Jehovah's Witness Convention Marks 100 Years In Philadelphia!

After a three-year break due to the pandemic, Jehovah’s Witnesses from Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey and Delaware will return to Philadelphia beginning June 30, 2023, at the Liacouras Center for their 2023 global convention series, “Exercise Patience”! This marks a historic milestone for conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the city: 100 years!

Thousands of families will fill hotels and restaurants over three weekends while attending these
events.

“We are proud to mark our 100-year-long history of conventions in Philadelphia,” said Justin
Burd, local spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “We were all set to have our 2020 convention at
Liacouras, and then COVID happened. We held virtual conventions around the world, but we
are so happy to be back in person.”

The tradition of Witnesses holding major conventions in the City of Brotherly Love began in
1922, when a speech given by J.F. Rutherford at the Metropolitan Opera House was broadcast by
radio, a relatively new communications medium at the time. In the 1950s, their conventions were
held at Connie Mack Stadium. The Christian group then used Veterans Stadium from the 1970s
to 2002 and the Liacouras Center at Temple University for the past 20 years.

According to Burd, the Philadelphia conventions are 3 of the some 6,000 3-day events held
Friday through Sunday around the world in 2023 by the international Christian organization. The
programs will explore the quality of patience and how it relates to Christian life, highlighting
Scriptural examples and modern-day applications of wise principles by means of videos and
Bible talks. A baptism ceremony will take place after the Saturday morning session, and a two-
part video drama based on Bible narratives will be presented during the Saturday and Sunday
afternoon sessions.

“Patience is a beautiful quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives,” said Burd.
“Despite our good intentions, however, maintaining patience in the face of life’s many challenges
can be a daily struggle. Spending three days exploring aspects of this quality will be very timely
for all of us.”

After resuming smaller in-person meetings and their public ministry during 2022, the summer of
2023 marks the first time that Jehovah’s Witnesses will gather at much larger regional events
around the world since the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

The convention is open to the public and no collection is taken. For more information on the
program or to find other convention locations and dates, visit jw.org and navigate to the “About
Us” tab.