Newsday article on convention

benext

Towards the end of this puff piece is an unbelievable quote.

www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-litwit073362274jul07,0,3055867.story

or newday.com search on Jehovah's Witnesses.

blondie

http://www.newsday.com/mynews/ny-liwit073362274jul07,0,3055867.story

12,000 Witnesses to Unity

By Nedra Rhone
STAFF WRITER

July 7, 2003

Pebbles Simmons tried a number of different places of worship before she finally found the right one. "So far, this is the only religion where you have unity," said Simmons, 25, of Paterson, N.J., who returned to Jehovah's Witnesses in January.

Yesterday, Simmons was one of 12,000 worshipers united at a weekend district convention at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale. For three days, witnesses from Brooklyn to New Jersey came to "Give God Glory," renew their faith and learn why and how glorifying God, or Jehovah, should be part of one's life.

"It's a tremendous opportunity for us to celebrate fellowship," said Circuit Overseer Robert Gibson, who deals with 32 congregations in the New York area. Besides bringing together members from the different regions, the convention programs also offer practical ways to apply the teachings of the Bible in everyday life, said Robert Goebert, an elder of the Manhasset congregation.

Jehovah's Witnesses are perhaps best known for sharing their faith through door-to-door visits.

Founded at the end of the 19th century near Pittsburgh as International Bible Students, Jehovah's Witnesses have an active membership that has grown from 879,351 to 1,004,736 in the last 10 years, according to organization statistics. Members of the congregations base their beliefs only on the Bible and rely on those teachings to bring purpose to life.

"If God's will was done on Earth just as it is in heaven, the world would be a different place," said Gibson; a world closer to the one in the more than 94,600 congregations worldwide that meet in kingdom halls week after week, he said.

Some said the convention was a chance for fellowship with other witnesses and an opportunity to pick up tips on everything from child-rearing to approaching people in public.

"It's the best place to learn how to raise children," said Kevin Paredes, 23, of Glen Cove, attending with his wife, Moriah, 24, and two infant children. Paredes said he had learned the difference between quality time and quantity of time for families.

The event and its speakers sent a strong message to Dwayne French, 31, visiting from Washington, D.C.

"The theme of the convention is to glorify God," said French, "and basically we all have to do our part."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/ny-bc-nj--deafconvention0703jul03,0,6345713.story

Jehovah's Witnesses holds N.J. gathering for deaf believers

By STEVE STRUNSKY
Associated Press Writer

July 3, 2003, 4:34 PM EDT

When an anticipated crowd of 1,500 to 2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses opens a conference in New Jersey with a psalm this weekend, the sound of silence will fill the air.

The conference at the vast Stanley Theater Assembly Hall in Jersey City is for deaf members of the faith from up and down the East Coast. Instead of being accompanied by an organ or choir, the psalm will be delivered in sign language.

"It opens with a psalm and prayer," said David Donahue, a convention spokesman. "However, there's no music, so you'll see 1,500 people standing and signing a psalm and prayer."

Jehovah's Witnesses, also known as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, is a Christian denomination organized by Charles Taze Russell in Pennsylvania. Headquartered in Brooklyn, N.Y., the denomination claims 6.3 million members worldwide. The name Jehovah's Witnesses went into use in 1931.

It is based in part on belief that a second coming of Christ would be a spiritual, not a physical event.

Because of its restrictions against worldly affiliations, doomsday prophesying and other distinctions, some critics have branded the denomination a cult _ a characterization Jehovah's Witnesses reject, but one that has caused them problems.

The group had to sue Jersey City in 1984 to obtain permits to restore the Stanley Theater, an old vaudeville house, for use as an assembly hall, charging that city officials had acted out of bias in initially denying the permits.

One way the group does try to distinguish itself from other denominations, Donahue said, is in its treatment of deaf members, exemplified by the convention in Jersey City, and a similar annual gathering scheduled for July 11-13 in Long Beach, Calif.

Donahue, who is a sign language interpreter, said Jehovah's Witnesses have congregations specifically for the deaf, where houses of worship, known as Kingdom Halls, typically include video monitors visible throughout the seating area to insure that members can view the service.

"We have always found that teaching is always most effective in native tongues," said Donahue. "We treat deaf people as people who speak a different language, not as disabled people."

Jehovah's Witnesses not only produces videotapes of its doctrine in what is known as American Sign Language, but also in 15 other sign languages, which have their own sets of hand signals that do not correspond to those for English.

"Greek, Spanish, Danish, Korean, Russian _ all of those are sign languages," Donahue said.

This weekend's convention lasts from Friday through Sunday, and is open to the public.

Nonsectarian gatherings for the deaf are hosted quarterly by the state Division of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, at the Joseph Kohn Rehabilitation Center in New Brunswick, with information on technology and programs. The next two are scheduled for Sept. 9 and Dec. 16.

There are about 20,000 deaf residents of New Jersey, among 800,000 with some type of hearing problem, said Lavonne Johnson, a division spokeswoman.

Because the presenters at this weekend's convention will be using sign language themselves, sign interpreters for the deaf will not be needed, Donahue said. Rather, presenters will appear on monitors throughout the Stanley Theater to ensure everyone can see them.

But Donahue said the convention will also be attended by 15 people who are both blind and deaf, who will require 140 so-called tactile interpreters.

"A tactile interpreter can only function at peak level for 20 to 30 minutes," Donahue said. "Therefore, if a talk is longer, people are going to work in teams, and they'll trade off."

Donahue explained, in almost biblical language, the physical nature of tactile interpreting, which was performed, most famously, by Annie Sullivan for Helen Keller.

"The only way to see the native language," Donahue said, "is to put your hand on top of another's hand."

plmkrzy

The group had to sue Jersey City in 1984 to obtain permits to restore the Stanley Theater

I have only seen pictures of the theater but I heard it was impressive from those who have been there.

When an anticipated crowd of 1,500 to 2,000 Jehovah's Witnesses opens a conference in New Jersey with a psalm this weekend, the sound of silence will fill the air.

Does that mean that can’t be heard singing?