The year is 1983. Mr. K, a kindly Jehovah’s Witness man and his wife knock on the door of a typical middle-class, suburban home. He doesn’t know that his return visit is about to ask him not to return, that Mr. B has only been being polite in taking his Watchtower magazines and nothing more. But something else is about to happen. A seemingly small event will trigger a drastic shift that will change the lives of that family forever — even two yet-unborn children. It will be a change that will tear the family apart, cause desperation and inconsolable sorrow.

What is Shunning?
“Shunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with, and habitually keeping away from an individual or group. It is a sanction against association often associated with religious groups and other tightly-knit organizations and communities. Targets of shunning can include, but are not limited to apostates, whistleblowers, dissidents, people classified as “sinners” or “traitors” and other people who defy or who fail to comply with the standards established by the shunning group(s). Shunning has a long history as a means of organizational

Yesterday I had a conversation with my Mom on the phone. It’s been a very long time since we last spoke. Every conversation brings mixed feelings. On one hand there is the joy of speaking with someone you miss and care about very deeply, and, on the other hand there is the frustration that comes from our separation.
I know my mother agonizes over ‘losing’ her children (since 2 out of 3 of us have left the religion) and yet she has a firm resolve and stubborn devotion to this organization, …

I’ll get to my point in a round about way here… Here’s a little bit of back story first for those of you who may be new to this blog:  I have two brothers, both younger. I was the first to move away from home, years and years ago. Recently my youngest brother, Chris, left the society and my parent’s house and has moved in with me. That leaves my other brother (we’ll call him Joe), the golden-child Ministerial Servant who has lived at home for 24 years. He’s finally …

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Just Move On Already!
…I often hear comments like this. “You should just move on and let the past be the past.” I have to agree that in many cases that is often the very best advice. So why is it that former Jehovah’s Witnesses have such a difficult time moving on with their lives? Why can they never seem to completely let go, even years or decades after they have left the Watchtower …

This morning I had a phone call from my Dad. This is a pretty unusual circumstance since I have been disfellowshipped for over eight years. My father is an elder in the congregation and has been for as long as I can remember. So why was he calling me and breaking the shunning rule? Well, it wasn’t to see how I was doing; generally speaking. No, he called as an elder to see if I had gone to the memorial yesterday. I guess you could say that he …

Since I myself have been disfellowshipped by the Jehovah’s Witnesses one might consider this a very touchy subject for me. Without a doubt it has been the single most devastating experience of my life and one that I will likely have to deal with indefinitely. Not a pleasant thing to have to consider…
What does it mean to be disfellowshipped?
To be disfellowshipped from the Jehovah’s Witnesses essentially means that the Organization/Society/Church renounces your status as a baptized member and minister within their congregation. They explain that they do not want unbelievers …