After a three-year pandemic pause, one of the largest convention organisations in the world has once again chosen Bermuda to host its global three-day event, the 2023 Exercise Patience convention.

Prior to 2019, summers in Bermuda were marked by Jehovah’s Witnesses filling restaurants and enjoying spiritual fellowship as they attended their annual conventions at the Ruth Seaton James Auditorium. In 2020, the pandemic interrupted that tradition in Bermuda when the Witnesses cancelled their in-person events throughout the world and held their convention programmes as virtual events in more than 500 languages.

“As much as we loved the convenience and quality of our virtual conventions, nothing can replace being together in a large group setting,” said Luke Branco, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “While our online conventions reached millions around the world and kept our communities safe, we long to get back to our joyful fellowship at these large gatherings.”

The three-day convention opens here on Friday. Some 6,000 conventions will be held worldwide as part of the 2023 Exercise Patience convention series. In the USA alone, more than 700 conventions will be held in 144 host cities.

From Friday through Sunday, six convention sessions will explore the quality of patience, highlighting its modern-day relevance through scriptural examples. A live baptism will be performed following the Saturday morning session and a pre-recorded drama will be featured in two parts during the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions.

“Patience is a beautiful quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives,” said Mr Branco. “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.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been holding public conventions in stadiums, arenas, convention centres, and theatres around the world for more than 100 years. After resuming smaller in-person meetings and their public ministry during 2022, the summer of 2023 marks the first time they 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 programme or to find other convention locations and dates, please go to jw.org and navigate to the “About Us” tab.