JANESVILLE — Traveling more that 70 miles, the Sparesus family arrived at the Jehovah’s Witness convention in Janesville ready to immerse themselves in a weekend of faith and fellowship.
The convention started on July 5 and will continue every weekend until August 11 at the Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, 207 S. Wright Road. So far, 1,000 people have attended each weekend with a projected goal of 8,700 attendees, organizers said.
This year’s convention theme is “Declare the Good News!” Attendees explore the life of Jesus Christ and the positive message found in the Bible.
This past Friday and Saturday, a two-part video drama was show highlighting Jesus’s birth and early life.
On Sunday, the main topic was “Why We Don’t Fear Bad News.” In a world where bad news is inevitable, it focused on the positive hope of finding God’s worth in the Bible, Paul Smith, local spokesman said.
In the video “we can see some of the things that Elizabeth, Zechariah, Mary Joseph, went through to have Jesus. Then we have a talk afterwards about factual evidence about Jesus and how we can imitate Jesus and his family’s life for us today, and also how we can tell the news despite the obstacles that we may have in our personal lives,” Smith said.
Brian Sparesus was born and raised as a Jehovah’s Witness and would come to the Assembly Hall in Janesville from the Waukegan, Ill., area as a youth.
“So, coming here is nostalgic for me,” Brian said. He and his wife, Jenny, now live in Kenosha. She studied the Bible with his grandma and converted nearly 14 years ago.
“Being with my husband and meeting his family and how they lived and treated others, drew me to wanting to study the Bible,” Jenny said.
The couple attended this weekend’s convention with their four children Kaleigh, Gabriella, Madeline and Roman Sparesus.
They said they came away with an understanding of how to apply what they had learned in their daily lives.
“We want to help as many people as possible to have a relationship with God, because we’ve seen the benefits in our own lives,” Brian said.
“Every day you are around people who don’t care about other people,” Jenny said. What was reviewed in the session. “just helps you deal with different aspects that you deal with every day,” she said. “It helps us learn how to deal with certain situations.”
Jenny said that she was enjoying doing “a deep dive” into Jesus’ life. That “ has been really beneficial to learn about him personally,” she said.
This convention is free and open to the public. Doors open at 8 a.m. for senior citizens and at 8:15 a.m. for the general public. On Friday and Saturday, it ends at 4:50 p.m. and on Sunday it ends at 3:30 p.m. There’s an hour and 20 minutes for lunch each day.
There’s no dress code and no collection taken.
“The convention is for everyone. It’s a good reminder that all of us can have a relationship with God and it just helps us to have a good, positive attitude in life. You leave refreshed,” Brian said.
Sense of community
Born and raised a Jahovah’s Witness, Josh Mueller of Janesville looks forward to bringing his two daughters, Elyn Mueller and Emlyn Mueller, to the onvention July 26-28.
“We look forward to the association, friends that we see regularly and some we only see once a year and we look forward to the video drama. When I grew up, they were stage performances on video but now they’re actual video productions and I think it’s the most exciting part for both kids and adults,” Mueller said.
“The information is so encouraging. The good news is about being God’s kingdom and a remedy to all the problems that we see on the earth today,” he continued.
You see the fulfillment of the world events that we’ve talked about and that I’ve heard about most of my life. You see prophecies in the Bible coming true. It’s assuring that what we’re being taught and the things that we’re being told are happening. It gives me the confidence that this is the way to go.”
As guests entered the Assembly Hall on Sunday, they did’t rush to their seats and wait for service to start. They socialized, discussed convention topics and introduce themselves.
“The excitement for one another is definitely in the air. You feel the joy of people who haven’t seen each other in possibly a year, if not longer, especially coming together after the pandemic when we weren’t able to hold these events,” Smith said.
Those looking to attend their very first Jehovah’s Witness convention should not “be afraid to come. Know that you’re welcomed,” Mueller said.
“That’s why we love to come here,” Brian Sparesus said.
Regular assembly gatherings will resume at the Assembly Hall, September through April.
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