do you actually say "the friends" in the US? that sounds quite strange to me... here in the UK, "friends" are usually unbaptised publishers and/or non-witness visitors...
eg. "Brothers and sisters and friends, we offer you a very warm welcome to our meeting this morning"
Oh, that reminds me of another thing i hate. JWs are very fond of performance verbs, verbs in which you say you are doing something, but you are not really doing anything... eg. "We offer you a warm welcome"