AssemblyBoard

All:

I just thought I would go off the deep end and share some of the freaky thoughts I've had while under the old assembly system (perhaps now they won't sound so freaky after all that we have discovered about the "house that George built".

Matt Sciaini

All:

regarding: Betty Geftakys, or "Olive" as we find that that is her real name.

During the brothers' meetings that we would have, I began to suspect that Betty was a secret Jesuit.   I began to think this because she very frequently read the "Ronald Knox translation" of the Scriptures.  Knox was a Roman Catholic par excellence...even leaving the Church of England to be part of the Church of Rome.  Not only that, but she, having heavy influence on what books appeared on the booktable, allowed and recommended a number of Fenelon books.  I know that Fenelon's emphasis was not Catholicism as such, but with the rumors and the secrecy surrounding much of the old assembly system, I couldn't help but think that we were being led, step by step, into alliance with that man in the Vatican.

I read the Knox translation a few times but found that it gave me a headache.  It pains me to see Hebraic names turned into the Latin forms in the OLD TESTAMENT, seeing that the OT was written in HEBREW and ARAMAIC.

Matt

All:

Another piece on Betty....

One Sunday I was sitting at the front of the meeting hall during worship and noticed Betty coming in.  I saw that she was wearing a piece of jewelry on her blouse in the form of a spider.  I thought that very strange and a bit spooky.  Was she part of some even weirder group than the Assembly and the Society of Jesus (Jesuits)?  I had never seen a woman wear ANYTHING in the form of a spider, except maybe during Halloween.  

So I went to the handy-dandy internet, and looked up a few articles on this subject.  Apparently the spider is a symbol for good luck and wealth in many cultures.  Some people wear jewerly in the shape of one for this reason. This wasn't as spooky as I thought, but it did provoke in me the thought "Why was a woman of God wearing what someone else might wear as a good luck charm?"

Matt

I wonder if that's why women in the Assembly wear doilies on their heads, which seemed so Catholic. Why not wear bonnets or scarves? Or even hats; fashionable ones certainly would have been an improvement.

This thread should be called "Something About Bettty." I read an account on the Rick Ross site entitled "Coffee Breaks" which humorously tells the story of how Betty started a coffee enema fad among the saints. This has got to be an urban legend! If not, it sounds like one.

I copied and pasted the story, e-mailed to some friends, who e-mailed it to some more friends. It was so evil of me to that  ;) but it felt good since I think she's a *itch anyways.

Shin,

     Based upon your last post here + my brief look at your website, I wonder:  [1.] Are you a Christian? and [2.] Were you ever in an assembly?  I hope these questions don't offend you-- that certainly is not my intention.  It's just that I don't recall your having mentioned the Lord Jesus Christ (please forgive my oversight if I'm mistaken), and I can't imagine anyone in an assembly not having heard the coffee enema stories.

     I haven't seen the Rick Ross version, but I can assure you that it is indeed an urban legend, and in this case definitely a true one!  I remember when Betty's doctor had to explain to her why she was having trouble sleeping after taking her coffee backwards right before going to bed! ;D  No kidding!

al

Al, to the first question - I mentioned some time ago in the posts I am an agnostic - that's where I am right now. Second question - yes, I was in the Assembly in the mid-nineties and I never heard about the coffee enema story at the time but it sounds consistent with how other people characterized her as someone who chased health food fads. Here is the link on Rick Ross's site:
http://www.rickross.com/reference/assembly/assembly4.html

I only met Betty a few times and I didn't really like her at all.

 :):
Good Evening Shin.
How are you on this bright sunny warm summer day?
It is hot and humid here in the Ottawa Valley.

SUBJECT: COFFEE ENEMAS.

I was in the Ottawa Assembly between 1982 to 1987.

I heard of the Coffee Enemas.
In fact I know of one person. if not more. who faithful subscribe to Sister Betty's cure all.
I dont know if she still swears by it faithfully, but even about 10 years ago, she was still having faith in it medicial help .
Some of the alternative health practictioner were prescribing it to eliminate toxins from the body.
I find drinking the stuff works just a well, and just as effective to this aging system.


Just had to put my two cents in their about this.

p.s. I never met Betty. I did meet George about three times throughout my assembly connection.
I hold no anger or hate towards these people.
I feel sorry for them.
They are the ones who are going to have to give an account for slandering God's ministry, God's witness for what they have done.
Remember what Matthew said. It is better to have put a millstone around your neck and throw your self into the sea, that to stumble one of these little one.
Little ones where children. It is can also refer to God's children who are weak in the faith.
So we have a small idea, of the punishment that may these two will have to endure, as they give their account in front of the Heavenly Judge of their actions.

