A little bit of an update
Please note that this was initially mentioned three years ago as
an unverified rumor; sadly, enough it has proven to be truthful not only on the
pilot program but now on a national level. Just a few updates gathered from Southern
California here and there:
Many of the brothers affected by the changes are very unhappy,
most of them are just complying against their will, a few are adamant and will
be going to the Congregation of their choice. The elderly are the ones mostly
affected by this situation. Please keep in mind that the letter that was sent
to the elders contained the observation that the brothers were the ones making
the final decision as to where they were going; this has been kept secret and
the elders are pressuring the flock to just follow instructions.
As to the use of the Kingdom Halls, I heard of two situations; one
very old and dilapidated KH was emptied, all the congregations were moved to
some other Halls and the LCD took over the old KH building and the sizable construction fund that the brothers had for renovations. In this particular case
abandoning that KH made all the sense in the world.
In another very desirable neighborhood, a new KH project is under construction.
It is the Dunkin Donuts design, and the new place is very close to an excellent
double KH, very convenient for the local brothers. About more than ten
congregations were involved in this project and the ones assigned to the new facility
are mostly not happy at all. In this particular case is very difficult to
understand the need other than future commercial profit.
