Jehovah’s Witness meetings resume

All congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses across the world are being encouraged to begin holding in person meetings during the week of April 1, according to a press release from the organization.

For Bandera, Congregation meetings in both English and Spanish resume at the Kingdom Hall located at 715 Pecan Street.

English Congregation meetings are held Wednesdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 10 a.m. Spanish Congregation meetings are held at the same location on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m. and Sundays at 1:00 p.m.

This change in policy comes in time for Memorial observances, which will be held at the Kingdom Hall Friday, April 15, in English at 9 p.m. and in Spanish at 7:30 p.m.

"There is a collective shout of joy among Jehovah's Witnesses around the world right now," said Robert Hendriks, U.S. Spokesman for Jehovah's Witnesses. "While we have prospered in many ways as individuals and congregations using technology to bring us together, nothing can adequately replace being together in person. We have longed for this moment for the better part of two years."

For most of the last two years, buildings for worship have remained closed globally due to pandemic-related concerns. Additionally, public ministry was suspended on March 20, 2020, carrying on ministry through letters and phone calls while holding twice-weekly meetings virtually.

Average attendance at these meetings exceeded 1.5 million each week in the U.S., even though there are fewer than 1.3 million Jehovah's Witnesses in some 13,000 congregations, according to a press release.

The move back to in-person meetings coincides with two global events being held in all 120,000 congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses, one an April 10 talked titled

While in-person meetings have now resumed, virtual options remain. Guidelines for holding "hybrid" meetings have been sent to all congregations in the United States. Over the past six months, many Kingdom Halls have been equipped with the required technology to hold a productive meeting that allows for in-person and remote attendees, all of whom can participate in the discussions.

A pilot program was held in October and November in countries around the world to assess how this could be done most effectively. The lessons learned in these pilot meetings have helped form the plan for moving forward with reopening all Kingdom Halls, where the law permits.

As of now, Jehovah's Witnesses have no plans to resume their public ministry, though their "alternative" ministry continues. In fact, since the start of the pandemic through November 2021 in the U.S. alone, Jehovah's Witnesses spent more than 400 million hours in virtual Bible studies, writing letters of comfort to their neighbors and making phone calls. They have released 77 new language translations of the Bible and held two global virtual conventions in more than 500 languages.

"No time was wasted in the past two years," said Hendriks. "Our congregants have been busy and productive helping each other and their neighbors through this most challenging time. That's what love and unity are all about."