The KINGDOM HALL topic. (page 2)

OUTLAW

The Quick Build Kingdom Halls are much nicer..

They come with a Moon shaped window and..

New Light so you can find the door ..

........................ ...OUTLAW

Yep, as NVR2L8 says, it "looks like a rental hall in a cheap Hotel where Multi-Level-Marketers meet to recruit suckers!" So sad, but if 'business' stats are all they're interested in they might want to check out jwfacts excellent topic; 2011 Watchtower publisher statistics with analysis

FlyingHighNow

Nic, is it an Anglican church you attended? Is there a website with pictures? I love a beautiful building. I was raised in beautiful Episcopal Churches, your Anglican cousins. When I was a JW, I missed my childhood church very badly, because of how plain and uniform the kingdom hall meetings and buildings were.

Here is a little video I made during the pre-service music, on my visit to one of my childhood churches, during early May 2011.

I felt such a deep, spiritual connection with the universe there. My favorite services were the candelight night time ones such as midnight mass on Christmas eve. I suggest that you attend midnight mass at one of your local Anglican churches. They are very beautiful and memorable.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q_jDP3JfSpc

FlyingHighNow

I used to kneel at this rail for a blessing, during communion, as a child. I loved the tender way Father Brown touched my head and smiled at me. Now children who are baptized, even babies take communion. My mother was the choir and music director. Sometimes she played the organ, being a classical pianist. At that time the organ was hidden in a little room to the right of the communion rail. Now it is to the left where the choir used to sit.

FlyingHighNow

I knelt at this same rail during my May visit and had my first communion at this church (not my first communion as an adult though.) I made the trip all the way from Michigan to Morgan City and very important to me was to visit this church and have communion. It turned out some of the older women remembered my mother and me. I hadn't been there since 1970.

FlyingHighNow

In the first picture, you can see the baptismal font where I was baptized. This is not the priest/rector of Trinity, he is the Canon to the Ordinary in the diocese. The ffont is next to his right arm, on your left.

FlyingHighNow

The history of this little church is fascinating. After the Civil War, it served as the school for the city. When it came time to remodel it, people of many faiths got together to make it look like cathedral in miniature inside:

A History of
Trinity Episcopal Church

Trinity Episcopal Church of Morgan City, founded in 1874, is one of the oldest "congregations of worship" in eastern Saint Mary Parish. Originally a mission on the Louisiana Diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church, and located in what was then the Town of Brashear, the church grew with the community. Dedicated members and generous benefactors sustained Trinity in its early years and enabled the growing congregation to weather the hardships of the Reconstruction Era, the terrors of yellow fever, and the more mundane crises which inevitably beset any struggling church in the small rural communities of that time. The congregation organized and maintained an active Sunday School during these years.

In 1876, the present church property was purchased for three hundred dollars, which had been raised through donations and "entertainments". A year later, the Bishop of Louisiana encouraged the construction of a schoolhouse, which could also be used for divine services, on the property. The school proved to be particularly beneficial to the community since the public schools had been closed for lack of funds. At the turn of the century, the "shotgun" style building was moved a short distance to the church's present location. A chancel was added, the interior and exterior were refinished, and the church was completely furnished. Native cypress lumber was used extensively with lasting results.

In 1911, the church was remodeled with old St. Andrew's Church in New Orleans as the model for the renovation and the project was funded by generous contributions from Presbyterians, Roman Catholics, Methodists, and Jews as well as Episcopalians. A parish house was built in the late 1940's. The rapid development of the offshore oil industry in the Morgan City area in the years following the Second World War enabled the church to expand and flourish.

In 1956, Trinity called its first resident priest, the Reverend James Douglass. The next year, Trinity Episcopal Church was proudly granted a charter by the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana conferring long-desired parish status. In subsequent decades, further improvements and renovations were carried out in the church and the parish house, and the Albert Storm Memorial Rectory was built. Needlepoint cushions, kneelers, and stained glass memorial windows were installed in the church. In keeping with Trinity's emphasis on tradition, a bell was placed in the belfry to call the faithful to worship.

Today, this historic church remains, as ever, dedicated to the Holy Trinity and to the time-honored Anglican Communion.

sizemik

Inspiring places aren't they . . . .

Oh look! . . . . this one has a window . . .

Heartofaboy

Looking back over 50 years of attending Kingdom Hall 'meetings' I realise I have never once knelt in this so called place of worship & actually performed an act of worship to God.

Only when you separate yourself from the tread mill of meeting attendance & give yourself time to comtemplate what you have done with your life does something like this hit you square in the face.

Hoab

skeeter1

The Kingdom Halls are super drab and bleak looking. But, they've always been that way since I can remember (early 1970s). Actually, the decor and building structure is stuck in the 1950s.

Having worked with franchises, I know that many franchise companies REQUIRE their owners to update their location periodically (every 2 to 5 years). Ever seen the difference between a "Wendy's" as opposed to a "McDonalds?" McD's requires more frequent updates. Better hotel chains also change out the decor more often. It raises the perceived quality and number of patrons. People are not as "afraid" of a Hyatt as they are of Howard Johnsons. Going to a strange city where you don't know the hotel? See "Hyatt" and know you're going to get a clean room . . .

If the Watchtower is a business, they need to update their appearance. They will not do that, of course. Their doctrines, dress requirements, buildings, music, simplistic views on women/children, men rule/women to shut up .. . . are from the 1950s.

The Mega Church is what is growing in the religion business. it is very inspiring and awe-setting to also be a part of one of these churches. And, the message that is spoken HELPS in every day life. Unbeleivable messages can be found there.

Look how swank it is!