Jehovah Witnesses host historic convention BY ANGELA PIDDUCK Sunday, August 10 2014 Last Sunday afternoon, I was among the 14,000 plus persons in attendance at the closing session of the three-day Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the Queen’s Park Oval, which had begun the Friday morning. Included in this mammoth crowd from 119 congregations across Trinidad and Tobago, were 57 Mandarin-speaking persons, 121 Spanish-speaking and 172 persons requiring Sign Language assistance — all these special visitors/delegates were accommodated with simultaneous translations of the proceedings in Mandarin, Spanish and American Sign Language by volunteers working in conjunction with the programme as it was being displayed on the Oval’s large digital screen. Amazing, was my first thought when coming south from Maraval, I saw maxi taxis parked as far north as the Wildflower Park on Prada Street having brought members of congregations from far and wide to the Oval. The second amazing thought was seeing elegantly dressed men, women and children, even babies in movable car seats, entering the Oval in an orderly and sombre fashion. Certainly no Carnival-like atmosphere here, but the camaraderie was there as publishers of the various congregations greeted each other — the Port-of-Spain Congregation, North Curepe Congregation, South Curepe Congregation, among others. Said Gordon Headley, c-oordinator of the Branch Committee of Trinidad and Tobago: “We keep our congregations small so that all members can be personally cared for spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically. We would hardly have a congregation with over 150 active publishers (as members are called). When it reaches that size we split it so that we have two manageable sized congregations of approximately 75 active publishers.” In this Sunday afternoon atmosphere of quiet, the dedicated members not only listened attentively to the two closing speakers, but took notes as Winford Niles instructed how to “Stay on the Highway of Holiness into God’s Kingdom, and Headley advised on how to “Never Be Anxious” – mindful of the Convention’s theme and ‘Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom’ – both speakers using Biblical references. In between the two, a very well-produced short dramatisation of Not One Word Has Failed with in-house, costumed actors, was well received. I thought it a pity that the general population only becomes familiar with the Witnesses “door to door” work, requesting a little of our time which is usually grudgingly given, to discuss Biblical verses, or hand out their two publications Awake and Watchtower, because there appears to be so much more being done in this quite serious, but often misunderstood organisation. The organising of the convention started months in advance with preparation and rehearsals of public talks, dramatic presentations, interviews and other assignments. For convention purposes, volunteers are divided into various committees to oversee various duties such as the cleaning, media relations, installations, sound, first-aid and parking to name a few. Jehovah’s Witnesses pride themselves on cleanliness and bathrooms and garbage were cleaned twice daily at last weekend’s Sunday’s Convention, once at lunch time, and also at the end of each day, all by volunteers from the various congregations. One member called the event “a historic three-day Convention” with the theme ‘Keep Seeking First God’s Kingdom!’ - the Witnesses are of the view that Jesus Christ is the only qualified ruler for the earth and that he has been ruling since 1914. Hence this year marks 100 years of Christ’s rule and was not just another convention hosted by the Witnesses. On the Saturday morning of the Convention, over 60 persons of all ages were baptized in a man-made baptismal pool constructed on the grounds of the Queen’s Park Oval. Following a symposium on Sunday morning on various topics with input from different speakers, a public Bible discourse titled, “Earth’s New Ruler – Who Really Qualifies?” (Isaiah 42:1-4) outlined that Jesus Christ was unequivocally qualified to be Earth’s New Ruler.” To learn about Jehovah’s Witnesses and their organisation, visit JW.ORG
Posted on: Mon, 11 Aug 2014 23:36:25 +0000
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