in.’ ‘And I shall be a father to you, and you will be sons and daughters to me,’ says Jehovah the Almighty.” So it is a choice of accepting Christmas with its spirit and losing God, or accepting God and receiving his spirit and favor and losing Christmas. The right choice should not be hard to make.—2 Cor. 6:14-18, NW.

Dedication and Annual Meeting

EVER since Abel’s day Jehovah has had witnesses on earth who worshiped him with spirit and truth. (Heb. 12:1) However, their worship has not always been before the public eye with the same degree of prominence. Thus, after Nehemiah’s day, Jehovah’s pure worship was almost lost sight of in a maze of Jewish tradition and formalism. (Matt. 15:1-9) Likewise, after the apostles fell asleep in death the professed followers of Christ departed from the pure worship even as Paul warned. (Acts 20:29-31) And just as John the Baptist, Christ Jesus and his apostles and disciples were used to restore pure worship in their day, so Jehovah has directed the restoration of pure worship in modern times.—Mal. 4:5, 6.

This modern restoration of pure worship actually began in the 1870’s with the coming together, in Allegheny, a suburb of Pittsburgh, of a group of sincere Christians and open-minded students of the Bible. As a result of their studies they began to understand Jehovah’s Word more clearly in keeping with his promise that the path of the righteous would shine ever brighter until the perfect day. (Prov. 4:18) To expedite the work of making known to others the good things they were learning, in various languages as well as in various ways, these Christians organized the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society in 1884. In 1909 the Society’s headquarters were moved to Brooklyn, New York, and today it has branches in seventy-five different lands and directs the preaching of the good news of the Kingdom in 159 countries and islands of the sea.

In the seventy years of its existence this Society has published scores of bound books and booklets in some hundred different languages and to the extent of hundreds of millions of copies. Since 1884 it has been publishing The Watchtower (first published in 1879) and since 1919 what is now the Awake! magazine. Appearing semimonthly and in many different languages, these two journals have a combined circulation well over three million copies.

In accordance with the law the Society has had a registered office and has held its annual meetings in Pittsburgh. Demolition proceedings making it necessary to find new quarters, a beautiful building was constructed at 4100 Bigelow Boulevard and Parkman Avenue. The building is modern, very attractive, spacious, light, clean, providing excellent Kingdom Hall facilities for two local congregations in addition to office facilities for the Society. It is a place that is fitly representative of New World interests and one that Jehovah’s witnesses in passing through Pittsburgh will rejoice to see and where they are most welcome.

On the evening of September 4, 1954, a dedication program was presented, the principal speaker at which was T. J. Sullivan, a member of the Society’s board of directors. He showed what it meant to dedicate this building to Jehovah and