Church properties: On the move

Jehovah's Witnesses headquarters (Photo by Sergio Herrera)

Those who associate the Unitarian Universalist

Association with Beacon Hill, and the Jehovah's

Witnesses with Brooklyn Heights, are due for a

paradigm shift sometime soon.

That's because many denominations are now

shifting their locations (along with their focus)

from the traditional to the innovative.  Whereas

Beacon Hill and Brooklyn Heights have housed

their share of elite tenants, denominations are now seeking more affordable  headquarters.

Michael Paulson of The New York Times reports

that the UUA's "headquarters building… two grand homes and an office building" near the "red brick

sidewalks, gas streetlamps and superrich neighbors" of Beacon Hill will soon be left behind for "a section of South Boston" that has been dubbed an "innovation district."

The Jehovah's Witnesses are "selling their 34 buildings in the sought-after neighborhoods of Brooklyn Heights and Dumbo" in favor of a more "modern world headquarters on a 253-acre property in the Hudson

Valley town of Warwick…"  This is their first such change since 1909.

This trend, which is also underway in other major denominations, not only reflects the secularization of American society, but also the current economic and technological situations.  Administrative workers no longer need to congregate in centralized locations; they can now do their jobs from virtually anywhere. Money that has been spent on high-end buildings can now be freed up for projects more in keeping with the heart of Christianity.   

Resources

http://wwrn.org/articles/41989/?&place=north-america

Copyright March 24, 2014 by Linda Van Slyke   All Rights Reserved