: after the war, 1909.
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dropoffyourkeylee
Wow, those are some pretty obscure titles!
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Not on JW.com. Hebrides Islanders finally get refreshment! JW Kingdom Hall is turned into a juice bar!
by Balaamsass2 inplans to turn former jehovah's witness meeting hall into juice bar lodged.
the upper floor space of the former meeting hall in stornoway would be transformed into a cafe under the proposals.. plans to convert a former jehovah’s witness meeting hall to a juice bar and cafe in stornoway are among recent planning applications made to comhairle nan eilean siar.. the application would change the use of the former jehovah’s witnesses meeting hall at 30 church street into a juice bar and cafe.. the proposal would see the upper floor space of the former meeting hall being converted to designs by dbm design and engineering for the applicant, joanna morrison.
details of the proposals can be found on comhairle nan eilean siar’s online planning portal, with a deadline for comments on monday june 2.. meanwhile plans for a new house to be built at 3a horgabost, isle of harris, have been submitted to the comhairle by local resident, johnathon mackay.
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Remember Hour Quotas?
by blondie inhour quotas timeline.
back in the old days long before 1952.
“after staying in our ‘home’ for two days we decided that if we were going to meet our quota of 140 hours for the month.
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dropoffyourkeylee
In support of Nathan N's comment, I have long maintained that the primary reason the WT required hours to be recorded was to provide proof for the young men to present to the draft board to get the 4-D. Likewise, that is the reason the 'pioneer' requirement was invented, and the reason the Ministry School was created. It was all about the draft back then. The hour requirements later morphed into more of a control mechanism, but at the inception it was the draft issue. -
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Where is Reinhard Lengtat?
by jst2laws insorry for the posting error below.. my wife is reading crisis of conscience now.
this is good news because i know i will have someone to talk to when im caught and dfd.
but in her reading she is recognizing most of the names ( we were there at bethel during the 70s as a married couple) and asked what happened to reinhard lengtat?
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dropoffyourkeylee
I had a close family member at Bethel in the '70s and he spoke highly of Reinhard. Very intelligent; one of the authors of the Aid Book.