About 3,500 members of the Jehovah's Witness church take part in the opening of a three-day weekend conference at Co-op Place in Medicine Hat on Friday afternoon. Another 1,000 delegates were expected to arrive for weekend sessions, and another 4,500 will take part in meetings and events next weekend as Medicine Hat hosts its largest convention in decades.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Members of three local churches are happy to play host this month and show off Medicine Hat to almost 9,000 out-of-town guests.
Sessions were underway Friday at Co-op Place to begin the first of two weekend conventions of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, marking the end of a three-year postponement for the event originally scheduled for spring 2020.
That included about 300 local members of the church who listened to presentations and bible lessons, sang hymns and met with out-of-town friends family and acquaintances at the regional conference that was an annual event prior to the pandemic.
“We’ve attended in Calgary, Edmonton, Saskatoon and now we’re returning the favour,” said Hatter Travis Eckstien, a member of the church’s Crestwood Congregation in the city.
Eckstien is one of many Hatters hosting out-of-towners, providing advice about hotel and other accommodations, acting as ushers, controlling parking, or any number of things to make the weekend go smoothly.
“It’s about being friendly, good neighbours,” he said.
About 3,500 visitors took in opening day Friday at Co-op Place with the remainder of the expected 4,500 attendees expected to arrive for the final two days of the event on Saturday and Sunday.
Another 4,500 are registered to take part in a second weekend on June 23-25, and will arrive from across Alberta as well as Saskatchewan and southern British Columbia.
Calgarian Dean Duda has attended many such conventions over the years, but says he’s enjoying his first ever trip to Medicine Hat.
“It’s quite interesting and a beautiful city, with very welcoming people,” he said during a lunch break on Friday. “This is really the event of the year, getting back together with both friends and family.”
The church is hosting 51 conventions in 23 Canadian cities this year in a return to large conventions, rather than online or smaller in-person events in 2022.
Brad Pramberg, an organizer based in Calgary, said the committee was excited to hold one in Medicine Hat when it announced its 2020 location, and is very happy with the choice, and the event is a joyous one.
“We’re really impressed with the facility,” he said.
“The theme is ‘Exercise Patience!’ and spending three days exploring aspects of this quality will be very timely for all of us,” he said when the event was announced this spring.
The event is open free of charge to the general public and no collection is taken, said Pramberg.
