TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS IN THE UNITED STATES BRANCH TERRITORY Re: Branch visit in November 2014
Dear Brothers:
In our letter dated February 19, 2014, to all congregations in the United States branch ter- ritory, you were informed of a special weekend program to be held on Saturday, November 8, 2014, and Sunday, November 9, 2014. This program is in connection with the branch visit scheduled for the United States and will be broadcast to locations throughout the branch territory. We are pleased to inform you of some of these arrangements.
Since the goal is to allow as many as possible the opportunity to benefit from this branch visit program, provision will be made to allow any Kingdom Hall properly equipped to receive the broadcast. Kingdom Halls that received the 2013 annual meeting program should continue to qualify, if they have maintained Internet service and meet the requirements outlined below. Oth- er Kingdom Halls will need to purchase and install necessary equipment and arrange for appro- priate Internet service. All associated costs, including monthly Internet fees, should be carefully considered and agreed upon by the congregations involved. Therefore, please work closely with any congregation(s) sharing your Kingdom Hall in the review and implementation of the matters outlined in this letter. If your congregation(s) cannot undertake this project at the present time, arrangements will be made for you to attend at another location.
Equipment: The branch office is in the process of negotiating price discounts for most of the equipment noted below. We are also working to make available to Kingdom Halls and As- sembly Halls reduced Internet subscription rates. Thus, we recommend delaying Internet and equipment purchases until after May 15, 2014. Availability of items that can be obtained will be announced through the “Supplier Arrangements” section on jw.org. Please note these basic re- quirements to receive the broadcast.
Wired Internet service (not cellular or Wi-Fi) with 3Mbps (recommended) / 1.5Mbps (minimum) download speed, based on speedtest.net results
One of the following devices for receiving the signal
a. Existing amino device used for the 2013 annual meeting transmission
b. Late model computer with external monitor support (recommended less than two years old; must be tested thoroughly before program date)
c. Apple TV and Apple device capable of Airplay
A direct box (such as Whirlwind PodDI ) for connecting audio from the receiving de- vice to the Kingdom Hall sound system
A display (such as projector, TV, and so forth) large enough for all in attendance to view the program comfortably
Event coordinator: To schedule and oversee program arrangements locally, you will need to select a capable elder for each Kingdom Hall to serve as an event coordinator. Some of his responsibilities will include coordinating Internet arrangements; keeping the elders advised of the progress of any equipment installation; scheduling when attending congregations will use the Kingdom Hall; and coordinating additional meetings of the body(ies) of elders to select the tech- nical contact, attendants, and so forth. Regarding the scheduling of when congregations will at- tend the broadcast, the event coordinator will act in accord with the instructions he will receive from the branch office.
We have prepared an online form at the following Web address for your use in submitting your recommended event coordinator:
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Please submit your request using XXXXX no later than June 1, 2014. The form should be completed by the secretary of the titleholding congregation as soon as you have deter- mined whether it will be possible to install this equipment in your Kingdom Hall. If the decision is to proceed, mark the form appropriately and you will be prompted to enter the details of the event coordinator. If you find that you cannot approve of the installation of the equipment and your Kingdom Hall was not equipped previously for this, kindly use the above-mentioned form to notify us of that fact as soon as that has been determined.
Installation: If your determination is to equip your Kingdom Hall to receive the broad- cast, you will need to have the installation completed no later than August 1, 2014. It may be possible for the Regional Building Committee to render some assistance. You are welcome to contact them and inquire of their availability. However, due to already scheduled projects, they may not be able to do the work for you. Please keep this in mind when considering your options.
No doubt, this program will be spiritually upbuilding and encouraging for all in attendance, especially as we are centering our attention on 100 years of Kingdom rule. May we all pray for Je- hovah’s blessing and direction upon these arrangements to his praise.
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Underline is mine. They keep talking about the 100 years...