Jehovah’s Witnesses

For Immediate Release
June 10, 2003

Witnesses prepare to welcome special tour groups from around the globe

NEW YORK—For the next few weeks, Jehovah’s Witnesses expect more than the usual number of visitors to their world headquarters. Over 14,000 people from some 40 countries were invited to tour the Witnesses’ facilities in Brooklyn as well as at Patterson and Wallkill in upstate New York. These special tour groups are planning to attend one of the three “Give God Glory” International Conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses being held in the United States this summer.

A hearty welcome is being extended to these international delegates as they visit during June and July. William Van De Wall, national coordinator for the Witness activities in the United States, notes: “Jehovah’s Witnesses are part of a unique international brotherhood. The international conventions are opportunities for us to demonstrate our devotion to God and our love for our fellow worshipers. We look forward to welcoming these visitors, who are really more like family members from around the world.”

Arrangements are in place for the visitors to be personally escorted through various parts of the Witnesses’ facilities. Many will also tour New York City and parts of the Hudson Valley, as well as the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Two international conventions will be held June 19-22 in Houston, Texas, and Pontiac, Michigan. The third will be held July 10-13 in Long Beach, California. During their stay in the United States, some of the visitors may also attend one of the 200 national conventions being held in some 60 cities.

“Our conventions are always a time of great joy for us,” states J. R. Brown, spokesman for the Witnesses. “But the international conventions are extra special for Witnesses at the headquarters facilities. We find that our fellow Witnesses from around the globe really enjoy seeing these locations and sharing in these tours. We look forward to meeting them and being able to host many who are visiting us here in the United States for the first time.”

The Witnesses are used to providing tours of their facilities, but they plan to use their trademark organizational skills to facilitate the flow of the larger-than-usual number of guests. “When the tours come, we will be ready for them with open arms so to speak,” Van De Wall says. “We want our visitors to look back at their travels to the international conventions as a wonderful experience they never want to forget.”

The last time the Witnesses held international conventions in the United States was in 1998. Since then an average of more than 50,000 people each year have toured one or more of the Witnesses’ facilities in the New York area, including the former Stanley Theater in Jersey City, New Jersey, which is one of the Witnesses’ Assembly Halls. There are over 1 million Witnesses in the United States and 6 million worldwide.

Contact: J. R. Brown, telephone: (718) 560-5600