JW subtitle extractor

Welcome, brothers and sisters!
In our program,
we have a thrilling update
about the Ramapo project
and reports about our brothers and sisters
in Norway, Russia, and Ukraine.
We’ll also hear about the tremendous increase
in Bible studies earth wide.
And finally,
we have a very exciting announcement!
Stay tuned.
Starting this month, January 2023,
we’ll resume in-person
circuit assemblies and theocratic schools.
We’re thrilled to have these opportunities
to gather together again!
And we’re also looking forward
to our in-person conventions later this year.
I’m sure, like me, you’re looking forward
to singing
that opening song at the convention
with thousands of our brothers and sisters.
How is the new headquarters project
at Ramapo, New York, progressing?
We’re thrilled to inform you
that on December 28, 2022,
the Town Board of Ramapo
approved the zoning for the facility
and gave approval for tree removal.
This key approval
will allow
the overall project to move forward.
We hope to begin clearing the site
as early as January 2023—this month!
As the project at Ramapo gains momentum,
it reminds us of how we felt
about the Warwick project
and the thousands
of volunteers who supported it.
Soon after we moved in from Brooklyn,
Brother Lett read an open letter
from the Governing Body at morning worship.
With the Ramapo project now moving forward,
let’s hear that beautiful letter from 2016.
When we think
about this first morning worship
from our beautiful new headquarters,
the Governing Body
thought it would be appropriate
to provide an open letter
to thank all who have shared
in the hard work that went into this project.
How we appreciate it!
But permit me, please, to read
this open letter from the Governing Body.
“Dear Brothers:
On behalf of the Warwick Bethel family,
“the Governing Body
would like to express deep appreciation
“for our lovely new home
here at Warwick Bethel.
“How we love our new residences and offices!
“The fresh air, quiet environment,
“and beautiful scenery
“are already having
a beneficial effect on how we feel.
“We are confident that now
“—with Jehovah’s blessing and help—
“we will be able to work even harder
“and accomplish even more
in behalf of Kingdom interests.
“Even though we do not deserve
such a wonderful place to live and work,
“we truly appreciate this generous expression
“of Jehovah’s undeserved kindness.
“—1 Peter 4:10.
“We are most grateful to Jehovah
“for the more than 27,000
different brothers and sisters
“who volunteered to work
on the construction of this project.
“Many of you dear friends took vacation time,
“paid your own transportation costs,
lived in small rooms,
“and got up very early
in the morning to ride buses or shuttles
“to the work site.
“Then you worked tirelessly
in all kinds of weather,
“putting your heart into supporting
“this theocratic building project.
“Many of you accepted
multiple invitations to work here.
“Unquestionably, Jehovah loves you very much
“for what you have done.
“Please be assured that the Governing Body
“loves you very much too!
“To borrow Paul’s words to the Thessalonians,
“‘you have become so beloved to us.’
“—1 Thessalonians 2:8.
“In addition to those who shared
in the actual construction work,
“countless other dear brothers and sisters
“supported this project from afar.
“Self-sacrificing wives backed
their husbands’ participation,
“diligent remote workers lent a hand,
“generous publishers assisted financially,
“and other loyal ones
“encouraged and provided practical help
“to those who were able
to work at the Warwick site.
“Reflecting on those who helped from far away
“reminds us of 1 Samuel 30:24.
“God’s Word tells us that the ones
who stayed behind with the baggage
“received the same share
“as the ones who went into battle.
“Even though we do not personally know
“the vast majority
of you brothers and sisters
“who have supported this project,
“for a certainty,
Jehovah knows each and every one of you.
“As Hebrews 6:10 assures:
“‘God is not unrighteous
so as to forget your work
“‘and the love you showed for his name
“by ministering . . . to the holy ones.’
“Jehovah expects us to give him our best.
“That is why He found
Cain’s sacrifice displeasing.
“He knew that Cain could have done better.
“—Genesis 4:5.
