(BROOKLYN, NY)--The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, the governing arm of the Jehovah's Witnesses, announced today it has sold its extensive real estate holdings in Brooklyn for an unspecified sum. The buyer was not named. The Society's headquarters includes several factory buildings, printing operations, hotels and living quarters and currently houses more than 1,000 volunteers, according to J.R. Brown, Director of Public Affairs for the WTBTS. Brown also said the Society would "immediately cease all printing operations worldwide," a move he said was designed to "cut costs and conserve resources."
Brown said some six million Jehovah's Witnesses around the world have received a letter outlining the Society's plans. The letter will be read to more than 90,000 congregations this weekend. He said the publishing empire built by former WTBTS President Charles T. Russell back in 1879 was "no longer the most cost effective way to conduct the life-saving preaching work that Jehovah's Witnesses are known for." Instead, Brown said, the Society will now urge its followers to spread the good news via the internet, in personal letters to friends, neighbors and relatives, and by communicating one-on-one with workmates and others with whom they come into contact on a daily basis.
"This will save millions of dollars and, of course, countless trees," Brown said. Asked how revenue from contributions for the literature, which reportedly amount to millions of dollars annually, would be replaced, Brown said, "The publishers have always been generous with their resources and given freely of their material things, and we expect this to continue." He said the Society "is not worried" about shifting to an all-donation system of fundraising. "We've been transitioning towards this for a couple of decades now," he said.
The WTBTS has no plans to close its rural operations in upstate New York, Brown said. While no printing operations will take place at either Watchtower Farms in Wallkill or the Watchtower Educational Center in Patterson, the sites will still be used to house volunteers, he said. "There will continue to be a need for administrative functions to guide the preaching work," he said. "These can best be done from these locations." In addition, Brown said, plans are now being drawn to convert the Patterson site into a full fledged four-year university for Jehovah's Witnesses who will have to qualify to gain entrance.