(Note: All of the characters in this story are fictional, bearing no resemblance to anyone living or dead, and they are all at least 18 years of age.)
Bill Kittridge gathered his family that Thursday night to attend a Ministry School meeting at his local Kingdom Hall. During that meeting, various members of the congregation prepared and delivered sermons based upon the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society's interpretation of scripture. Male members stood at the podium unassisted to expound upon Watchtower doctrine. Younger males were groomed by reading directly from the Bible. More experienced males used intricate and often complicated logical stretches to drive their points home. Jehovah's witnesses practice a rationalistic religion.
Female members did not address the congregation standing at the podium. Rather, two or more females took the stage to demonstrate various persuasion techniques. One female would pretend to be a random homeowner in the field. The other female would demonstrate how to explain JW eschatology and/or how to handle various doctrinal objections.
Men always ran the meetings. These men were called 'elders'. Typically, they were the more experienced Christians in the group, it being their job to 'shepherd the flock'. These men strove to set a fine moral and spiritual example for the congregants. Too, they were tasked with keeping the congregation clean of sin.
Bill Kittridge was an elder. On this particular Thursday, Bill was in charge of the Service Meeting. He gave a fifteen-minute talk. He also was in charge of introducing the other speakers. Typically, these consisted of other elders and deacons working their way up through the church hierarchy.
As a young man, before his ex-communication Jules was a critical cog in theis hierarchy. He had congregational privileges that included giving talks, passing microphones around during Bible discussions and proselytizing.
Jules' sudden ex-communication stained his family's reputation in the congregation. Whereas, at one time the Kittridge family was held as a model of Christian values, now the family harbored an unrepentant sinner.
Bill Kittridge was torn about this loss of face. Bill did not grow up in 'the Truth'. He was a convert. Bill's wife Abby grew up as one of Jehovah's witnesses. Both of them were fervent adherents to the faith. Jules' sin was a slap in the face. Technically, he was a grown man now, even though he was still a high school student. Bill Kittridge could set a fine congregational example by emancipating Jules. This would be viewed by the congregation as appropriate discipline, and necessary to bring Jules back into the fold. Jules knew that he was being considered for emancipation--a nice way of saying he might get kicked out of the house.
Jules did not attend Kingdom Hall that night. Nancy did. She sat through the meeting in moral horror, knowing that she, too, existed in the midst of great mortal sin. Nancy and her brother were incestuously fornicating. It was a case so shocking that, even as a participant, Nancy was taken aback.
The siblings had not been intimate since the prior Sunday, which left Nancy both hurt and perplexed. She'd tried everything to bring Jules back to his penile worship between her thighs. Nothing seemed to work. As the meeting droned on and on, Nancy shuffled in her seat. Her panties were wet. She was ashamed of her wetness in this holy place.
Nancy looked over at her mother Abby. Abby Kittridge locked onto each speaker with a laser-like focus. Every word spoken from the podium came straight from Jehovah's organization and, as such, was worthy of her strict attention. Abby Kittridge was as hardcore a Christian as there was. If the Society said it, she believed it, and that settled it. Periodic changes in their doctrinal stance didn't bother her; New Light was God's method of advancing truth. Old Light was God's method of weeding out malingerers.
Abby Kittridge was no malingerer.
The meeting adjourned around nine thirty p.m. Various families got up to socialize. Absences were noted and asked after. (No one asked about Jules. He was disfellowshipped.) Of the fellowshipped, the time taken to renew the bonds of family and friendship is often noted as the best thing about Jehovah's witnesses. Bill Kittridge and the other elders made it their business to connect with as many congregants as possible.
On the ride home Abby and Bill interrogated their children about major points of the meeting. Abby made sure that her children were properly indoctrinated. Each meeting, to Abby, was a spiritual feast of information, none of which could be wasted or taken for granted.
