The Canton congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses, along with other congregations of  Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout the world, are providing disaster relief for the victims of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.

Preliminary reports March 15 said two members of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan were killed and 115 were missing. Five houses of worship used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, called Kingdom Halls, were destroyed. There are approximately 2,300 Witnesses in the areas affected by the tsunami.

A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck the northeastern region of mainland Japan on March 11. It triggered a tsunami that devastated cities along the eastern coastline of Japan. A death toll of thousands has been confirmed. The temblor and tidal wave also led to explosions at a nuclear power plant 170 miles north of Tokya.

In cooperation with local authorities and other relief agencies, the Witnesses arranged to help meet the immediate needs of their fellow worshipers and other victims in Japan, establishing three teams to help coordinate disaster relief. Those teams are working to contact congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses in stricken areas and care for the spiritual, physical and material needs of their fellow believers.

The Witnesses’ international relief efforts are being coordinated from their world headquarters in Boston. The Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses is attending to those expenses by utilizing funds donated to the Witnesses’ worldwide work.

http://www.cantondailyledger.com/news/x855928548/Church-window