“But like Abel,
“you dear friends
have given Jehovah your best.
“We are confident that you will continue
“to show your wholehearted love for Jehovah
“in harmony with your circumstances.
“—Genesis 4:4; Matthew 22:37.
“Additionally, the Governing Body would
like to thank from the bottom of our heart
“the five brothers
“who served
on the Warwick Construction Project Committee
“for their inexhaustible labors of love.
“We also want to thank profusely
“the many Bethelites
who worked ‘shoulder to shoulder’
“with us in connection
with this massive theocratic endeavor.
“—Zephaniah 3:9.
“Included are the brothers
on the United States Branch Committee
“and the hardworking brothers and sisters
“in the Furniture Moving Department,
“the Maintenance Department,
the Computer Department,
“the Broadcasting Department,
the Transportation Department,
“and the Bethel Office
“who are still carrying out the gigantic task
“of moving the Bethel family
from Brooklyn to Warwick.
“We would certainly be remiss
“if we failed to thank also
“the thousands upon thousands
of devoted brothers and sisters
“who labored on the project at Wallkill.
“That too was a massive undertaking!
“May Jehovah bless the willing spirit
“that you dear ones have shown.
“In the Bible,
“sometimes a thought
is repeated three times for emphasis.
“In this vein, we say,
“‘thank you, thank you, thank you’
“to all who have helped us
and are continuing to help us
“bring this wonderful theocratic project
“at headquarters to completion!
“‘May Jehovah reward you
for what you have done,
“‘and may there be a perfect wage
“‘for you from Jehovah the God of Israel,
“under whose wings
you have come to seek refuge.’
“—Ruth 2:12.
“We express our warm love
“and affection for all of you!
“Your brothers, Governing Body
of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”
As was the case for the Warwick project,
thousands of volunteers
from the United States
will be needed for Ramapo.
Thank you, brothers and sisters,
for offering yourselves willingly,
for your heartfelt prayers,
and for your generous donations
in behalf of the Ramapo project.
Soon a special video report
on the Ramapo approval
will be released on jw.org.
You may recall that in our last update,
we informed you
about what is happening in Norway.
We were shocked when we received a letter
from government authorities in Oslo, Norway,
threatening to remove
our registration as a religious community.
We’re happy to update you on this case.
On December 22, 2022,
the authorities announced their decision
to deregister Jehovah’s Witnesses
as a religious community in Norway.
Then, on December 28,
we filed an injunction application
with the Oslo District Court,
asking them to suspend the deregistration
until the matter
had been resolved by the court.
On December 30,
the court granted a temporary injunction.
We’re very grateful
to the Oslo District Court
for granting this injunction.
Please continue to pray
for a successful outcome.
Recently, we’ve had some interesting
developments regarding Russia.
On December 9, 2022,
the Council of Europe “strongly urged” Russia
“to reverse the ban imposed on the activities
“of all Jehovah’s Witnesses . . .
“and to discontinue
all criminal proceedings against them.”
Time will tell how
the Russian government responds.
Please continue to pray
for all of our imprisoned
brothers and sisters.
We have full confidence
in the thoughts expressed by the psalmist
at Psalm 9:9, 10:
“Jehovah will become
a secure refuge for the oppressed,
“a secure refuge in times of distress.
“Those knowing your name will trust in you;
you will never abandon
those seeking you, O Jehovah.”
We’re happy that some of our brothers
have been released in recent months.
For example, on November 30, 2022,
Brother Sergey Polyakov
was released
after serving a three-year sentence.
But we want to keep in mind
the over 175 brothers and sisters
around the world
who are still in prison for their faith.
This includes Brother Andrey Vlasov,
who was sentenced
to seven years in a penal colony in Russia.
The following video
gives us an update on his case.
Andrey Vlasov is a seriously ill,
disabled man from Siberia
whom a Russian court
sentenced to seven years in a prison colony.
This peaceable, religious man was convicted
merely for believing
in God and reading the Bible.
