Jehovah’s Witnesses begin “Exercise Patience” convention worldwide

By Yussif Ibrahim, GNA
Kumasi, July 25, GNA-Jehovah’s Witnesses across the world have begun a five-month convention every weekend, following their return to large gatherings after the COVID-19 pandemic interruption.
The convention dubbed, “Exercise Patience” which began on July 7, is expected to end on the eve of Christmas.
In Ghana, the Witnesses, converge at their worship centers every Friday to Sunday, to engage in various Bible-based activities in relation to being patient as individuals, groups and organisations.
Some of the activities during the convention include music video presentation, symposium, Bible reading, drama, and baptism.
At the Asokore Mampong convention centre, hundreds of Witnesses have been meeting weekly for morning and afternoon sessions, which are held in either English, Twi, Ewe or sign language.
Mr Prince Anokye, a Member of the Convention Committee, said the convention was premised on James 5:7-8 of the scriptures, which laid emphasis on how the farmer patiently wait for the precious crops from the earth.
He said when farmers planted seeds, they created the conditions that were needed for the seed to germinate and patiently nurture the crop until it was ripe for harvest.
“To really have this happen, there is one quality you need, which is patience.
This has become important because we live in a world which is fast-paced and it is difficult to have patience,” he noted.
He said even where people exercised patience, they were seen as weak, hence the convention was meant to help all servers of Jehovah to learn this important quality to be able to contain things around them.
Mr Anokye said all the speakers at the convention had prepared for many months, using God’s word as a guide so they could be effective at reaching the minds and hearts of their audience.
“The intention is that we are all in progress and to really help shape us, we need God’s words to do that, so all the talks have been prepared with that in mind,” he indicated.
He said some of the messages were in the form of videos because it was an effective way of communicating with a large audience.
Mr Anokye said it was refreshing that they could fellowship in-person after three years of virtual meetings, saying that it promoted friendship and togetherness.