Memorial - How many on here went and how many didn't?

Feel free to add why/why not?

I didn't go.

Why? Cos I don't believe in the JW religion anymore. Last memorial I went to was in 2000.

I didn't go it is a meaningless event that has no biblical validity. I had much better things to do.

nope, didnt really even think about what night it was.

last one was 1998 and i just felt it was meaningless.

oz

Nope!  I wouldn't, and don't have to set foot into the Kingdom Hall!

This was the 3rd year in a row I did not attend - I am doomed for sure now!

No visit from local elders to invite us this year - they must have finally got the message.

The Scotsman

I didn't went.

I didn't went because I did not get an invitation and because I am a God-hating, heathen, burn-in-Hell atheist.

My husband went to appease his mother. I stayed  home with my son  and enjoyed my evening.

1993 was my last and I did not go last night although I went last year and partook, but will never set foot into a Kingdumb Hell ever again, and the recent research that shows occult groups practice the exact same ceremony as the WTS in their denying JC proves what the WTS really is; a dangerous high control religious cult that should be steered clear of and make the public aware of this.

Hell no. First time since childhood I didn't attend and I'm glad. I did something of REAL value like work on my business. The last one we attended was last year and I absolutely hated it and couldn't stand being around those dubs.

Amen Jook, I am always amazed at the control this organization has over grown adults who were raised in it.

I went .......... dreaded it, but it was kinda ok.

Not a spiritual experience though.

Nope, I only realised it must have been tonight as I was walking the dog in the evening, and saw the full moon. The thought of going didn't even cross my mind, this whole cult is just out of the picture for me (except reading JWN now and then to see the developments in cult world).

I didn't go.  Spent a happy evening at home with Hubby watching a film 

Haven't been to one in years.

I don't need a reason to not go.

I went; I have a elderly mother who attends, and it makes her real happy if I show up for the memorial.

It was the same as all other memorials, an empty experience.

It is hyped for weeks prior to the event; invitations are given, old return visits are given invitations, family members might be called.

Prior to the meeting and for the first few minutes, there is a buzz in the air, an expectation of something different, special.

This feeling soon fades as the same old agenda rolls out, and although the night is about Jesus, his name is heard many times less than the modern day mispronunciation of the old tribal name for god, Jehovah.

Not only that, but most of the pre-ritual discussion centers on why one is NOT going to partake. There is a short discussion of spirit, that god's spirit bears witness to our spirit, and how we might know it, but little elaboration about what that experience might be like.

No longer do they mention that 'it is thought' that if you are a brother of christ you likely would have been baptized before 1935, as they did when I was a child, but they do put 'little flock' into perspective: over 18 million attended in 2010, but less than 11,250 partook. This is one in every ten congregations, and less than one tenth of one percent of total attendees.

Ultimately they shift over to the ritual as described in 1 Corinthians, and the window shopping begins. At this point, the small excitement briefly returns, but is soon sucked out of the room as the ritual becomes the act of watching and waiting as flat cracker like bread is passed but not eaten, wine is passed but not drunk. The four dark suited men who pass the 'emblems' walk in lockstep back to the front of the room.

Twice the speaker states, without scriptural reference, that Jesus instructed his followers to do this once per year on the passover. (He only says do this in remembrance of me, without reference to when or how often.)

This year it struck me that this ritual reinforces for the rank and file that they are NOT the brothers of christ, they are NOT chosen, they do NOT get the calling and they are certainly NOT a member of the much praised 'faithful and discreet slave'. Rather than being a night to celebrate and share what Jesus and his death means personally, it is a stark reminder that this is a fellowship the attendees do NOT belong to.

I have never missed a memorial that I can recall, and each passing year I realize that as rituals go, this one is sterile.

I certainly do not believe in anything JW anymore, but I can appreciate a discussion of what Jesus means to people. The Jesus of the gospels is an iconclast. He said things that were dramatically out of step with religious thought of the day; his everyday life was lived as a challenge to religious authority and the injustice it can cause. What he means to people today could fuel a conversation that never stops, but there is none of that at the memorial, a misnomer if ever there was one. At a memorial, one expects to hear about the deceased, but that doesn't happen at this memorial.

No discussion of the failed hopes of the followers, what they might have felt, and how that might have affected what they believed happened to Jesus and ultimately what beliefs became doctrine and dogma. In fact, no discussion of any of the emotion of the night.

I won't miss it when I stop going. As rituals go, this one gets a thumbs down.

Second time in a row I missed it.  Praise Jebus.

Not me. I refuse to shun the Christ in the dinner plate pass the parcel ritual.

Mrs Punk said she had a nice memorial though and felt better after. She then proceeded to shout vitriol at me for not going!

How Christian of her. How happifying!