Local Jehovah's Witnesses to host two annual events in coming week
In the face of widespread economic strain, national conflicts and social unrest, surveys indicate confidence in the future is at an all-time low in many countries, including the United States. According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, 24 of the 28 countries surveyed are seeing “all-time lows in the number of people who think their families will be better off in five years.”
Against this backdrop of pessimism, a special global program featuring the theme ”You Can Face the Future with Confidence!” will be held on the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, April 1-2. The free 30-minute presentation will be hosted locally at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Apalachicola, with a videoconferencing option available. The “Attend a Meeting” section on the homepage of jw.org for local addresses and meeting times.
“The escalating political, social, economic and religious conflicts can paint a bleak picture of the future, but the Bible provides a foolproof hope that can help all of us in these difficult times,” said Dwayne Piergiovanni, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“This presentation – which will be delivered in English, Spanish, Korean, Tagalog, Russian and American Sign Language (ASL) in Northwest Florida will paint a beautiful picture of the future and provide solid reasons as to why we can look to the future with confidence.”
The special talk is the first of two free programs that will be held in all 118,000 congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses during the first week of April. The public is also invited to join nearly 20 million other global attenders for the annual observance of the Memorial of Jesus Christ’s death, an hour-long program on the evening of Tuesday, April 4. In Northwest Florida, this program will be held in the six languages listed above and also in Patwa (Jamaican Creole).
The Memorial starts and ends with the singing of a song, as well as a prayer offered by a minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Memorial’s main feature is a talk about the importance of Jesus’ death and how we can benefit from what God and Christ have done for us.
While Easter is a celebration of Jesus’ resurrection, the Memorial celebration is a solemn commemoration of Jesus’ death, in harmony with the command he gave to his close followers: “Keep doing this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19). Following the practice of early Christians, Jehovah’s Witnesses observe this Memorial each year on the anniversary of Jesus’ death according to the Bible’s lunar calendar. He introduced the observance after sundown on Nisan 14, 33 C.E. The date on which Nisan 14 falls each year is based on the same method used in the time of Jesus, rather than applying the method used for the modern Jewish calendar.
Jehovah’s Witnesses are a Christian religious group whose members worship Jehovah God and actively promote Bible education through various methods of evangelizing. The main focus of their Bible education work is to share the good news about God’s Kingdom, or government. (Matthew 24:14) The name distinguishes them from other religions, referring not only to whom they represent but also the ministerial work they volunteer to do in God’s name.
Admission to both programs is free, and no registration is required. Jehovah’s Witnesses never take collections at their meetings. Details on when and where these events will be held locally are available on jw.org, the official website of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
To learn more, watch the following videos.See a preview of the wonderful future that the death of Jesus makes possible.
You may have heard that he died for our sins. But could one man’s sacrifice really benefit millions of people?