There wasn’t a single piece
of legitimate evidence presented.
For example,
regarding the charge of subverting
the constitutional structure of the country,
how did he do that?
There wasn’t a single example
of anything my husband had done.
Supposedly, he broke up family bonds.
What families did he break up?
What are their names and places of residence?
Nothing was substantiated.
In the bill of charges, only Article 282
regarding extremism was referred to.
After Andrey had given his concluding speech
on May 23, 2022,
the court took a break for just five minutes
and then the judge announced the verdict
—a seven-year prison sentence.
Before we left for the hearing,
my husband asked me
not to cry whatever happened.
I tried to fulfill his request.
My reaction was one of shock.
It was the same for everyone there
—friends, acquaintances, and relatives—
they were all in shock.
Neither the prosecutor nor the judge
considered Andrey’s health condition.
He was arrested in the courtroom
and taken to the detention center
in the city of Novokuznetsk.
When he reached the detention center,
he was initially in a cell by himself.
There were huge cockroaches
running around and cobwebs.
It was dirty.
He made it as orderly and livable as possible
for himself so that he could stay there.
Andrey suffers from a severe form
of deformational arthrosis
of both hip joints with ankylosis,
which is a total loss of movement.
As a result, his ability to move around,
care for himself, and socialize are impaired.
Just to put his trousers on by himself
(elementary things like that),
he has to lie on the floor
and wrestle his way into them.
The Russian Federation
ratified a list of serious illnesses
that exempt someone from being imprisoned.
Andrey’s illness is clearly included.
To unequivocally prove this to the judge,
I procured confirmation from a specialist.
The illness can be progressive.
And, unfortunately,
in Andrey’s case it is already progressing.
Despite the fact that Andrey is disabled
and needs constant medical assistance,
he was put in a temporary
holding cell immediately
after the authorities
raided his home in 2020.
Subsequently, he was placed
under house arrest.
His pretrial restrictions
lasted for one year and ten months.
When under house arrest,
it was difficult for my husband
to be confined at home.
He was only allowed two hours
to walk around the building.
He wasn’t allowed to use
the telephone or the Internet
or to associate with anyone except me,
as I lived at the same address.
Even to visit any doctor or a dentist,
we had to formally request permission
from the investigator
in charge of Andrey’s case.
According to Natalia,
Andrey has not lost his optimism.
He tries to keep in contact
with her and his friends by writing letters.
They all hope that the Court of Cassation
will release Andrey from confinement.
I’ve reflected on all
that we’ve been through the last two years
and realized
that I was really only frightened
when I was anticipating what might happen.
Whenever things did happen,
Jehovah was very close to me
and I felt his support.
Behind Jehovah’s wall of protection,
I now see
that the winds of persecution and trials
are nothing to be afraid of.
Jehovah continues
to take care of Brother Vlasov,
as can be seen from this experience
that he had in October:
Another brother, Aleksandr Putintsev,
was being transported
in a prison train to a penal colony.
He had already traveled
on the train for ten days
when it stopped in the Kemerovo Region
to add more prisoners.
Our brother Andrey
was loaded onto the prison train
and placed in a cell with other prisoners.
The other prisoners started to ask
who he was and what he was convicted of.
He answered, “I am Andrey Vlasov,
and I am in prison for my faith in God.”
At hearing this, a man almost
fell off the bench and said to Andrey,
“You and I must be fellow believers!”
Can you imagine?
Although they were from such
different regions and different prisons,
they were placed on the same train
and even in the same cell on the train!
As it turns out, the wives of these brothers
had prayed that their husbands
would be able to meet.
It seemed impossible,
but Jehovah made it happen.
The brothers spent over 12 hours together!
They enjoyed a much-needed
“interchange of encouragement.”
Truly, the “Hearer of prayer”
knows how to care for our brothers.
