![\"\"](\"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Construction-on-Augusta-Kansas-Place.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJeremy Patrick, owner of a small construction business in Newton, Kansas, is joining other unpaid volunteers from across the state to remodel the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses in Augusta, Kansas.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd safety is always a priority,\u201d he said. \u201cSecular companies say \u2018safety first,\u2019 but they don\u2019t really identify the hazards,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cBut at Kingdom Hall projects, we split into separate crews each morning where we discuss the possible safety hazards of the job we\u2019re about to do and how we can prevent them. Safety really becomes a mindset in how we approach our work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Robert Hendriks, the U.S. spokesperson for Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, commented on the organization\u2019s decision to not only meet but exceed federal workplace health and safety standards on all their building projects, even though the regulations do not cover volunteers.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, it\u2019s not about doing the bare minimum to ensure we\u2019re legally covered,\u201d Hendriks said. \u201cWe believe that human life is a sacred gift from our Creator. That core principle guides everything we do, including our approach to safety.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the Witnesses moved their world headquarters from Brooklyn, New York, to the upstate town of Warwick in recent years, the building project drew some 27,000 volunteers from across all 50 states \u2014 including Jade Moore, 53, of Palmdale, California. Moore, a residential and commercial electrical inspector, said the concern for safety he saw during the seven weeks he spent volunteering on the Warwick build was highly uncommon for a construction project.<\/p>\n
\u201cNormally, a project is driven by how much money can be made, which means working as fast as you can,\u201d Moore said. \u201cNo one takes notice of safety until someone gets hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jesse, Jeremy and Jakeb Patrick enjoyed working together last summer as volunteers at the Kingdom Hall construction project in Emporia, Kansas. By contrast, Moore said the Witnesses prioritized safety, even resolving a dilemma he\u2019s encountered using a fall protection harness on many worksites in the past.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil Warwick, every time I asked a safety person on a job what I was supposed to tie off to when working at heights above 6 feet, the answer was always, \u2018I don\u2019t know, you figure it out,\u2019\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n
Arriving at the Warwick site, Moore was astonished to see nylon straps already installed in all areas requiring workers to attach a safety harness \u201cI was truly in awe of their commitment to safety,\u201d he said. \u201cI can\u2019t wait for another opportunity to volunteer.\u201d \u201cAnd the fact that all this work is done by volunteers is very impressive to me,\u201d Patrick said. \u201cYou will never see other construction projects with as much laughter, camaraderie and even hugs. It\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n
Patrick, his wife and adult sons have also worked together on other Kingdom Hall building or remodeling projects in Kansas: Emporia, Fredonia, Goodland and Kansas City, to name a few.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we\u2019re working on a Kingdom Hall project, it seems like the best of us shines through because we\u2019re not pressured by time or money,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that we were created to work together as a husband and wife and to build things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Work at the Augusta Kingdom Hall project started in November 2022 and is scheduled for a safe completion at the end of February 2023.<\/p>\n