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● How can service meetings end on time when additional concluding comments must be made?

Service meetings should end on time. We should endeavor to begin the closing song by 9:30 p.m. if the opening song for the ministry school begins at 7:25 p.m. But at times the congregation servant must handle additional unexpected items in the concluding comments. Letters from the Society addressed to the congregation must be read and some letters from the circuit servant must be considered. Kingdom Hall repairs, remodeling or other matters may need to be handled. Deaths or illnesses of brothers in the congregation or certain disciplinary matters may need to be announced. Where will he get the additional time required to handle these things?

It may be necessary for the congregation servant to make adjustments in the timing of other parts on the service meeting occasionally. Other brothers can be asked to condense the material in their assignments so as to present them in less time. These brothers, of course, should be notified as far in advance as possible in order to avoid last-minute adjustments on their part. On rare occasions an entire assignment can be eliminated and included in a later service meeting. There might also be times when the congregation servant can condense some of his comments or even eliminate some things that are not especially applicable to the congregation. Of course, for the overseer to have enough time the other brothers preceding him on the program will have to stay within their allotted time. When matters are handled in this way, the brothers are not deprived of information they should have and yet the meetings do not run overtime.