And we don’t forget
our three sisters in Russia
who are currently in prison for their faith:
Sister Olga Ivanova,
Sister Lyudmila Shchekoldina,
and Sister Anna Safronova.
Sister Safronova is serving
a six-year sentence in a penal colony.
That is the harshest, longest sentence
imposed on a sister since the 2017 ban.
We also keep in mind
71-year-old Brother Shamil Khakimov,
who’s been imprisoned in Tajikistan
since February 2019.
Regarding Brother Khakimov,
the Commissioner
of the United States Commission
on International Religious Freedom,
Nury Turkel, stated:
“Since 2019,
“this ailing, elderly man
“has been languishing in a decrepit
“and overcrowded prison
“on a bogus
seven-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
“This term could very well
represent a death sentence
“for a man wrongly imprisoned
“for peacefully practicing
his religious beliefs
as a Jehovah’s Witness.”
Although his sentence was reduced in 2020,
Brother Khakimov is not scheduled for release
until May 2023.
Please keep praying for Brother Khakimov.
Around the world,
our brothers and sisters
are also busy with disaster relief.
For example, some months ago,
it was anticipated
that many brothers and sisters in Ukraine
would need warm clothing for the winter.
So over 200 congregations in Germany
were invited to donate
clothing and other basic items.
What was the result?
Approximately 36,000 pieces of clothing
and 6,500 pairs of shoes
were generously donated.
With assistance from the Poland branch,
105 pallets
with 23.7 metric tons (26.1 tons)
of donated clothing
were shipped by truck to Ukraine.
One grateful brother said:
“The items we received as humanitarian aid
“help us to endure
the cold and wet weather. . . .
“It was warm when I had to flee from my home
“and I could not take along
any warm clothes . . .
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart
for your care.
“This is vivid evidence
of the love of Jehovah, our Father.”
A sister said: “We are so touched
by your generosity and kindness. . . .
“You have helped us
overcome excessive worries.
“Through you, Jehovah reminded us
“that he will never leave us or forsake us,
that there is no need
to be afraid and worried.”
What beautiful expressions!
Following recent natural disasters,
the reconstruction work
is progressing well in Cuba,
Nigeria, the Philippines, Puerto Rico,
the United States, and elsewhere.
We keep all those affected by disasters
and those providing relief in our prayers.
And we thank all of you
for your generous contributions,
which help us care
for our brothers and sisters
facing these disasters.
Thank you!
Since June 2022,
when we returned to in-person forms
of the ministry,
we have been hearing exciting reports
from the field.
We’ve seen a tremendous increase
in the number of Bible studies.
In fact, worldwide,
we’ve seen an increase
of nearly 30 percent since May!
That means that now
more than one and a half million
new Bible studies are being conducted.
Isn’t that wonderful?
Notice a few comments
from branch offices around the world
about the growth
we’ve observed since May 2022.
In Angola, from May to October 2022,
we had an increase
of over 265,000 Bible studies.
In the lands
under the Central America branch,
we’re now reporting
over 680,000 Bible studies.
That’s over 20 percent more studies
than were reported in May of 2022.
In Papua New Guinea,
we’ve had a 15 percent
increase in Bible studies
since our return to in-person preaching.
In the lands under the Central Europe branch,
we are happy to report
an increase in Bible studies.
More than 6,800
new Bible studies have been reported
just in the first three months
of the 2023 service year.
In Congo (Kinshasa), we have reported
over 290,000 additional Bible studies
since the resumption of public witnessing
and the house-to-house ministry.
In the lands under the United States branch,
we had nearly 30,000 more Bible studies
in just the first two months
of the 2023 service year.
In Spain, we had a 4 percent increase
in the number of Bible studies
from May to October 2022.
In Mozambique,
we are reporting 47,000 more Bible studies
since we have returned
to our in-person ministry.
In Venezuela, we reported
over 67,000 Bible studies back in May.
But in October, we reported nearly 105,000.
It’s exciting
to see Jehovah blessing the work.
