New World Scheduler makes scheduling Public Talks Away simple and fast. The Coordinator of the Body of Elders or the Public Talk Coordinator can use New World Scheduler to schedule congregation elders and ministerial servants to give Away Public Talks at another congregation.
Some congregations have certain requirements when scheduling Public Speakers to visit other congregations, such as only one elder per week is away, or each elder can only travel once per month, etc. The Public Talks Away view allows you to easily schedule according to any such requirements.
To schedule Away Public Talks, click Schedule > Public Talks – Away, or alternately click Schedule > Public Talks > Public Talks Combined


Schedule Public Talks Away
Before scheduling Public Talks Away:
- Ensure some of your Persons are Active (see Persons > Spiritual) and have Assign – Public Talks Away ticked. You should also set their Away Talks Can Give and Away Talk Frequency. Please see Persons Assign for more information.
- Add some Neighbor Congregations.
To schedule Public Talks Away:
- Click Schedule > Public Talks – Away
- Select or Double-click the cell for the Weekend and Public Speaker you wish to assign an Away Public Talk.
- Note: The date shown is for the Weekend. Some congregations have their Weekend meeting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Therefore a generic Weekend of date is shown (the Saturday date). The actual date and time of the assignment is set in Neighbor Congregations and Public Speakers
- Note: Light Grey boxes show the weeks a Public Speaker is unavailable. This is based on the Public Speakers Away Frequency and any Local Public Talks they have been assigned. If needed, you may still schedule a Public Speaker on those weeks. Dark Grey boxes indicate the Public Speaker is Away during that week, based on their Away Periods.

- Select either a Neighbor Congregation or Other Congregation to visit
- Note: You should usually select Neighbor Congregation. You should only choose Other Congregation if this congregation is not in your circuit or a nearby circuit, and is a “once-off” talk. Please see How to Add or Edit Neighbor Congregations and Public Speakers.
- Select which Public Talk Outline the speaker will give.
- Note: The Outlines that a speaker can give are set in Persons > Assign > Away Public Speaker or Congregation > Public Speakers. Please see Assign Privileges and Duties or Public Speakers for more information.
- Note: You may optionally select the Public Talk Outline at a later time.
- Optionally, enter any Notes
- Note: These will be shown for the Public Speaker on the JWS Publisher App
- Click OK

Swap or Cancel an Away Talk assignment
- Click Schedule > Public Talks – Away
- Select or Double-click the cell for the Weekend and Public Speaker you wish to change or cancel.
- Click Clear to remove the assignment for that speaker, click OK
- If needed, re-assign this talk to another speaker
Multiple Away Talks on Same Weekend
As the direction from the organization states speakers should preferably not be assigned to be away from their own congregation more than once a month, it is not possible to schedule a brother to give multiple Public Talks on the same weekend. Zoom does not change this direction.
Local Public Talk assignments
Local Public Talk assignments will also show on the Away Public Talk Schedule, but will be greyed out and cannot be edited. This is to help prevent scheduling an Away Talk for someone who already has a local talk that weekend.
To edit Local Public Talk Assignments, please see Local Public Talks.
Common Questions and Problems
Please carefully re-read the Schedule Public Talks Away section above.
The date shown is for the Weekend. Some congregations have their Weekend meeting on Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Therefore a generic Weekend of date is shown (the Saturday date). The actual date and time of the assignment is set in Neighbor Congregations and Public Speakers
No. It is not the responsibility of the local Public Talk Coordinator to remind their local speakers they have an upcoming Away Talk. That is the responsibly of the other Public Talk Coordinator.
All Public Talk Coordinators will contact incoming Public Speakers the week of the talk to confirm the time and location of the meeting, and to offer hospitality.
Public Talk Coordinates can use New World Scheduler to send such Invitations, Confirmations and Reminders to all upcoming Local Public Speakers, including incoming from other congregations. Please see Send Reminder, Invitation or Confirmation.
Public Talk Coordinators can also use New World Scheduler to send a list of upcoming Away Talks to their Local Speakers. Please see Public Talk Reports & Schedules.
However, there is no reason a Public Talk Coordinator would ever need to remind their own local speakers of Away Talks.
Light Grey boxes show the weeks a Public Speaker is unavailable. This is based on:
- The Public Speakers Away Frequency
- Any Local Public Talks they have been assigned
If needed, you may still schedule a Public Speaker on those weeks.
Dark Grey boxes indicate the Public Speaker is Away during that week, based on their Away Periods.
Only Active persons who are not Away, not Disfellowshipped and have the correct Assign value set will show in this list.
Please check the person is:
- Active. See Person > Spiritual
- Not Away during that time. See Person > Information > Away Periods
- Assigned to that duty. See Assign Privileges and Duties
Additional Help
- Schedule the Christian Life and Ministry Meeting
- Schedule Local Public Talks
- Schedule Away Public Talks
- Schedule Field Service
- Schedule Public Witnessing Carts
- Schedule Congregation Duties
- Schedule Kingdom Hall Cleaning
- Schedule Lawn & Garden Care
- Schedule Maintenance Tasks (LDC)
- Schedule Circuit Overseer Visit
- Auto-Assign
- Language Groups