Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson and other city officials gathered for an open house on July 20 to celebrate 25 years of Jehovah’s Witnesses hosting annual conventions at the Long Beach Arena. The event featured videos, testimonials, and other memorabilia highlighting the history and future of the partnership.
On January 27, the world marked International Holocaust Remembrance Day, a symbolic date to commemorate the victims of Nazism. Murderous Nazi terror targeted millions for reasons of biology, nationality, or political ideology. But few people know that the Nazis’ victims included thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who suffered for their Christian faith.
Four backpacks with emergency supplies in the home of Mike and Annalisa Selvidge were called into action when the Coastal Fire broke out in a nearby canyon in May.
The stream of tough topics for parents to explain can feel unending: social unrest, hate crimes, natural disasters … the pandemic. Many children and teens have struggled to process what they see at school, in their neighborhoods, and on the news. South Los Angeles residents Scott and LaKesha Ashley confront this challenge during family time with their three children, who range in age from 9 to 21 years old, every Wednesday evening.
With variants straining short-staffed facilities across the country, some on the front lines are experiencing added physical, mental and emotional stress. “I’m feeling burnout,” said Registered Nurse Currine Smith, who saw her medical floor skyrocket with COVID cases amid the current surge. “The stress and anxiety I feel wears down on me mentally, emotionally and physically.”
Breaking a century-old tradition in the name of health and safety, the largest convention organization in the world has moved its annual in-person event to a virtual format for the second year in a row, canceling nearly 6,000 conventions in 240 lands. For 24 consecutive years, the summers in Long Beach featured Jehovah’s Witnesses visiting the city, filling hotels and restaurants as they held their conventions at the Long Beach Arena. In 2020, the pandemic unexpectedly interrupted that tradition, moving the international religious organization to cancel in-person conventions worldwide and launch a global virtual event. This was a first for
Few events in modern history have harmed the emotional well-being of people around the world as has the COVID-19 pandemic. The threat of contracting or transmitting a life- threatening disease and the added challenges of anxiety and isolation have had an immeasurable impact on people of all backgrounds. To help address this situation, the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses, jw.org, is featuring a video entitled Virus Outbreaks—What Can You Do. The three-minute whiteboard animation offers families practical methods to cope emotionally and spiritually with the effects of the pandemic. Robert J. Hendriks III, U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, says, “Since
It’s been one year since Jehovah’s Witnesses adjusted their hallmark methods of sharing comfort and hope from the scriptures due to the pandemic. For many, the change from ringing doorbells and knocking on doors to making phone calls and writing letters expanded and invigorated their ministry. Cynthia McCall, 66, of Gardena, has enjoyed sharing the Bible’s message of comfort and hope with her neighbors for 38 years. When she became limited in the door-to-door preaching work due to medical complications, she relates, “I was only able to walk so far before I had to stop, go home and rest. Even
I have a dear lifelong friend by the name of JC, who I recently reconnected with and during one of our conversations we were talking about how different religions are bold in sharing their faith, while others may be a little more reserved. Recently, on a day when he happened to be home, some Jehovah’s Witnesses stopped by and knocked on his door.