Jehovah’s Witness convention in Salisbury welcomes Vietnamese adherents
Published 12:00 am Wednesday, August 16, 2023
SALISBURY — After a three-year pandemic pause, one of the largest convention organizations in the world has chosen their Salisbury Assembly Hall to host one of its global three-day events — this one especially for Vietnamese-speaking adherents to the faith.
The scriptural theme of this year’s convention, scheduled for Friday through Sunday, is “Exercise Patience!”
Organizers expect approximately 570 to attend from as far away as Texas, Canada and Florida, according to convention coordinator Michael Nguyen of Atlanta.
The Vietnamese convention is one of 6,000 being held worldwide as part of the 2023 “Exercise Patience!” Convention series.
More than 700 conventions will be held in 144 cities in 35 languages in the United States alone. Thirteen are being held at the Salisbury Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
From Friday through Sunday, the program 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 pre-recorded drama will be featured in two parts during the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions.
“Patience is a beautiful quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives,” said Robert Hendriks, the national spokesman for Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Despite our good intentions, however, maintaining patience in the face of life’s many challenges can be a daily struggle. Spending three days exploring aspects of this quality will be very timely for all of us.”
Nguyen said Vietnamese-speaking families of Jehovah’s Witnesses are willing to travel such long distances — in some cases more than 1,000 miles — to attend the convention in Salisbury because “hearing the Bible discussed in your mother tongue really touches the heart.”
He added that another Vietnamese convention in California will attract more than 700 Jehovah’s Witnesses from western states.
Kien and Lieu Hung and their two daughters, Sofia, 18, and Hannah, 5, plan to make the arduous 750-mile journey from Toronto, Canada, to attend the Salisbury convention. They plan to drive a rental car to Buffalo, New York, board a flight to Charlotte and then make their way to Salisbury.
“All who have visas in our congregation are coming,” said Lieu Hung. “So we won’t be alone.”
“We are so excited to meet new people and see old friends,” said Kien Hung. Hung is a jeweler by trade, but like all Jehovah’s Witnesses, he takes part in the door-to-door ministry that has become a trademark of the Christian organization.
“Our work is a little more challenging because our mission is to reach all Vietnamese-speaking people in the entire province of Ontario, Canada,” Hung said.
Lieu Hung, who does part-time housekeeping in Toronto, has devoted most of her time to the public ministry since 2010.
“Although we understand and can converse pretty well in English, there is nothing like hearing the Scriptures explained in the language of your heart,” Lieu Hung said.
According to Nguyen, most of those attending the Vietnamese convention are conversant in English.
Jehovah’s Witnesses have held public conventions in stadiums, arenas, convention centers and theaters worldwide 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 worldwide since the lifting of pandemic restrictions.
Jehovah’s Witnesses conventions are open to the public, and no collection is taken.
