Announcements
◼ Literature offer for February: Life—How Did It Get Here? By Evolution or by Creation?, Revelation—Its Grand Climax At Hand!, or any older 192-page book that the congregation has in stock. March: Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life. A special effort will be made to start home Bible studies. April and May: The Watchtower and Awake! magazines. Publishers should inform householders that they may contribute to the worldwide work if they so desire. Where interest is shown, offer the Require brochure, making a special effort to start Bible studies.
◼ When working unassigned territory, publishers may offer the Require brochure or the Knowledge book. Any other publication may be offered if the householder already has these two publications. All should carry a variety of tracts for not-at-homes or individuals who do not accept literature. Efforts should be made to follow up interest, especially where unassigned territories are accessible to nearby congregations.
◼ On Saturday, May 11, 2002, the branch facilities in Brooklyn, Patterson, and Wallkill, New York, will be closed for spring cleaning. There will be no arrangements for tours or for congregations to pick up literature on that day.
◼ U.S. Selective Service regulations require that all men register at the post office within 30 days after reaching 18 years of age. A male noncitizen under the age of 26 who takes up residency in the United States must also register with Selective Service within 30 days of becoming a resident. All of those required to do so should comply with this law, viewing it as a Christian’s obligation to the superior authorities. From the time he registers until the year he turns 26, a brother must notify Selective Service of any change of address within ten days of the change. Elders should be aware of young brothers nearing the age of 18 and new alien residents between the ages of 18 and 26 and remind them of their duty to register with the Selective Service System.
◼ The presiding overseer or someone designated by him should audit the congregation’s accounts on March 1 or as soon as possible thereafter. When this has been done, make an announcement to the congregation after the next accounts report is read.
◼ The secretary and the service overseer should review the activity of all regular pioneers. If any are having difficulty meeting the hour requirement, the elders should arrange for assistance to be given. For suggestions, review the annual S-201 letters. See also paragraphs 12-20 of the August 1986 Our Kingdom Ministry insert.
◼ The secretary should see that the Regional Building Committee is kept up-to-date on the status of all baptized publishers who have submitted Kingdom Hall Volunteer Worker Questionnaire (S-82) forms. When there are adjustments in a volunteer’s status, such as when one moves or is appointed as a ministerial servant or an elder, new forms should be filled out promptly and submitted. If a volunteer’s mailing address or telephone number changes or if he is no longer in good standing in the congregation, the elders should immediately inform the Regional Building Committee by letter.
◼ Beware of fraudulent schemes that have been circulating on the Internet and in the mail to solicit money for our brothers under the guise of assisting victims of disasters. Whenever circumstances require forming a relief committee to provide material assistance for Jehovah’s Witnesses, responsible brothers will be notified. Donations for such needs should be sent to Watch Tower, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483.
◼ The special public talk for the 2002 Memorial season will be given on Sunday, April 14. The subject of the talk will be “Keep Close in Mind the ‘Fear-Inspiring Day’!” An outline will be provided. Those congregations having the visit of the circuit overseer or an assembly that weekend will have the special talk the following week. No congregation should have the special talk before April 14, 2002.
◼ New Publications Available:
Apply Yourself to Reading and Writing—Albanian
Benefit From Theocratic Ministry School Education—English, Korean, Spanish
Does God Really Care About Us?—Indonesian
Elementary Bible Teachings—Haitian Creole, Tongan
Enjoy Life on Earth Forever!—Wayuunaiki
Holy Bible (with New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures)—Russian
Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind I—Swahili
Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind II—Albanian, Arabic, Cebuano, Chinese, Chinese (Simplified), Croatian, Czech, Dutch, Finnish, Georgian, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Iloko, Indonesian, Japanese, Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Tagalog, Ukrainian, Vietnamese
Isaiah’s Prophecy—Light for All Mankind II—Large Print—English
Jehovah’s Witnesses—Who Are They? What Do They Believe?—Cambodian, Cebuano, Estonian, Iloko, Papiamento, Romanian, Tagalog
Jehovah—Who Is He? (Tract No. 23)—Hebrew
Knowledge That Leads to Everlasting Life—Georgian, Luganda, Sango
Life in a Peaceful New World (Tract No. 15)—Sindhi
Mankind’s Search for God—Macedonian, Ukrainian
New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (Deluxe pocket edition; available with black or maroon leather cover)—Chinese (Simplified)
Questions Young People Ask—Answers That Work—Bulgarian, Samoan
The Secret of Family Happiness—Ewe, Tongan
What Does God Require of Us?—Afrikaans, Mauritian Creole, Punjabi (Nastaliq script)
What Hope for Dead Loved Ones? (Tract No. 16)—Sango
When Someone You Love Dies—Yoruba
Would You Like to Know More About the Bible? (Tract No. 26)—Arabic, French
You Can Be God’s Friend!—Hausa
◼ New Audiocassettes Available:
Families—Make Daily Bible Reading Your Way of Life! (Drama, single cassette)—Portuguese
Hosea through Malachi (set of three cassettes)—Finnish
Marked for Survival (Drama, single cassette)—Dutch, German, Portuguese
The First of Kings (set of two cassettes)—Dutch
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived—On Audiocassette (eight cassettes in an album)—Swedish
Warning Examples for Our Day—On Audiocassette (Drama, single cassette)—Spanish
◼ New Videocassettes Available:
The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived—On Videocassette, Volume 5—American Sign Language
What Does God Require of Us?—On Videocassette—Russian Sign Language
Young People Ask—How Can I Make Real Friends?—Albanian, German, Italian, Spanish