In Korea, we’ve had 30 consecutive peaks
in the number of publishers.
We now have 106,050.
And we had our 27th consecutive peak
in the number of regular pioneers.
We now have 50,846.
That means almost half of the publishers
are serving as regular pioneers.
Here in Malawi,
we’ve had a tremendous increase
in the number of Bible studies.
In May, we had more than 87,000 studies.
But in October,
we had more than 130,000 Bible studies.
In the Philippines, since May
the number of Bible studies
has increased by more than 60,000.
And in November, for the first time,
we have crossed the 240,000 publisher mark.
Wasn’t that encouraging?
Well, here’s one more example:
In a country where the work is under ban,
there was an increase
of nearly 3,000 Bible studies since May.
It’s wonderful that, despite opposition,
the work is moving ahead!
The Governing Body is thrilled
when we hear these reports
about what’s taking place in the field.
Truly, Jehovah is speeding up the work.
Recently, it was announced
that regular pioneers will once again
have an hour requirement,
effective March 1, 2023.
Pioneers are now busy
looking at their schedules
and planning how they’ll be able
to meet the hour requirement.
The Governing Body, though,
is realistic about the world situation.
Many branches have reported
that pioneers are struggling
to meet their hour goal
because of the rising cost of living.
And many are contending
with natural disasters,
unrest, and war.
In 1999,
the Governing Body considered
the situation of the pioneers.
The January 1999 Kingdom Ministry said:
“[We have] observed
“the mounting difficulties faced by pioneers,
“especially with regard to finding
“part-time secular work that will allow them
“to care adequately for their personal needs
“so as to remain in the full-time service.
“The present economic situation in many lands
“has also made it increasingly difficult
“for others to enter the pioneer work,
“even though that is their heartfelt desire.
“During recent months,
“these and other factors
have been carefully considered.”
Because of those factors,
the Governing Body decided back in 1999
to adjust
the hour requirements for the pioneers.
Now, 24 years later,
as world conditions continue to deteriorate,
the Governing Body sees that our pioneers
are facing similar challenges.
Therefore, we are very pleased to announce
that the Governing Body has decided
to adjust the hour requirements for pioneers,
effective March 1, 2023.
You may want to get a pen
or something to write this down on.
Are you ready?
Here are the new requirements:
For regular pioneers,
the requirement
will now be 600 hours per year,
that is, an average of 50 hours per month.
For auxiliary pioneers,
the requirement will now be 30 hours.
But notice this—this is very exciting:
During March and April
and during the month
of the circuit overseer’s visit,
publishers can choose to auxiliary pioneer
with a reduced hour requirement of 15 hours.
This should make it possible
for many more of us
to share as auxiliary pioneers
during those months of special activity.
What about special pioneers and missionaries?
They will now have an hour requirement
of 100 hours per month.
Sisters who are serving
as special pioneers or missionaries
and who are 40 years of age or older
have a reduced hour requirement of 90 hours.
How should we view these adjustments?
This is powerful evidence
of the great love and tender concern
that Jehovah feels for his people.
We want as many as possible
to retain their precious privilege
of serving as pioneers.
And we feel that these adjustments
will make it possible
for many more to consider
taking up the pioneer work.
Since the number of people
requesting Bible studies
is increasing worldwide,
there could never be a better time
to expand our share in the ministry.
If you are serving as a pioneer right now,
we hope that you’ll continue.
If you’re not yet serving
as a regular pioneer,
would it be possible for you to do so?
And with the Memorial season just ahead,
no doubt all elders, ministerial servants,
and publishers will prayerfully consider
if they can auxiliary pioneer.
Can you do so?
We look to Jehovah
to bless all of these arrangements
to his glory and praise!
Yes, may we all continue to do our very best
to find those who are
“rightly disposed for everlasting life”!
We love you all very much!
From the World Headquarters
of Jehovah’s Witnesses,
this is JW Broadcasting®.

2023 Governing Body Update #1