The Sabbath
The seventh day, kept holy, and the first appointed time given to Israel.
The Sabbath is not an invention of the ministry and not a preference. It was sanctified at the close of creation, before any law was written at Sinai, and it stands at the head of the appointed times in Leviticus 23.
The ministry keeps the Sabbath by the calendar of the God of Israel rather than by the Roman week. This is the point on which we most often part company with others who read the same book, and it is one of the things a visitor notices first.
How it is kept
The day runs from evening to evening. Servile work ceases. The congregation gathers for the lesson. We do not marry on the Sabbath day, we do not bury the dead on the Sabbath day, and we do not cohabit on the Sabbath day.
The ministry’s understanding of the true Sabbath day was formally confirmed in 2009, following years of study.