Stories about Ecclesiastes 2:26 and how it works for Jehovah's arrangements

[RaymondG]

It's there, tucked away in the Hebrew scriptures awaiting discovery by the adventurous...

To the man who pleases him he gives wisdom and knowledge and rejoicing, but to the sinner he gives the occupation of gathering and merely collecting to give to the one who pleases the true God. This too is futility, a chasing after the wind.

I want to cite the example of the Tamworth, New South Wales, Kingdom Hall project.

Around the mid to late eighties the congregation was growing, the hall was becoming outdated, the parking was becoming insufficient for needs. It looked unattractive as well, no longer serving to give any 'shout of praise' as a Kingdom Hall should do.

The brothers could readily see that they could fit in with the 'quickly built' scheme that was building new halls all over Australia, they had fundraising underway and all they really needed was a block of land and some plans. Well, the Branch Office had alternative plans they could use, all they needed was a block of land.

Oh, they also needed to have zoning approval from the Tamworth City Council too. When they found their land they'd have to go through the hoops necessary to obtain approval to construct a place of worship. This might involve many obstacles including neighbourhood objections and would certainly be costly in time if not in money. It might involve losing an option on a suitable property, too.

But, at just the right time, a Pentecostal group had a split. They had a block of land, they had obtained the necessary zoning approval and their land was in a good location and of a suitable size. It also had to be sold.

That land purchase would ease the congregation into their 'quickly built' hall. Ecclesiastes 2:26 at work.

But there's more!

The plans drawn, the funds rolling in, the schedule for the timing of halls being constructed now having 'Tamworth' enscribed on it, the brothers wanted to arrange for gravel to be laid on the carpark area. After all, hundreds of brothers and sisters would be working on the quick-build and having a sound parking area would be an advantage. And it had to be done one day.

So they approached Mr Singh, sand and gravel merchant, transport operator and ready-mixed concrete batching plant owner. With the plans laid out on his desk, they explained that they needed to buy the gravel. Mr Singh was impressed.

"Pretty big project you have here," he began. "I'll tell you what, I'll give you the gravel free of charge, no strings attached. All I ask is that when it comes time to order your concrete you give me a chance to quote on the job."

A saving for the congregation, a small loss for the 'gatherer and collector', Mr Singh. Again we see Ecclesiastes 2:26 at work.

A few years later the Australia Branch was looking for a site for a new Assembly Hall for Sydney. They looked at a block of land in a beautiful part of the Nepean River near Regentville. They purchased the land, which was reasonably economical because the access was difficult, it needed a good entry road.

A brother visiting from Perth happened to be in the Branch office. His company had sent him over to do a job in Sydney and he was there for several weeks. He got into a discussion about the hall project when he revealed that his time in Sydney was in company with another engineer who specialised in road design, that they had plenty of spare time and that he was sure they could come up with a design plan for an entry road. Which they did, largely because of the input of the non-Witness engineer.

As it transpired, the brothers found another more suitable site, but they were then able to sell the Regentville property for more money because they had that road design completed.

It might not have been exactly what Solomon could have foreseen, but it did fulfill Ecclesiastes 2:26.

There are other such stories, I'm sure. I know of one in the Proclaimers' book... but now it's time for you to tell us the ones you know about.

[Doug]

Back in the '80s  the brothers made an offer on a building just down the street from 24 Columbia Heights. It was known as The Squibb Building, apparently owned by Squibb Pharmaceutical Co.

 

The offer was rejected, however, and another party purchased the property.  Well, the building was unstable due to the nature of the ground, and the new owners had to sink pylons very deep in order to support and prevent damage occurring.

 

Later, this owner decided to sell and the brothers made the same offer they had earlier and this time it was accepted!

 

So, we were able to purchase a 'sound' building at no additional cost.

[Shawnster]

Back in the '80s  the brothers made an offer on a building just down the street from 24 Columbia Heights. It was known as The Squibb Building, apparently owned by Squibb Pharmaceutical Co.

 

The offer was rejected, however, and another party purchased the property.  Well, the building was unstable due to the nature of the ground, and the new owners had to sink pylons very deep in order to support and prevent damage occurring.

 

Later, this owner decided to sell and the brothers made the same offer they had earlier and this time it was accepted!

 

So, we were able to purchase a 'sound' building at no additional cost.

 

This was the one I was trying to remember!  Squibb!  I kept thinking cannery.  LOL

 

*** yb75 p. 243 Part 3—United States of America ***

Late in 1969 the rate of expansion increased dramatically. On November 25, 1969, the huge, ten-building complex of the Squibb pharmaceutical plant in Brooklyn was purchased by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc. This acquisition added 632,792 square feet of floor space to the Society’s headquarters facilities. C.W. Barber recalls watching some of the construction of the Squibb complex years ago. Though Jehovah’s organization had tried to get ground in that very location, the Squibb firm succeeded in acquiring it. According to Brother Barber, “Squibb ran into a lot of trouble, too, finding a footing for their buildings, as the ground was so sandy there.” He adds: “They finally erected a fine-looking group of buildings, and I used to think how good it would be if these belonged to the Society. So, lo and behold, it had come to pass!”

[RaymondG]

Yes, that's the one from the Proclaimers' book that I recalled...

The story of that one began in the thirties.

[RaymondG]

So nobody can come up with a local upbuilding story in line with this?

[LeslieDean]

I'm going to ask my elder about our KH.  There was a verry good story connected with it but I do not recall the details except that he said you could see "Jehovah's hand in the matter" and knew He was working out the details.  I don't want to repeat it without first asking Roger the details.  I just remember we had the land for over 5 years and kept getting shot down on the construction and all the neighbors were suppose to be there the night of the meeting to vote against it (again) and the vote went through without a hitch.  The details are what made it unique.

[RaymondG]

Yes, Leslie, I'm sure there are many 'very good stories'...

[WilliamChew]

A few years later the Australia Branch was looking for a site for a new Assembly Hall for Sydney. They looked at a block of land in a beautiful part of the Nepean River near Regentville.

Thanks very much for the fine experiences. A brother in Sydney who I sent the experiences to replied:

"I went along with a heap of brothers to look at that site at Regentville, & it was on a difficult block, with a steep entrance, & no right turn lanes for the entrance!"

[RaymondG]

Another...

I was told yesterday by a brother from that area that the site for the Bonville Kingdom Hall (just south of Coffs Harbour on the NSW north coast) was sold to the congregation for a dollar.

It was owned by a policeman, it was a bit hard to get the gist of all what I was told, but I gather he was not interested in the Truth at that time but had decided to help out.