Jehovah’s Witnesses gather in Richmond for annual assemblies

Food shortages, earthquakes, moral corruption and wars are clear signs of a looming Armageddon, according to Jehovah's Witnesses.

People should be alert, they say, and if you're ready, a heavenly kingdom awaits after this world ends.

For four consecutive weekends starting yesterday, thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses are gathering at the Richmond Coliseum for their annual assemblies, themed "Keep on the Watch," which are free of charge and open to the public. In all, about 28,000 people are expected to attend from Virginia, Washington and Maryland.

Across the United States, 319 similar conventions are taking place during the summer.

Today, baptisms will take place and tomorrow, a drama of "The Prodigal Son" will be performed.

"We think the end is pretty close, so that's why we need to be alert," said Betsy Bell, a retired Spanish teacher at Meadowbrook High School in Chesterfield County. She and her husband, Charles, a former Falling Creek Middle School counselor, also in Chesterfield, now live in Heathsville.

"If it is close, we don't want to be caught by surprise," she added.

The Jehovah's Witnesses were founded in the 1870s in Pittsburgh by Charles Taze Russell. In the 1880s, the Jehovah's Witnesses were under the governing body of the Zion's Watch Tower Tract Society. In 1931, the group changed its name from International Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses.

They believe in God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit and that the Bible is infallible and inspired by Jehovah. They do not believe in saluting any flag or reciting the pledge of allegiance.

With 1.3 million members in the United States and Canada, Jehovah's Witnesses reported last year the fastest growth rate -- 2.25 percent -- of all churches, according to the Washington-based Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. It still ranks 24th among a list of the 25 largest church bodies in the United States, according to Pew.

Worldwide, there are just over 7 million Jehovah's Witnesses. In the Richmond area, there are about 40 congregations, which cater to Spanish, Portuguese, French, Korean, Russian and American Sign Language communities. Congregations are kept to about 100 members to keep a family feel, officials say.

Charles Bell said that when Spanish-speaking people began moving into the Richmond area, he and his wife began ministering to them and soon the first local Spanish-language congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses was founded. Now there are four, Bell said.

"What I like about the Jehovah's Witnesses is that it's not racial or cultural," he said. "It appeals to everybody."

Dressed in suits and ties or dresses, Jehovah's Witnesses often travel door to door, ministering to people and distributing their religious publications including "Awake!" and "The Watchtower," which are published in many languages.

Wesley Gregory, the program overseer for the Richmond assemblies and a member of the Mechanicsville Jehovah's Witnesses, said congregations have been on a three-week campaign to invite people to come to the assemblies.

"The response that we receive when we hand invitations out to people is very positive, probably more positive than our regular door-to-door visits," he said.

The message to turn to God for guidance hits home right now as people struggle with job loss, wars and illnesses, said Gregory, an accountant with Dominion Virginia Power.

The message to "keep on the watch because the end is near" may sound like doom and gloom, but it's really a positive one, he said.

"The message is really about what is going to take place in the future," he said. "It's the God's Kingdom that's going to rule over this earth in such a way that we won't have to deal with illnesses, we won't have to deal with crime, we won't have to deal with the wars."

Contact Juan Antonio Lizama at (804) 649-6513 or .