Jehovah’s Witnesses have resumed knocking on doors again after a 30-month hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic
Dan Sideris is reflected in a front storm door as he and his wife, Carrie Sideris, of Newton, Mass., return to door-to-door visits as Jehovah's Witnesses, Thursday, Sept. 1, 2022, in Boston. After more than two and a half years on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic, members are reviving a religious practice that the faith considers crucial and cherished.
“It all came back quite naturally because we don’t have a canned speech,” he said. “We try to engage with people about what’s in their heart, and what we say comes from our hearts.”One man took a break from a Zoom call to accept their booklets and set up an appointment to continue the conversation. At another home, a woman spoke of how many family members died in the last two years — something the Siderises could relate to, both of them having lost parents recently.
Witnesses continued their ministry by writing letters and making phone calls, but it wasn't the same because it lacked a personal touch, said Robert Hendriks, national spokesperson for the denomination. The denomination has cautiously been rebooting other activities: In April it reopened congregations for in-person gatherings, and in June it resumed public ministry where members set up carts in locations such as subway stations and hand out literature.
“When you’re out in the community, you have your hand on the pulse,” he said. “We haven’t had that close feeling with the community for more than two years now. It feels like we’ve all become more distant and polarized.”
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