It is official they're selling off Kingdom Halls in Britain

by raymond frantz 102 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  respectful_observer

  Maybe they wouldn't need to replace or renovate so many Kingdom Halls if they actually built them to last and stopped decorating them in styles that quickly go out of favor. How often have you walked by or into and old church and thought "Ewww...this is so dated." Yet that has gone through my mind everytime I've stepped into any KH more than 5 years old.

  In my area there is a congregation that recently sent in almost $2 million dollars to the WTS it had saved toward a badly needed renovation. (It's an old hall in a very wealthy area.) Now those local friends are getting very nervous that instead of renovating this historic (and very valuable) property, the WTS will force them to sell it for millions, see all that cash flow to NY, and force the friends to build a hall the next town over for $500,000. In the end, the WTS would probably net $3-4 million from that one congregation.
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  AndDontCallMeShirley

  Listener: What's the bet that those old halls will be the ones that aren't already owned by the WTBTS?

  "Old" is also the KH that happens to sit on the most prime real estate and will make the biggest profit for WT. Menlo Park, Ca. is a great example.
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  raymond frantz

  Hi guys I have updated the article here including useful links for the Charities Commision complaints

  The biggest sell off of Kingdom Halls in Britain

  
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  raymond frantz

  By "old " they mean the ones that sit in the best and most expensive land ,don't belong to Society and are easy to sell .The congregation of that Hall will have to relocate to a nearby converted garage that they will have to refurbish free labour and will have to pay to the Society .

  4 THINGS ACHIEVED in one move :

  1. Grabb all cash held in the old congragation's accounts and dismandle.

  2.Sell prime land and building.

  3.Get them to build a new building from scratch with their free labour a building that won't belong to them.

  4. Get them to sign a loan to the Watchtower for the priveledge of using this building.

  5. 10-20 YEARS down the line REPEAT 1-4

  6. Who said religion isn't a lucrative business?

  Oh ,did I forgot to mention ? Call this a blessing from God!
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  punkofnice

  Strewth. Whatever happened to dedicating them for worship?
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  OneEyedJoe

  Punk - that's a good question. Since they have a dedication ceremony for KHs, do they disfellowship them once they're sold? Could I get disfellowshiped for pulling into the parking lot of a building that was previously used as a KH?
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  bohm

  RF:

  7) give people the impression the religion is expanding (there is a need for new halls & existing halls are overcrowded)
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  punkofnice

  Well the Wellington Street KH in Peterborough is now a pentecostal church. They are 'consolidating' into an old plymouth brethren hall.
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  tootired2care

  Sounds like a going out of business sale to me.
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  redvip2000

  but when a "company" starts selling off the family silver, i.e. it's physical assets, isn't that usually a classic sign of "panic" or at least a company in crisis?

  i think it means a shift in business model IMO. The Watchtower is realizing that it cannot rely on donations from litera-trash anymore,l especially as they shift to a digital focused approach. This real estate scam they have going on is a much better alternative or at least a complement to the litera-trash revenue.

  Build halls with free labor for a fraction of real-world cost, hold it for a few years while they suck off congregation payments, then sell it at market value. You can expect this scam to go on, which will inevitably extend to bethel installations.