DISCUSS COURT CASE HERE JW.org - Jehovah’s Witnesses Mobilize Global Response to Threat of Ban in Russia

[GeordieGirl]

2 hours ago, hatcheckgirl said:

Please remember the "airmail" stickers!

 

I forgot, so they apparently will go by sea now.....Grrr....

 

I'll be writing another batch anyway.

Not necessarily, you did pay for airmail, didn't you?  I don't know why we don't use international envelopes here. Makes life so much easier. 

[GeordieGirl]

1 hour ago, Sally said:

I'm confused about something and need input. I learned about this by email from someone from a different congregation who sent a link from JW.org to my husband who isn't a Witness. It seems to me that the someone in my hall would notify everyone about such an important issue.  Is there a channel for this type of information to be disseminated to those in all halls? Personally, I don't keep jw.org open all day although I frequently reference it.

 

I have no idea if anyone in my hall knows about this. Am I being left out? What will happen during the tribulation, will anyone contact me?  It's not like I miss meetings.  We were just there Tuesday night and no one said anything about this.

 

Completely baffled!!!

We had our meeting on Tuesday as well but I don't think it was put up on JW.org till sometime on Wednesday so the local brothers wouldn't have known about it at that time. However, this is not something that is usual so I wouldn't think a letter will be sent to each congregation for us to be notified that way.  As you have seen, though,  because we are all so united, we all hear about everything very quickly. I gave the link this evening to a brother in Berlin who hadn't heard about it and he had his meeting last night. 

I guess this is another important reason why we have JW.org, so individually we can keep ourselves up to date with what is happening around the world. We cannot always rely on other people to let us know what is going on, it is our responsibility to keep ourselves informed .... though JWTalk is very helpful in this respect.  

Mark 13:37

[Pjdriver]

On 3/22/2017 at 1:12 AM, Bjern said:

Any thoughts on what to write? I want to sound respectful and sincere.

They'll get millions of letters and probably quit reading after a thousand or less. But they'll definitely get the message. 

[shinitchi07]

Here in the Philippines, we are doing an arrangement of writing letters individually and sending it in package to save us freight cost. We will be using DHL. It will cost us only about 52USD per 500grms parcel or about 17 letters. And about 68USD for 1kg parcel ,about 34 letters. They said that it will arrive in Russia in 3 days. And we all agreed to send it to the Chairman of the Supreme Court since it will be in the same package. 

[dove]

If it saves anyone time and helps with the spelling challenges here are labels for each of the officials to whom we're writing.

They are formatted for Avery 5162,  large enough (12 to a sheet) to accommodate the longer address format, names and titles,  PDF format, as well as Microsoft Word.

They are available in the following shared DropBox folder.

If we are instructed to use only handwriting on the envelopes, which may be the case, this might help with the names and spelling.

Dropbox - Labels Avery 5162 or Compatible.html

Dropbox - Labels Avery 5162 or Compatible.html

[Intercore]

Finished! So glad that I can contribute to this campaign!!

[timpin]

11 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

Do you remember this..?

 

17.Elders who are reading this article can draw some useful conclusions from the account we have just considered: (1) The most practical step that we can take to prepare for the coming attack of “the Assyrian” is that of strengthening our faith in God and helping our brothers to do the same. (2) When “the Assyrian” attacks, the elders must be absolutely convinced that Jehovah will deliver us. (3) At that time, the life-saving direction that we receive from Jehovah’s organization may not appear practical from a human standpoint. All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not. (4) Now is the time for any who may be putting their trust in secular education, material things, or human institutions to adjust their thinking. The elders must stand ready to help any who may now be wavering in their faith.
18 The time will come when God’s modern-day servants will appear to be just as vulnerable as the Jews trapped inside Jerusalem in Hezekiah’s day. At that time, may all of us draw strength from Hezekiah’s words. Let us remember that with our enemies “there is an arm of flesh, but with us there is Jehovah our God to help us and to fight our battles”!—2 Chron. 32:8.

 

W13 11/15   ...   http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2013846

also timely   ...   http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/202017089#h=1:0-8:0 

perfect timing to come right smack in the middle of our Memorial invitation campaign 

 

I'm sure the worlds media will pick up on whats going on in Russia soon

Edited March 23, 2017 by timpin

[Old]

Answers to questions about bulk mail can be found here (USPS site)

 

http://pe.usps.com/BusinessMail101?ViewName=WhatIsBulkMail

 

I think individual mailings will cary more weight.