Lenore

 :)

Lenore, I'm doing well. How are you? It's nice and sunny here, temperate but bright (sunburn risk). It's a nice change from the June gloom and then the muggy weather we just had in San Diego.

Snopes has these circles for its rating of urban legends. Green = true, red = false, yellow = undetermined or ambiguous veracity, and white = indeterminate origin. http://www.snopes.com

The coffee enema story being confirmed by two witnesses plus it being written on Rick Ross's site by an unidentified ex-member gives it a green dot.

toxins, yes
I think it rather ironic actually, the whole fixation on toxins and how to get them out when, Betty would have subscribed to what proceeds out of the body (through the mouth I'm guessing) that might corrupt rather than what goes it.  Then again, that was well before the age of eating Twinkies, wasn't it (the biblical reference, I mean).
And cheers to the agnostics!
I raise my glass of reverse osmosis water in your general direction

ps.  What made the assembly toxic and ruined the health of many, could not be cured by coffee, taken into which ever orifice one tried, I think.
 Delila

I raise my glass of reverse osmosis water to you too, Delila.  :)

Lenore and delila, you remember the coffee breaks; it was practised by some Ottawa assemblyites following the Gruesome diet as promoted by BG.

Here's a story for you Shin.  Betty visited Ottawa a few times.  Prior to her visit the hosting home received a list of instructions to prepare for her arrival.  Once Scrub Free was listed as being needed for coffee you-know-what.  The sister thought it was a joke that she had to scrub for free after the event, until she was in a store one day and discovered that Scrub Free is the name of a cleaner.  Good thing too, because she had the item on hand before BG's arrival, or else she might have ended up with a consequence or something eh?? :)

Marcia

Here is the story about coffee enemas.  This was only part of a larger package called the Gershin (sp?) diet.  

Mr. Gershin developed a special diet to help those who had cancer.  This alternative medicine approach was based upon the idea that one must supercharge their immune system to fight off cancer.  They did this by having the patent drink several organic juice drink - carrot, greens, calf liver - throughout the day.  It was an extremely strict diet.  Part of the regime was the coffee enema where the caffeine was to get the kidneys going to pump out the impurities from the body.  It was also, by the way, intended to be an intense, short-term diet to fight cancer.  It was not supposed to be a long-term maintenance diet as it was often practiced in the Assembly.

Though this didn't work in every case, in a couple of cases in the Assembly sisters who had cancer actually benefited from this diet.  They beat their cancer are alive to tell about it today.

Betty, who has a knack of taking something good and overapplying it so that it becomes a legalistic burden, began to assign this diet to just about anyone who had any significant ailment.  What was never admitted, of course, was the reason we had so many sick and exhausted people was the stress and rigors of keeping up.

As you may or may not know, in training houses, folks went to meetings all day Sunday, tape ministry Tuesday, Bible study Wednesday, Prayer meeting Thursday, outreach of all night of prayer Friday, Saturday morning Bible Study.  They worked full time jobs were often conducting special ministries such as New Song or a job Bible Study.  In training homes, cooking a meal took an entire night because it involved sprouting beans, making your own yogurt, etc.  On Saturday, you had hours of stewardships (the rest of the world called them chores) plus the demand to be prepared for ministry on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday morning and Sunday.  Somewhere in there, you did your laundry, did personal shopping, and, perhaps, read a book.  Don't forget to get up early so you could have your quiet time before house devotions.

Some people simply gave out and became exhausted.  Betty's solution was 1) you need to be taught how to keep a schedule 2) Gershin diet.

So, in the context, the coffee enema wasn't completely outlandish.  There were some folks who benefited from this non-traditional means of fighting cancer.  However, as often happened in the Assembly, something that could have been a good thing became a tool for bondage.

Personally, I prefer to take my coffee orally.

This subject is revolting....the mere thought of consequences this early 6:30 a.m. while drinking my coffee. I think I'm going to be sick...my skins crawling. Lord have mercy..

My bad for bringing it up. Definitely more witnesses have come forward, confirming this story's green circle status.

I heard about the coffee enemas, but I never had one. When it is administered are you asked if you would like cream and sugar in the coffee?  Just curious. I did have a Frappuccino enema once and felt happy most of the day.

--Joe

 :):
COFFEE ENEMA with sugar and milk:
Now that I dont know yet.

I heard it was boiled coffee, then cooled then administered.

As for being a help in the diet regime for a cure for cancer.

It was just the diet regime. It God who intervene on these poor people willing to subject themselves in faith, to this regime.

There is nothing wrong with chemo, radiation, and radical surgery , Many people are alive and well due to these medical procedures as well.

