Just Wondering....

by Sentinel 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  Sentinel

  Hello Friends

  I've just been thinking about something as I drove past the Kingdom Hall near where I work. It has absolutely no windows. There is also another one in this area that has none. Come to think of it, when my old KH was built new, some thirty years ago, it had no windows either.

  Did/does your KH have windows? Is "not having windows" done on purpose, and if so, for what reason to do you think they might do that?

  I realize that older buildings, not initially built originally to be Kingdom Hall's do have windows, but any new ones built don't seem to.

  What do you think?

  Sentinel/Karen
• 

  little witch

  the hall we went to had windows. I remember on Thursday nights, a younger brother was assigned the task of drawing all the blinds and curtains, right before the meeting began. I always wondered about that too.
• 

  Mister 8iggs

  Hi, Karen.

  There was a thread done on this very subject some months ago.

  I recall that the reasons mentioned were insurance costs, preventing vandalism, and one witty person who said they want to keep Jehovah's light out of the Hall's! LOL!
• 

  expatbrit

  Halls don't have windows so that all the arguing about who gets to clean them doesn't "cause divisions."

  Expatbrit
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  spider

  Yeah this is a popular topic

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=23705&site=3

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=25879&site=3
• 

  freedom96

  One of the biggest reasons is this: We were always taught that when time came close for Armaggedon, that the government would shut down all relegions. The only "true" religion would be of course witnesses, that in no way shape or form would stop attending meetings. The no windows policy is so that when this time comes, then everyone could go to the meetings without anyone knowing that there were religious meetings going on inside.

  This would also be a good place to be when Armaggedon actually struck.

  This was another reason that they always taught that you must be in the habit of going to every meeting, for this was the only safe place to gather, so that plans could be made to go elsewhere when the persecution was so great.

  You will notice the same no window pattern on Assembly Halls as well.

  Some will say for vandelism sake, but come on, how paranoid does one have to be? Millions of churches and buildings out there, vandelism is a small chance we all take when we own property. That could be an arguement to the local planning departments for the city, but not the real reason.
• 

  Sentinel

  I am laughing at how I posted something that I thought was "new", that's been discussed previously a few times. (And very well indeed, as I have looked at both the threads that Spider referred me to.)

  What can I say, except that, GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE!

  Thanks expatbrit, Mister 8iggs, Little Witch and Spider, for indulging this "new" thread.

  I didn't come to the Forum until June of this year, so I still haven't read all the previous posts, there is just no way I can ever do that! It's great that everything is saved on here, so we can go back and reference them when needed.

  Sentinel/Karen
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  blondie

  Current one, no windows.

  Previous one built around same time, windows.

  In same area, no rhyme or reason as to which has windows, new, old, remodeled, in a city or in the country.
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  glitter

  My cong's current one has no windows, but the previous one (built in the 80's, boundaries changed so other congs use it now) had windows about 8 ins by 2ft that were 1.5m apart.

  I don't buy the vandalism excuse for the new one because:

  a) the old hall was on a housing estate and it never had a problem (AFAIK) with vandals smashing the windows, spray painting on the walls or destroying plants despite the fact that the fence was only 3/4 of the way around and the wall to the car park was less than 3ft high.

  b) the churches around here still have their large stained glass windows intact and they just have them covered with thin grilles to protect them. And huuuuuge windows like that have got to be much more tempting than little ones.
• 

  Crazy151drinker

  I was checking out some places around the neighborhood, you know, trying to help the WT find some needs digs and I found the pefect place! It has no windows and alot of Masonic Style:

  I talked to the current owner for a little bit and as it turns out he is a JW. He said he would gladly donate his pad to the Org as long as they made him an CO. I called Bethel and that said that would be fine. So I am honored to introduce your new Central-Cali CO, Please Welcome...

  ...Mumm-ra the everliving. He seems to be a pretty cool dude.