Professional Documents
Culture Documents
WELCOME TO THE
WORLD
HEADQUARTERS
JEHOVAHS
WITNESSES
OF
BRANCH OFFICE
WALLKILL
NEW YORK
PATTERSON
Hu d s o n R i v e r
BROOKLYN
CONNECTICUT
NEW JERSEY
an
un
Lo
Is
So
WALLKILL
Brooklyn to Patterson
70 miles, 1 1/2 hours
BROOKLYN
Patterson to Wallkill
54 miles, 1 1/4 hours
Wallkill to Brooklyn
90 miles, 2 hours
PATTERSON
WELCOME!
BROOKLYN
WALLKILL
PATTERSON
Welcome to the world headquarters of Jehovahs Witnesses and the United States branch
oce. We hope that you enjoy your visit. The
three complexes located in Brooklyn, Wallkill,
and Patterson are called Bethel, meaning
House of God. (Genesis 28:19, footnote) This
is a tting Scriptural name because all those
who live and serve here are dedicated to Jehovah God and devote themselves full-time to
promoting the work of Kingdom preaching.
In over 239 lands, there are now approximately 8,000,000 Witnesses of Jehovah, who
are carrying out the commission Jesus gave his
disciplesto preach the good news of Gods
Kingdom. (Matthew 24:14; 28:19, 20) To
organize this work, there are approximately 90
branch oces worldwideall serving under
the direction of the Governing Body of Jehovahs Witnesses. The Governing Body, its helpers, and world headquarters departments are
located here in the United States. Other departments operate under the supervision of the
United States Branch Committee.
BROOKLYN. Headquarters was moved from
Allegheny, Pennsylvania, to Brooklyn, New
York, in 1909. The organization began printing
some of its own Bible literature in 1920 when a
printery was established on Myrtle Avenue. In
1927 the printery was relocated to 117 Adams
Street where, for decades, it cared for the needs
of the United States and many other countries.
Later, regional printeries were set up to produce
Bible literature for dierent parts of the world.
WALLKILL. In 1963 the rst of several
farms was acquired near Wallkill, New York.
Over the years, these farms have produced vegetables, fruits, meat, and dairy items for the
Bethel family.
When printery space in Brooklyn became
inadequate, some printing of The Watchtower and
Awake! began at Wallkill in 1973. Then, in
2004, the entire United States printing operation was moved from Brooklyn to Wallkill. In
2010, magazine production for North America
was moved to the Canada branch.
PATTERSON. The 680-acre property at Patterson, New York, was acquired in December 1984. The complex of 28 buildings has
been fully functional since 1995. Patterson is
home to various Theocratic Schools, such as
Gilead School, the School for Branch Committee Members and Their Wives, and the School
for Traveling Overseers and Their Wives.
BIBLE INSTRUCTION
Each weekday morning, the Bethel family comes
together to consider a Bible text using the booklet Examining the Scriptures Daily. A chairman presides over this
15-minute discussion, which is opened with prayer.
Members of the family are assigned to comment on the
text. Following the discussion, breakfast is served.
On Monday evenings, the entire Bethel family
gathers to study the Bible with the help of The Watchtower. At times, there are special programs after the
Watchtower Study. These Bible discussions each
weekday morning and on Monday evenings
are an important part of Bethel life.
New arrivals attend the Bethel Entrants
School and are expected to read the entire
Bible during their rst year. Each member
of the family also makes time for personal
Bible study. There are a number of libraries at Bethel, containing the publications
of Jehovahs Witnesses and other reference works. Members of the family frequently use these facilities for study and
for meeting preparation.
Bethel family members also have a
personal share in the Kingdom-preaching
work. They attend various nearby congregations, where many of them serve as
elders and ministerial servants.
BETHEL HOME
Members of the United States Bethel family live in
residence buildings at Brooklyn, Wallkill, and Patterson.
They are provided with rooming, meals, and a small
monthly allowance to assist them
with their personal expenses. They
can truly be called a family because
of their unity in serving their heavenly Father, Jehovah God. As a family
they work together, enjoy meals together, and study the Bible together.
A number of necessary tasks are
performed in the Bethel Home. For
example, some members are assigned
to the kitchen, where they prepare
nutritious meals for the entire family
to enjoy in the spacious and comfortable dining rooms. Thus, the family
benets from a well-balanced diet in
a wholesome environment. Other
members do cleaning and housekeeping, while others attend to the laundry. These assignments contribute to
the familys high standard of cleanliness, which is a hallmark of Bethel
homes throughout the world.
Much eort is involved in maintaining the various properties and
equipment used by the branch. Various shops care for the mechanical,
electrical, and other maintenance
needs of the facilities.
BROOKLYN
GOVERNING BODY. The Governing Body prepares
spiritual food and gives direction to the Kingdompreaching work throughout the earth. (Matthew 24:14,
45-47; Revelation 12:17) The Governing Body operates
through six committees: Coordinators Committee, Personnel Committee, Publishing Committee, Service Committee, Teaching Committee, and Writing Committee.
BRANCH COMMITTEE. The United States Branch
Committee oversees the preaching work of over a million
of Jehovahs Witnesses throughout the United States and
numerous islands.
WRITING DEPARTMENT. Under the direction of the
Writing Committee, material is prepared that will be pub-
OFFICE OF PUBLIC INFORMATION. Under the direction of the Coordinators Committee, this oce provides
news agencies with accurate information about Jehovahs
Witnesses, clearing up any misunderstandings regarding
their beliefs and ministry. The Oce of Public Information also distributes news releases that report on the activities of Jehovahs Witnesses around the world.
WEB PUBLISHING. This department maintains our ofcial Web site, www.jw.org. Online articles provide concise, clear answers to questions about the Bible and Jehovahs Witnesses. Publications are available for download
in more than 600 languages.
OFFICE OF PUBLIC
INFORMATION
WEB PUBLISHING
WORLDWIDE DESIGN/
CONSTRUCTION DEPARTMENT. This department
direction of the Writing Committee to develop and maintain software that is used to produce our publications.
MEPS software includes Watchtower Library, Watchtower
ONLINE LIBRARY, JW Library, the Watchtower Translation System, and programs that assist in the preparation of
Braille and sign languages.
WALLKILL
FARM DEPARTMENT. The farms provide fruit, vegetables, and beef for the United States Bethel family. In addition, this department cares for the landscaping that enhances the appearance of the facilities.
FOOD DISTRIBUTION. This department stores and distributes food for the Bethel families in the United States.
This arrangement simplies the task of providing quality
meals.
PRINTERY. The printery at Wallkill includes a graphics
department, a pressroom, a bindery, and a shipping
department.
Graphics Department. Photographs, artwork, and text
PATTERSON
ART DEPARTMENT. Under the oversight of the Writing
Committee, the Art Department prepares illustrations for
our publications. A designer develops a pleasing layout
after reviewing preliminary text for a publication. Photographs, paintings, or digital artwork are obtained to illustrate the subject. Creating an image may involve research,
model selection, costumes, props, makeup, lighting, and
design work. A growing archive of imagespresently
numbering more than 215,000is maintained in a computer database for rapid retrieval. Proposed artwork is incorporated into the layout and presented to the Writing
Committee for approval. Once the images are adjusted,
they are sent to the Graphics Department in Wallkill,
where further preparations for printing are made.
THEOCRATIC
SCHOOLS DEPARTMENT.