United in Faith Worldwide!

Breaking a century old tradition, the largest convention organization in the world has moved its annual in-person event to a virtual format for the second time in as many years, canceling nearly 6,000 conventions in 240 lands.

Since 1992, Romeoville, Illinois, has seen thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses stream in, filling hotels and restaurants as they held their summer conventions at the city’s Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

In 2020, the pandemic unexpectedly interrupted that tradition, moving the international religious organization to cancel in-person conventions throughout the world and launch a global virtual event. This was a first for Jehovah’s Witnesses, who have held public conventions in stadiums, arenas, convention centers, and theaters around the world since 1897.

Tony Cillis, 90, attended his first convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1941 in St. Louis. Eighty years later, he has only missed one summer convention due to a car accident. Now a resident of Tinley Park, Illinois, Cillis has traveled the world to attend conventions in many countries, including England, France, Italy, Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

An especially memorable convention for Cillis was in 1955 on the Zeppelin Meadow in Nuremberg, Germany- the same location where Hitler had vowed in 1938 to exterminate Jehovah’s Witnesses in Germany. Now, just seventeen years later delegates from 78 countries united in peaceful worship despite Hitler’s bold threats. "That is the stadium that Hitler
used to parade his troops around. And here we had over 100,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in that stadium," Cillis commented.

“Powerful by Faith!” is the theme of the 2021 global event, which will be delivered in more than 500 languages to households throughout the globe over six weekends during July and August 2021, uniting some 15-20 million people in 240 countries. Since the convention is typically held from Friday through Sunday, the program will be available in six installments corresponding to morning and afternoon sessions. “Friday" morning’s session will be available for streaming or download beginning June 28, 2021.

The planning and translation of a program of this magnitude takes months of effort. With the
uncertainty of whether it would be safe to bring thousands of people together in cities around
the world the organization opted for a virtual platform for the second consecutive year.
However, the move has not curbed the enthusiasm for the annual event. Congregations around the world are inviting the public to join them in this historic occasion.

“Faith has helped our global brotherhood to continue to thrive even during a pandemic,” said Robert Hendriks U.S. spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Our faith will continue to unite us in worship even virtually as millions gather in private homes around the world to enjoy a powerful and inspiring spiritual program.”

“The quality of the talks is just amazing," Cillis said, regarding the virtual program." I was able to see the speakers up close, which was very nice. You could see their facial expressions and gestures."

Though he misses being in person for conventions and seeing all the friends he has made
throughout the decades, Cillis looks forward to watching the 2021 virtual program. “Because of my age, I am not able to get around like I used to. So being able to watch the convention in my own home is really upbuilding for me."

All are invited to attend the event by going to www.jw.org on the web or JW Broadcasting on the free JW Library app available for iOS or Android, or on streaming platforms like ROKU TV, Apple TV, and others. The program is free and accessible to all. The schedule for download and global streaming is listed below.

For more information, please contact Jehovah’s Witnesses United States at (718) 560-5600 or
pid@jw.org.

Please click here to view a short video recap of our local assembly history: Jehovah’s Witnesses Convention VNR Romeoville, IL.m4v on Vimeo

PROGRAM DAY DATE AVAILABLE FOR STREAMING OR DOWNLOAD FROM JW.ORG

Friday Morning June 28
Friday Afternoon July 5
Saturday Morning July 19
Saturday Afternoon July 26
Sunday Morning August 9
Sunday Afternoon August 16

DATES CONGREGATIONS AROUND THE GLOBE WILL UNITEDLY BE VIEWING THE PROGRAM

Friday Morning July 3-4
Friday Afternoon July 10-11
Saturday Morning July 24-25
Saturday Afternoon July 31-August 1
Sunday Morning August 14-15
Sunday Afternoon August 21-22