[cricket246]

Hmmm...I wonder how much it would be to mail from the US to Russia...I know they have flat rate envelopes for around $5-$6 and I wonder if you could just fill one of those with letters to each of the people on the list  

[Intercore]

Who can help me and show how to write an formal letter? I mean, I want to print it and don't know how formal letter should look  I should write my first and last names, also address in left corner at the top of letter? That's only an example. Who can show me a right template? Thanks!!

Edited March 23, 2017 by Intercore

[Araujo JW]

2 hours ago, Samira said:

how will they cope?..........build an extension ....???

I believe that when the thousands of letters arrive at the embassy he will desperately call the authorities in Russia stating what is happening.

[Old]

16 minutes ago, Intercore said:

Who can help me and show how to write an formal letter? I mean, I want to print it and don't know how formal letter should look  I should write my first and last names, also address in left corner at the top of letter? That's only an example. Who can show me a right template? Thanks!!

 

See your BE book page 73

[Shawnster]

16 minutes ago, Intercore said:

Who can help me and show how to write an formal letter? I mean, I want to print it and don't know how formal letter should look  I should write my first and last names, also address in left corner at the top of letter? That's only an example. Who can show me a right template? Thanks!!

 

Turn to your BE book (the ministry book we use on the midweek meeting).  There is an example of what a formal letter looks like on page 73

[Old]

49 minutes ago, cricket246 said:

Hmmm...I wonder how much it would be to mail from the US to Russia...I know they have flat rate envelopes for around $5-$6 and I wonder if you could just fill one of those with letters to each of the people on the list  

I don't understand. The rate for a single letter USA to Moscow is $1.15. Flat rate envelopes are not for international delivery.

[tekmantwo]

59 minutes ago, cricket246 said:

Hmmm...I wonder how much it would be to mail from the US to Russia...I know they have flat rate envelopes for around $5-$6 and I wonder if you could just fill one of those with letters to each of the people on the list  

I think the impact of many individual letters would be much greater than a single packet that can be easily thrown out. If they have a pile of letters they may just assume the packet is more of the same and not even look at it. 

 

I believe our instructions say to mail letters... 

[sunshine]

Just sent off my letters!!  When do you think I can expect Mr Putin's reply?  

 

Edited March 23, 2017 by sunshine

[cricket246]

Good point! Thanks for all of the help!

[ChocoBro]

 

My first draft (in German, translated rudimentarily into English for the forum:)

 

Quote

 

Dear Mr. Lavrov,

as a Jehovah's Witness, I am very much concerned about the developments that are currently taking place in Russia in regard to the freedom of  my brothers and sisters in the faith to be able to exercise their faith.

As I have heard, the Russian Ministry of Justice has submitted a request to the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation to classify the Jehovah's Witnesses as "extremist" and to ban their activities. As a result, 170 000 Jehovah's Witnesses would be prosecuted simply because they gather for worship, read together in the Bible, or speak with others about their faith, yes even for singing songs together.

In this day and age, it is not surprising that a government would do everything in its power to protect its population from the dangers of extremism. However, I assure you that this law is being abused to an absurd degree with regard to the Jehovah's Witnesses.

Before I became a Jehovah's Witness, I abused alcohol and drugs and was a very violent person. But with the help of wisdom from the Bible it was and is possible for me to work on my personality. Do you know what helps me? In the New Testament, Epistle to the Galatians, chapter 5, Paul wrote:
"On the other hand, the fruitage of the spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,* kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control. Against such things there is no law"

Mr Lavrov, at the end of the day, classifying the religious community of Jehovah's Witnesses as extremist is tantamount to claiming that Jesus Christ was extremist. For none other is our greatest role-model.

As a worldwide people - consisting of over 8 million - we are concerned about the freedom of our faith brothers in the Russian Federation. I urge you to intervene. Please make sure that our Russian brothers in the faith are not wrongly classified as "extremists".

Sincerely

 

-----------------------------

 

Sehr geehrter Herr Lawrow,

als Zeuge Jehovas verfolge ich mit großer Besorgnis die Entwicklungen, die derzeit in Russland in Bezug auf die freie Ausübung des Glaubens meiner Glaubensbrüder und –schwestern stattfinden.

Wie ich vernommen habe, hat das russische Justizministerium beim Obersten Gericht der Russischen Föderation einen Antrag eingereicht, um die Zeugen Jehovas als extremistisch einzustufen und ihre Tätigkeit zu verbieten. Folglich würden 170.000 Zeugen Jehovas strafrechtlich verfolgt werden, nur weil sie sich zur Anbetung versammeln, gemeinsam in der Bibel lesen oder mit anderen über ihren Glauben sprechen, ja sogar nur weil sie Lieder gemeinsam singen.

