assembly "urban legends"

[matthew r. sciaini]

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

[matthew r. 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

[matthew r. sciaini]

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

[shinchy]

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

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.

[shinchy]

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.

[al Hartman]

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!  No kidding!

al

[shinchy]

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!  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.

[lenore]

 :
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

[shinchy]

 

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.

[delila]

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

[shinchy]

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

[M2]

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

[outdeep]

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.

[summer007]

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..

[shinchy]

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.