God gave these people  the knowledge to be doctors, radiologist, hemopathic physicians etc. To aid patients in need.
But it is God who should get the ultimate credit.

What I heard about 20 years ago. The inventor of the coffee enemas died, of bowel cancer.  I dont know if this is fact or ficton, but it made me wonder about the cure all of this procedure.

Just thinking out loud.

Lenore

Shin, Yes, you are Bad, but I forgive you. Speaking of Doilies they were really head-coverings you know. Showing subjection. If you did'nt wear one you can only guess what would of happened. My first Sunday "All Day for the Lord" I brought a Hat. Now I did'nt realize it was really All Day I thought after lunch we'd be going home. I was invited by this Sister who drove. I remember telling her it was too long and I'd wait for her in the Park by City Hall where we had lunch. Somehow she talked me into going for the afternoon (burn-out meeting) GG was preaching on Daniel and Prophecy was one of my favorite subjects. I did wear the Hat for awhile I think they all got a kick out of it. I was'nt going to wear the 'catholic headcovering' thing it was really weird to me. But soon I realized either comply or leave it would of been an obvious sign of rebellion. Its still perplexing to me that I stayed or ever got involved for as long as I did.

All:

I didn't realize that bringing up urban legends would open up this big a can of worms!  But I doubt that worms like coffee in any orifice.

I believe that Betty and George (last that I know) are doing the Zone, which is far saner than anything else I saw as far as diets.

I escaped most if not of all of the weirdness regarding fad diets in the homes I lived in.  Sometimes I would sit side by side with weirdness in other brothers, two of whom in one home I lived in had their own self-starting enema/waterbottle/cleansing project going.  They would even occasionally discuss the results of their endeavors in front of myself and our other roommate,  but these young men actually were concerned about their digestive systems.  This did not appear to be Betty-induced.   Eventually they gave it up (or, at least, gave up talking about it).  

Matt

Summer, mea culpa. Sorry, I can really be bad at times.  However, there were also dress code issues for the brothers. I had a couple of talkings to concerning my clothes. One was about wearing shorts to the Bible Studies. A no-no. Another was when I wore a pair of Birkenstock sandals along with my shirt, tie, and slacks.

Having been a reluctant inductee into the Gerson club, my suspicion is that it had more to do with Betty gaining greater contact and therefore control over the victim and those in the victim's sphere of influence.  

Because we could provide her with a strict Gerson lunch and kosher juices to boot, she came every Wed. for a three-hour indoctrination session, with inquiries into how our house was run, & proper consequences, what we all we ate, the brothers' schedules, how we paid the bills; how our children were doing and how we were training them, & how it should be done with proper amount of stewardships & consequences; the ministries we were involved in, & proper load of responsibilites, meetings for them, &consequences;how we were "counseling" people, proper application of the cross, & proper consequences.... etc.  (Sorry for going on and on - I just couldn't resist venting.)

I think that was the main reason why she counseled people do to the Gerson therapy, not really for health reasons.  As Dave Sable said, it was originally intended as an alternative cancer therapy, especially for terminal cases where there were no further medical options.

But speaking of urban legends, I've heard something about people zapping themselves??

     
Hi.  My name is Ferndon an al said I can post from his terminal until mine gets back from the shop.

I have some news for some of you about the things on this topic..

First, Matthew is mistaken about worms not liking coffee.  Coffee grounds make really great garden compost & the worms loveit.  The worms in my garden get so jazzd on the caffine that they practice martial arts.  (Their little "HI-YA"s wake me up some mornings.)  The other day I went outside to ask them to keep it down, & their sensei flipped me the early bird.

For those who aren't aware, a sister from a West Coast assembly is suing the McDonald's Corp. for millions of $$'s, claiming to have been scalded by a coffee enema.  McD's is countersuing, claiming that she had no business doing that & holding up traffic at the drive-thru.

Attention, Delila:  Some American assembly members take Coca Cola enemas for breakfast.  It's usually only the ones who use cold leftover pizza for a facial scrub & exfoliator.

Well thanks.  It was fun to be here.  An special thanks to al for the use of his keyboard-- Ain't he a great guy folks!

Ferndon

Thanks, Marcia. That's a generous offer.

Last year, I've been to a lot of services at a Catholic church because I was being supportive of a friend who converted to that faith, and so many Assembly rules would have been broken there too, starting with the absence of head coverings to no ties.