In der heutigen Zeit ist es nicht verwunderlich, wenn ein Staat seine Bevölkerung versucht, vor den Gefahren des Extremismus zu beschützen. Doch ich versichere Ihnen dass in Hinblick auf die Zeugen Jehovas dieses Gesetz ad absurdum geführt wird und missbraucht wird, um die Falschen anzugreifen.

Früher, bevor ich ein Zeuge Jehovas wurde, hatte ich intensiv mit Alkohol und Drogen zu tun und war ein sehr gewaltbereiter Mensch. Doch durch Erkenntnisse aus der Bibel war es und ist es mir möglich, an meiner Persönlichkeit zu arbeiten. Wissen Sie, was mir dabei hilft? Im „Neuen Testament“, Epistel an die Galater, Kapitel 5 schrieb Paulus:

„Andererseits ist die Frucht des Geistes Liebe, Freude, Frieden, Langmut, Freundlichkeit, Güte,  Glauben, Milde, Selbstbeherrschung. Gegen solche Dinge gibt es kein Gesetz.“

Herr Lawrow, tatsächlich ist es so, dass wer die Glaubensgemeinschaft der Zeugen Jehovas extremistisch nennt, auch behauptet, dass Jesus Christus extremistisch gewesen sei. Denn niemand Geringerer ist unser größtes Vorbild.

Als weltweites Volk – bestehend aus über 8 Millionen – sorgen wir uns sehr um die Freiheit unserer Glaubensbrüder in der Russischen Föderation. Ich bitte Sie dringend, einzugreifen. Bitte tragen Sie Sorge dafür, dass unsere Glaubensbrüder in Russland nicht zu Unrecht als „Extremisten“ eingestuft werden.

Hochachtungsvoll

 

 

 

[Miss Bea]

Okay. Did it, but, only with Jehovah's help. Years ago, we had a program that you could write simple letters. And be done. Not any more. Oh no! With some fussing, I learned how to use a template. But, not for the envelopes. Hand printing time. I only messed up one. That e-i thing I have so much trouble with. 

I developed a simple format. 1. We know what has happened. 2. What it means to be a Jehovah's Winness throughout the earth. 3. Please use the laws of the land the rectify this situation. Also, please allow these peaceful citizens of your land to worship their God without interference from the Russian government. The world is watching! Show them you are a good example. 

Each subject got a paragraph. I was worried. I did not want to use the same wording. But I looked at their title, it's scope of power, (as well as I could) went from there. They all are individual, and, in the end, it was enjoyable. I used to be good at writing letters. As I said, I could not have done this without Jehovah's help. 

I figured that simplicity was a key. I know they will not read each and every letter, but they will know ones throughout the earth do care about what is being done to Jehovah's people. By them. 

Back to things at hand! 

[SUNRAY]

1 hour ago, Old said:

I don't understand. The rate for a single letter USA to Moscow is $1.15. Flat rate envelopes are not for international delivery.

I just called a local shipping business and he said regular US stamps should equal $1.20...anywhere internationally..is that accurate? No one around here has the round forever stamps. 

[EverlastingLifeInView]

Jehovah's Witnesses in Russia Suspended For Extremism

 

http://vestnikkavkaza.net/news/Jehovah’s-Witnesses-in-Russia-suspended-over-extremism.html

 

Our poor brothers and sisters. These people have no idea who they are messing with, the living God Jehovah!

Edited March 23, 2017 by EverlastingLifeInView

[DancesWithWife]

Wanted to record  a photo of the letters being mailed. From Banks, Oregon post office,  20 miles from Portland .

[Old]

26 minutes ago, SUNRAY said:

I just called a local shipping business and he said regular US stamps should equal $1.20...anywhere internationally..is that accurate? No one around here has the round forever stamps. 

Those round stamps are international stamps available at the post office for $1.15, and yes $1.20 postage will suffice for international mail.

Edited March 23, 2017 by Old

[DancesWithWife]

3 minutes ago, Old said:

Those round stamps are international stamps available at the post office for $1.15, and yes $1.20 postage will suffice for international mail.

You can buy them in what is called "forever" type just like the forever stamp here in the States. I should have picked up a few more, since we may have to write about another country such as South Korea, nothing official but would not be surprised!

[SUNRAY]

They are out of the round forever stamps in our area!