ANNOUNCEMENTS AND REMINDERS
August
2018
Coordinator
of the body of elders: The announcements and reminders for the
congregation should
be
read at the next midweek meeting and thereafter posted on the information board
for one month.
FOR
THE ELDERS ONLY
1.
Memorial: In preparation for the 2019 Memorial, please review the
direction in the February
13,
2017, letter to all bodies of elders on selecting a Memorial speaker and
selecting Memorial
meeting
times.
As
in previous years, there will be a worldwide effort to invite as many as
possible to attend.
This
special campaign will begin Saturday, March 23, 2019, and extend through
Friday, April 19,
2019.
Each congregation should submit a request for invitations by Monday,
September 10, 2018,
using
item number 7959. If a request is not received from your congregation by the
due date, a ratio of
40
invitations per publisher and 120 per pioneer will be sent to your
congregation. The same artwork
that
was used for the 2018 invitation will be used for the 2019 invitation. Thus, to
avoid confusion,
please
ensure that any 2018 invitations have been discarded. A Memorial invitation in
Braille will
automatically
be sent to publishers who regularly receive Braille items from the branch
office. Additional
invitations
in Braille can be requested beginning January 1, 2019. Publishers will be
allowed
to
leave Memorial invitations where no one is at home if the elders deem this to
be practical.
2.
Special Public Talk: The prerecorded special talk mentioned in the
announcement to the
congregation
will be available on JW Stream about one month prior to the week it is to be
presented.
Please
assign an elder or a ministerial servant to download the prerecorded talk from
JW Stream
(using
his jw.org credentials) several weeks before the congregation is scheduled to
view it. Since
there
may be multiple recordings available in the same language, in early 2019 the
branch office
will
inform groups and congregations which recording they should use. If possible, a
backup speaker
should
be assigned in case of technical problems with the recording. If a congregation
or group
does
not have the necessary equipment to view the recording or if the recording is
not available in
the
language of the congregation or group, the body of elders should assign a
qualified speaker to
give
the talk in the usual manner. Since the special talk will be a revised version
of Talk No. 90,
“Reach
Out for the Real Life!,” the current version should not be presented after
September 1,
2018.
3.
Global Assistance Arrangement: In harmony with the announcement to the
congregation,
please
arrange for a resolution to be considered by the congregation authorizing the
following
amount
to be sent from congregation funds each month for the 12-month period of
September 2018
through
August 2019: (per-publisher amount noted on jw.org) x (number of active
publishers). If
preferred,
the entire amount may be sent at one time. If the body of elders thinks that
the suggested
amount
would impose a hardship on the congregation or that the congregation is in a
position to
contribute
more, the resolved amount may be adjusted accordingly.
The
resolution should be written as follows: “In support of the Global Assistance
Arrangement,
we,
the _____________ Congregation, resolve to donate _________ to the worldwide
work
during
the 2019 service year. These donations will be made from congregation funds,
which are
contributed
in our boxes marked for congregation expenses. The resolved amount will be
donated
(in
one payment/spread over the course of the year).”
• Coordinator of the body of elders: If
before the next midweek meeting the body of elders
has
approved the amount to be included in the resolution, arrange for the
resolution to be
presented
following the reading of the attached announcement. Otherwise, inform the
congregation that the resolution mentioned in the announcement will be
presented the following
week.
Before the announcement is made and posted on the information board, fill in
the
per-publisher amount noted on jw.org.
• Secretary: Ensure that
the resolution approved by the congregation is given to the accounts
servant
along with the appropriate instructions for remitting the resolved donation to
the
branch
office.
4.
New Contact Card: Language-coordinating congregations may use the
mnemonic jwcd4 or
the
item number 8524 when requesting the new contact card mentioned in the
announcement to the
congregation.
5.
Contribution Box Labels: New contribution box labels are being provided
for use in all
Kingdom
Halls. An icon is used on each label to identify the specific purpose of the
contribution
box.
For the worldwide work, the label has artwork depicting a globe. For local
congregation expenses,
the
label has artwork depicting a Kingdom Hall. If online donations can be made via
jw.org
in
your country for the corresponding donation type, the URL “donate.jw.org” will
be included on
the
label. As a result of this design, the labels are not language-specific. A
consignment of two sets
of
labels per auditorium will be included in congregation literature shipments
starting this month.
