{"id":5578,"date":"2021-08-03T14:17:35","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T11:17:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/?p=5578"},"modified":"2021-08-18T10:44:42","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T07:44:42","slug":"seventy-fifth-anniversary-of-the-first-large-scale-international-convention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/seventy-fifth-anniversary-of-the-first-large-scale-international-convention\/","title":{"rendered":"Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the First Large-Scale International Convention"},"content":{"rendered":"

Historic \u201cGlad Nations\u201d Theocratic Assembly Set the Standard for Future Gatherings<\/p>\n

\"\"
Aerial shot of the 1946 \u201cGlad Nations\u201d Theocratic Assembly in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

August 4, 2021, will mark 75 years since the \u201cGlad Nations\u201d Theocratic Assembly, the first large-scale international convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. The convention was held August 4-11, 1946, in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A., at the Municipal Stadium and the adjacent Municipal Auditorium.<\/p>\n

In the aftermath of World War II, our brothers organized a convention that would be a stark contrast to the military conflict that afflicted the world. The convention included thousands of brothers and sisters from around the world gathered in peace. People of all races and backgrounds would freely associate with one another during a time when segregation was still a common practice in the United States.<\/p>\n

The \u201cGlad Nations\u201d convention marked the first time 80,000 Witnesses gathered in one location. After the period of relative isolation resulting from the war, our brothers and sisters were delighted to associate together. The convention included 302 delegates from 32 countries. Brother Nathan H. Knorr delivered the talk \u201cThe Prince of Peace\u201d on the final Sunday of the convention.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Exterior of the Municipal Stadium with sign advertising \u201cThe Prince of Peace,\u201d the public talk delivered by Brother Knorr<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The convention was a success, but it was not without its challenges. On the first day of the convention, the brothers organizing the event faced a major logistical hurdle. The attendance in the Municipal Auditorium outgrew the seating capacity. The brothers needed to use the adjacent stadium to accommodate the crowd for the evening session, which began at 7:45 p.m. But two baseball games were scheduled to be played in that stadium until 6:30 p.m.<\/p>\n

During the second baseball game, a thunderstorm caused the crowd attending the game to leave the stadium early. Afterward, the weather cleared, allowing 50,000 Witnesses to file into the stadium in time for the evening session.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Brother Knorr releasing the book \u201cLet God Be True\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

At the \u201cGlad Nations\u201d convention a new magazine, Awake!, was released, along with the Bible study aid \u201cLet God Be True.\u201d Also, Brother Knorr announced plans to expand the printery in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A., and branch offices in six other countries.<\/p>\n

A major highlight was the baptism of 2,602 people\u2014903 brothers and 1,699 sisters\u2014in nearby Lake Erie. Other highlights included demonstrations of a Watchtower Study and Theocratic Ministry School, as well as music by a 160-piece orchestra.<\/p>\n

This convention became a model for future conventions. For example, several convention departments were established, such as Attendants, the Chairman\u2019s Office, First Aid, Installation, and Lost and Found.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Some of our brothers and sisters preparing to be baptized<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Brother Ron Little, now an elder in the McKeesport Congregation in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., was 11 years old when he attended the convention with his father and brother. The three slept in the father\u2019s truck for all eight days of the convention.<\/p>\n

Brother Little vividly remembers the release of the Awake! magazine. \u201cWhen they released the Awake!, we were all running around holding it up,\u201d he recalls. \u201cEveryone was trying to place one with you if you didn\u2019t have one in your hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brother Little, now 86, also remembers being filled with awe seeing so many Witnesses gathered together. \u201cI remember feeling that I didn\u2019t want it to end,\u201d he says. \u201cIt was so nice.\u201d<\/p>\n

We are deeply grateful to Jehovah for the blessing of our \u201choly conventions.\u201d\u2014Leviticus 23:2. {https:\/\/www.jw.org<\/a><\/strong><\/em>}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Historic \u201cGlad Nations\u201d Theocratic Assembly Set the Standard for Future Gatherings August 4, 2021, will mark 75 years since the \u201cGlad Nations\u201d Theocratic Assembly, the first large-scale international convention of Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. The convention was…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5579,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5578","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5578","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5578"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5578\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5581,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5578\/revisions\/5581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5579"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5578"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5578"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5578"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}