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A Kingdom Hall is a
place of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
used by
Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The group reports a worldwide membership of approximately 8.7 million adherents involved in ...
. The term was first suggested in 1935 by
Joseph Franklin Rutherford Joseph Franklin Rutherford (November 8, 1869 – January 8, 1942), also known as Judge Rutherford, was the second president of the incorporated Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. He played a primary role in the organization ...
, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in
Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
. Rutherford's reasoning was that these buildings would be used for "preaching the good news of the Kingdom". Jehovah's Witnesses use Kingdom Halls for the majority of their
worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity. It may involve one or more of activities such as veneration, adoration, praise, and praying. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recogni ...
and
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus ...
instruction. Witnesses prefer the term "Kingdom Hall" over "
church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chri ...
", noting that the term often translated "church" in the Bible refers to the congregation of people rather than a structure.


Location and presentation

Kingdom Halls are typically modest, functional structures with practicality in mind. As Witnesses do not use
religious symbols A religious symbol is an iconic representation intended to represent a specific religion, or a specific concept within a given religion. Religious symbols have been used in the military in many countries, such as the United States military chapl ...
, such are not displayed on or in Kingdom Halls. An annual yeartext, or "theme
scripture Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pra ...
", which is the same for all congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide, is prominently displayed in each Kingdom Hall. This text can be displayed in several languages if the Hall is used by foreign-language congregations. A Kingdom Hall typically has a
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vi ...
, contribution boxes, and a literature counter, where publications are displayed, stored and dispensed. Some Kingdom Halls have multiple
auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...
s to allow more than one congregation to conduct meetings simultaneously. Where there is more than one auditorium, each auditorium or the entire structure may be referred to as "a Kingdom Hall". Larger ''Assembly Halls'' or ''Convention Centers of Jehovah's Witnesses'', or any rented arena or stadium used for larger gatherings of Jehovah's Witnesses are also regarded 'as a large Kingdom Hall'; undignified behavior is considered inappropriate during their religious events, even if the facility is an
entertainment venue Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...
.


Uses


Meetings for worship

Congregations typically meet in their Kingdom Halls two days each week for worship.
Meetings A meeting is when two or more people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of group decision making. Defin ...
usually open and close with
song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetiti ...
and
prayer Prayer is an invocation or act that seeks to activate a rapport with an object of worship through deliberate communication. In the narrow sense, the term refers to an act of supplication or intercession directed towards a deity or a deifie ...
. Meetings held in the Kingdom Hall include Bible readings and public talks on matters such as the Bible,
family Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
life,
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...
qualities and
prophecy In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or p ...
. There are also discussions of specially prepared study articles in '' The Watchtower'' magazine and other publications of Jehovah's Witnesses. Witnesses usually meet in Kingdom Halls for preparation and prayer before engaging in their door-to-door ministry.


Classes

Kingdom Halls may also be used to teach sign language or other language classes. Kingdom Halls are also used for sessions especially developed for particular areas of service, such as the ''Pioneer Service School'' for full-time preachers, and the ''Kingdom Ministry School'' for elders and ministerial servants. In areas where the
literacy Literacy in its broadest sense describes "particular ways of thinking about and doing reading and writing" with the purpose of understanding or expressing thoughts or ideas in Writing, written form in some specific context of use. In other wo ...
rate is low, congregations may arrange to use Kingdom Halls to conduct literacy classes, which non-Witnesses may also attend.


Weddings

Kingdom Halls may be used for
wedding A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marriage vo ...
ceremonies of Witness-baptized couples. A couple sends a request in writing to the congregation's " service committee", which assesses whether the couple is "in good standing, living in harmony with Bible principles and Jehovah’s righteous standards" and that they also approve of the members of the couple's wedding party (that is, groomsmen and bridesmaids). Jehovah's Witnesses attach no special significance to a Kingdom Hall wedding over a secular service, and Witness couples may choose to be married elsewhere for personal or practical reasons. Kingdom Halls are not used for
wedding reception A wedding reception is a party usually held after the completion of a marriage ceremony as hospitality for those who have attended the wedding, hence the name reception: the couple ''receive'' society, in the form of family and friends, for t ...
s or other social events.


Funerals

Funeral A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect ...
services may be held in a Kingdom Hall if the body of elders considers that "the deceased had a clean
reputation The reputation of a social entity (a person, a social group, an organization, or a place) is an opinion about that entity typically as a result of social evaluation on a set of criteria, such as behavior or performance. Reputation is a ubiquitous ...
and was a member of the congregation or the minor child of a member"."Question Box", ''Our Kingdom Ministry'', March 1997, page 7 The family of the deceased may ask any respected male member of the congregation to conduct the service, which involves a simple Bible-based discourse. Depending on family preference and local custom, a Kingdom Hall funeral may or may not have the casketed deceased present.


Disaster relief

Disaster relief Emergency management or disaster management is the managerial function charged with creating the framework within which communities reduce vulnerability to hazards and cope with disasters. Emergency management, despite its name, does not actual ...
efforts of Jehovah's Witnesses are typically channeled through permanent local Disaster Relief Committees under the various branch offices, and are staged at Kingdom Halls and Assembly Halls as close as practical to the disaster area.


Construction

The construction crews of Kingdom Halls and larger Assembly Halls consist of volunteering Jehovah's Witnesses, sometimes from other countries, who have been pre-approved for work on
construction site Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and co ...
s. Witnesses in many countries use a number of standard designs for construction that can be built in just a few days. The act of constructing a Kingdom Hall in this manner is called a ''quick-build'', although typically the preparation work involving the structural foundation and surrounding surface may take several weeks prior to the scheduled build. For various reasons, not all Kingdom Halls are constructed as ''quick-builds'' or using the standard designs. However, a noticeably dominant architectural style of Kingdom Halls is often used based on standardized design concepts and models, depending on needs. A Kingdom Hall or Assembly Hall may originate from the renovation of an existing structure, such as a theater or non-Witness
house of worship A place of worship is a specially designed structure or space where individuals or a group of people such as a congregation come to perform acts of devotion, veneration, or religious study. A building constructed or used for this purpose is somet ...
. In areas of repeated or reputed vandalism, particularly in cities, some Kingdom Halls are built without windows to reduce the risk of property damage. In 2015 it was announced to elders in the United States that new Kingdom Halls worldwide would all be based on one of three similar design plans, depending on the required size.