SALISBURY — After a three-year pandemic pause, one of the largest convention organizations in the world has chosen Salisbury Assembly Hall to host its global three-day event, the 2023 “Exercise Patience”! Convention.

Before 2019, summers in Winston-Salem were marked by Jehovah’s Witnesses filling hotels and restaurants as they attended their annual conventions at the Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. In 2020, the pandemic interrupted that tradition as in-person events were canceled. throughout the world. Convention programs were held as virtual events in more than 500 languages.

Now beginning Friday, June 2,  Jehovah’s Witnesses will bring that tradition back to Winston-Salem but now will also include 13 conventions in Salisbury.

“As much as we loved the convenience and advantages of our virtual conventions, nothing can replace being together in person,” said Vincent Ruffin, spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses, in a news release. “We did our utmost to keep our communities safe, yet millions of us long to get back to our joyful fellowship at these large events.”

Some 6,000 conventions will be held worldwide as part of the 2023 “Exercise Patience!” Convention series. In the United States 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 prerecorded drama will be featured in two parts during the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions.

“Patience is a beautiful and yet rare quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives,” said Ruffin. “Despite our best intentions, however, maintaining patience in the face of life can be a battle we must wage each day. Spending three days exploring aspects of this precious quality is an investment that will pay true dividends.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been holding public conventions in stadiums, arenas, convention centers, and theaters 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, go to jw.org and navigate to the “About Us” tab.