Jehovah’s Witnesses to resume in-person meetings April 1

The 1.3 million U.S. members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses will do something this week they haven’t done for more than two years: meet in person.

The Witnesses’ 7,000 Kingdom Halls — the term for their meeting houses — will reopen Friday, with a streaming option for those who aren’t comfortable attending, said national spokesman Robert Hendriks.

However, the religious group’s trademark of door-to-door evangelizing won’t start again just yet.

“At this point, it seems wise for us to take one step at a time,” Mr. Hendriks said, adding, “At maybe some point in the future, no doubt door-to-door ministry will come back.”

Individual members welcomed even a partial return to pre-pandemic activity.

Erik Larson, a 54-year-old insurance agency owner in Chelan, Washington, said he’s looking forward to sitting in a congregational building with other Jehovah’s Witnesses and observing the group’s annual memorial of Christ’s death.

The religious service is a high point of the Witnesses’ year, but it — like the regular weekly services, instructional meetings and other gatherings — has been on hold since March 2020, when the global organization halted all gatherings at Kingdom Halls.

“Returning to in-person meetings is going to be the boost that most of us really need right now,” Mr. Larson said.

While “virtual meetings were extremely important” during the pandemic, “the Scriptures really talk about being together in person,” he said.

Mr. Larson said he moved to Chelan, a resort town approximately 175 miles east of Seattle, about a year ago.

“It will be highly emotional,” he said of the upcoming gathering. “I imagine there’ll be tears of joy. I look forward to getting to know a whole new congregation.”

Mr. Hendriks said the reluctance to knock on doors during the pandemic came from “a love of life, the sacredness of life, and love of neighbor.”

“No one has contracted COVID-19 at a public meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses or because of our in-person ministry because they’ve been shut down for two years,” he added.

He said that the Witnesses, who number 8.6 million worldwide, have shifted from being “the largest printing organization in the world” to one that’s “web-centric and app-centric.” The www.jw.org website is available in 1,054 languages as well as a “library” app for mobile devices by Apple and Google.

Correction: An earlier version of this article misreported that Jehovah’s Witnesses were continuing outdoor literature distribution, which is not the case.