The best of therapy is to laugh

I really must try the pizza facial scrub

But Coke, I hear it's only really good for taking the rust off old nails, or was it dissolving nails completely?  I swore off pop of any kind in early high school (before the assembly) as it gives me gas (like Archy Bunker)
delila

Every Sunday afternoon I drive by Mark Millers house.  He lives down the street from my church.  I can'thelp but notice him working on his cars motorcycle etc... Did he stop going to the assembly meetings? How about Tim Geftakys?  Others??

David,

     No hidden meaning in this question, just sheer curiosity:  Why did you choose the "Urban Legends thread for this particular post?

     And a suggestion:  Allow yourself a few extra minutes & stop by Mark's and ask him...  Let us know what he says.

al

Sorry, I misunderstood.  I am afraid to confront Mark.  I might say some bad things like "Why did you treat me so disrespectfully?"  

David,

     I understand.  But, who knows??--  You might find it therapeutic!?  Even if not now, perhaps someday...

al

When we were out in California, we stopped by and saw Diane.  Mark was not there as it was during the day.  The Zachs were living there temporarily (they sold their house) and were preparing to move back to Nebraska.  It seems that several folks were gravitating towards Evangelical Free church in La Mirada.  The Kehoes, Zachs, and others went there.  I think the Millers went on occasion as well.

The Fullerton gathering is run in such a way in that there does not seem to be a lot of pressure to stay or leave.  

I'm sure Arthur's going to want to Rush right over to say Goodbye to Rod.

Talking about people (especially workers) from the past, I thought I saw Erik Farien in downtown San Diego today. Does anyone know if he still lives in San Diego?

Dave:

The Zachs' didn't sell their house---they never bought it--they were renting it.

Shin:

No, Erik is no longer living in San Diego;  he and his family have been living in Fullerton the past two years.

Matt

Thanks for the correction, Matt.  Wrong assumption on my part.

-Dave

Shinichi, Could you please post the "Clocks Man" again. I can't find it.....Coldplays 'Clocks' was on today in the car and I could'nt help but think of your man...Thanks Summer. p.s. I know its on your shinichi tv site, but it doesnt stay put.  Are those pics of You? Cute if they are...

Hi Summer,
Yes, the guy in front of the acorn and oak trees is me. Thanks. :)

Here's the larger JPEG of the man with the clock. The text reads: Il a recu la vision celeste des horloges. Translation: He recieved the heavenly vision of the clocks.

I like Coldplay too. Listening to musis post-Assembly life is fun. The CD that just won't leave my player right now is Modest Mouse's _Good News For People Who Like Bad News_. Darkly upbeat, _Good News for People Who Like Bad News_ evokes The Violet Femmes, Tom Waits, and Joy Division. Favorite quote from the CD is from "The View": If it takes s#!* to make bliss, well I feel pretty blissfully... If life's not beautiful without the pain, well I'd rather not see beauty again.

With some of the things that have gone down in my life, I feel pretty blissfully. And it's not "rejoicing." I've learned a lot about myself in the past few years and those experience are a part of who I am, good and bad. The stuff Benny, the narrator of the Gold Lady stories, goes through is much worse but he's never became cynical, especially with how his character has developed over the past couple of years.

I need to update that site. So much stuff to put up!

All:

Other nuances of unwritten but definite assumptions about things in the old assembly........

You were a more godly brother/sister and thus more suited for marriage if you went on a Mission and Training Team (could be sour grapes...the one time I was about to go on one, I lost my job and could not go)..a true rite of passage...

The people that chose hymns out of the "Hymns for the Little Flock" were more advanced in spiritual things (actually, I like the hymn book but it seemed that some people would pick out obscure hymns and tell us the tune just to show us how knowledgeable they were).

How is it that George went to preach to all these places throughout the world (if he did), and yet showed very little evidence of having learned enough of any language to speak to people in those places?  Do some brethren from overseas have any experiences of being around him at those times?  Please contribute.

Did George think himself above other ethnic groups?  I noted that during one missionary convocation, when Nigerian and Kenyan brethren were present, that Mark and Tim, who had gone to these countries, wore the garments that were made for them by the grateful brethren, yet I have NEVER seen GG in an African outfit.  The pictures I have seen of him in Africa have him looking like the great white hunter minus his gun and sun hat.  

More later.

Matt

Dave,  My church shared the building with the Fullerton group about 8 months ago.  I pocked my head in the door and saw about 3o adults.. John Kehoe, Brad Mathews, Dennis Hittle, Tim Geftakys, Mark Miller. My impression was, wow this place is nothing like it was. Are they now visiting other  churches?

Dave:

Of the people you have mentioned, only the Millers and the Kehoes are visiting other places, to my knowledge.  The Kehoes are still (last I heard) betwixt and between because of John's involvement with children's ministry at Fullerton.

Matt