The
body of elders, or Kingdom Hall Operating Committee if more than one
congregation uses the
Kingdom
Hall, should ensure that these labels are placed on contribution boxes as soon
as they are
received.
If additional labels are needed, they may be requested from the branch office
in the same
way
that publications are requested. Please use the item number or mnemonic noted
on jw.org when
submitting
requests for additional labels. If the bodies of elders using the Kingdom Hall
decide that
the
existing labels with the words “Worldwide Work” or “Local Congregation Expenses”
are still
needed,
they may continue to be used along with the new labels.
6.
Social Events: The congregation does not organize or sponsor social
events. Individuals
who
host social events bear personal responsibility for what occurs at the event.
Such individuals
should
not state or imply that they are acting on behalf of the congregation. They
should not use
terms
such as “congregation picnic” or “congregation gathering.” (od pp.
127-128 par. 19) Thus,
invitations
should not be posted on the information board and announcements regarding
social
events should not be made from the platform.
FOR THE CONGREGATION
1. Memorial: On Friday evening, April
19, 2019, we will gather to observe the Lord’s Even-ing Meal. (Luke 22:19)
Starting in 2019, the meeting schedule will be adjusted during the week of the
Memorial so that more attention can be given to the annual observance. When the
Memorial falls on a weekday, no midweek meeting will be scheduled. When the
Memorial falls on a weekend, no weekend meeting will be scheduled.
Additionally, please note that the 2020 Memorial ob-servance will be held on
Tuesday, April 7, 2020. The 2021 Memorial observance will be held on Saturday,
March 27, 2021.
2. Special Public Talk: To generate
enthusiasm for the Memorial, the 2019 special talk, enti-tled “Reach Out for
the Real Life,” will be presented one week before the Memorial, during the week
of April 8, 2019. Congregations that have an assembly or the visit of the
circuit overseer the week of April 8 will usually have the special talk one
week earlier. Most congregations will view a talk that has been prerecorded by
the branch office, and in many cases, given by a member of the Branch
Committee. We hope this advance notice will be helpful to you in preparing for
these im-portant events.
3. Global Assistance Arrangement: The
Global Assistance Arrangement allows the organiza-tion to care for incidents at
Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls, and branch facilities—including dam-age
resulting from a natural disaster, fire, theft, or vandalism. For the next
service year, the antici-pated cost for these incidents would be covered if
each publisher contributed approximately ____________. This does not mean that
each publisher is expected to contribute this exact amount. Instead, each
congregation may choose to pass a resolution to contribute to the worldwide
work and publishers can then contribute to their local congregation in harmony
with their resolution.
4. New Contact Card: A jw.org contact
card that features only the jw.org logo on the front is now available for
request. The card has lines on the back on which publishers can write a brief
mes-sage, Bible verse, or other information. This card is part of the Teaching
Toolbox, and you may begin to use it as soon as the congregation receives it.
5. 2019 International Conventions: We are pleased to inform you
that 24 international con-ventions will be held in 18 countries during 2019.
This will be the largest number of international conventions held by our
organization in recent years! Over 130,000 publishers, representing more than
80 countries, will be invited to serve as delegates. Due to your generosity,
some 5,000 brothers and sisters in special full-time service who serve in
foreign assignments will have the opportunity to enjoy international and
regional conventions in their home country or another preferred destination. We
pray that all of the 2019 conventions bring praise to our great God,
Jehovah!—Ps. 57:9.
2019 International
Convention Locations
|
Argentina: Buenos Aires
|
Greece: Athens
|
Spain: Madrid
|
Australia: Melbourne
|
Korea: Seoul
|
United States: Atlanta
|
Brazil: São Paulo
|
Mexico: Monterrey
|
Houston (English)
|
Canada: Toronto
|
Netherlands: Utrecht
|
Houston (Spanish)
|
Denmark: Copenhagen
|
Philippines: Manila
|
Miami (English)
|
Ecuador: Guayaquil
|
Poland: Warsaw
|
Miami (Spanish)
|
France: Paris
|
Portugal: Lisbon
|
Phoenix
|
Germany: Berlin
|
South Africa: Johannesburg
|
St. Louis
|