Sweeney,
These brothers want the word to get out, and hopefully draw some financial and legal assistance, but they are reluctant to go to the press or other media to try to win their case. They want to try the case in court, before an impartial judge and a jury that is likely to give them a fair hearing. Newspapers and local media often misreport a case such as this. This is the kind of case that needs to be put in historical perspective so that the public understands the facts behind their filing the complaint.
Let's face it, who really knows who owns a church? Do you have any idea who owns the local Baptist Church? What about that beautiful historic church with the tall white steeple that is considered a local landmark? Who owns St. Paul's Cathedral. Who owns the Saddleback Chapel?
The reality is that most Protestant denominations are made up of lots of local churches that are controlled and owned by a local non-profit corporation (just as Kingdom Halls have been in the past). All decisions are made by local boards of directors as to what expansion will take place, how much to contribute toward the missionary work, who to invite to speak to the congregation, and how much to pay that person, if anything at all. They hire and fire their pastors and support staff. They provide benefits to the clergy and other employees. They are run very much like any non-profit corporation. Although they may belong to a national headquarters association, synod or particular denomination, they are for the most part independent.
That's how it was for Kingdom Halls until just a few years ago. And yet the Watchtower has convinced most of its followers that it owns all those properties - that it has the power to appoint or remove elders - that it can order the sale of any property.
The Bonham, TX scandal of the mid-80s proved that the Watchtower can not claim ownership of all Kingdom Halls. Although the case took years to finally work its way through the courts, the local brothers finally won and kept the building. By the time the case was over, however, most of the complaintants had either been disfellowshipped or left on their own. The Society did build a new KH a few miles away and basically abandoned their pursuit of the older building except in the appeals courts. They lost that case, but there were no real winners.
In my second article, hopefully online by the first of next week, I will point out that until the Society appointed a new Circuit Overseer there apparently never been any serious issues at that Hall. The elder body was made up of longtime brothers. The congregation had been fruitful, bringing many new converts into the Watchtower's version of the "Truth." I have not heard of any scandals from the past that would indicate that any of the elders had ever tried to go out on their own, or had ever stood in defiance of the Society or its teachings.
Within a year of the appointment of the new Circuit Overseer, these brothers were being accused of various actions against the Society. Mountains were made of molehills. Changes in the local Hall were not suggested, they were ordered. The brothers were purposefully embarrassed and accused of wrongdoing, mostly through gossip and innuendo.
The public press, for the most part, does not really understand the backroom dealings of Jehovah's Witnesses. If the Catholic Church "owns" all its churches, why wouldn't the Watchtower "own" all its Kingdom Halls. They don't understand that when the Watchtower "loans" contruction funds to build Kingdom Hall, they expect to be paid back by the local brothers, dollar for dollar, and expect the labor to be performed by volunteers. In many cases the land has been donated. All work and fund are eventually provided by the local brothers, but the Watchtower - upon full payment of the loan - then takes ownership of a valuable piece of property. The local brothers have nothing under their ownership or control.
Now if I'm wrong about this, I welcome anyone on this board who is, or has been a recent elder, to please correct my understanding.
In any case, the press would not understand that most of the older KHs were actually owned locally and that the WT HQ has no legal rights or ownership of them - but they are acting as if they did and no one is stopping them. Except Bonham and now Menlo Park.