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Britain2000 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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A Mammoth Undertaking
In June 1982 the Governing Body accepted an invitation from the Branch Committee to hold in Britain the 1983 annual meeting of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. This event was to be doubly important because the branch planned to have the dedication of the new London Bethel extension on the same weekend that they would be hosting the annual meeting.
“About eight o’clock one morning, I received a phone call from Peter Ellis at Bethel,” recalls Dennis Loft. “He asked me to book the De Montfort Hall for October 1.” This had been the venue for a memorable assembly September 2-10, 1941, when the Children book was released. At that time, in the middle of World War II when our brothers had taken a courageous stand for Christian neutrality, Albert D. Schroeder, now a member of the Governing Body, was the branch servant in Britain. What a marvelous occasion this annual meeting was to be for surviving older ones to renew their acquaintance with loyal servants of Jehovah from earlier days!
The 1983 annual meeting was the first such meeting to be held outside North America. Plans got under way to link the program from Leicester with the Dudley Assembly Hall in the Midlands. In this way more brothers could enjoy the occasion. First to be invited were those who had served Jehovah for 40 or more years. Word was sent to branches throughout Europe, inviting members of the Bethel families for the weekend. It was quickly realized that there would not be enough room at London Bethel to accommodate all these European delegates. Plans were therefore made for a rooming operation to house all the visitors.
Meanwhile, Brother Loft had contacted the Leicester City Council, only to be informed that one of the city’s largest companies would be holding an annual dinner dance the very weekend that we wanted to book the hall. Inquiring further, Dennis learned that the event was actually going to be on September 30 but that because there was always so much cleaning to be done afterward, the hall was booked for the following day as well. “If we took on the responsibility of cleaning the place, could we book it for October 1?” Dennis asked. The administrator agreed, and Dennis sighed with relief, although at the time he little realized the enormity of the undertaking.
At midnight on September 30, organized in groups under captains, 400 brothers set to work to clean away the debris from the social occasion. They also replaced the tables with 3,000 chairs in readiness for the meeting. It was a daunting task to be accomplished in only eight hours. Dennis recalls: “The unique feature was that very few of these brothers had been invited to the annual meeting, and yet, just to be able to have a part in it, even just to prepare for it, is something that they talk about to this day.” The brothers carpeted the platform and banked it with flowers. At 8:00 a.m., the hall was immaculate. The hall staff stood by in amazement. The brothers recognized that this meeting had the potential for being something very special. They were not disappointed.
An Unforgettable Meeting
Among the 3,671 present for the spiritual feast at Leicester were 693 delegates from 37 other branches. Many of those in attendance were anointed brothers and sisters. Reg Kellond, from Telford, and Emma Burnell, from Paignton, both 99 years of age, were the oldest delegates from Britain. Janet Tait, from Glasgow, as well as Mary Grant, Edith Guiver, and Robert Warden, each in the ninth or tenth decade of life, had learned the truth before World War I. What a lifetime of experience each had had in Jehovah’s service! They shared in the witness work as the number of praisers of Jehovah in Britain increased from a few thousand to 92,320. They were eagerly awaiting the encouragement that members of the Governing Body were to offer.
Albert D. Schroeder spoke on the theme “Keep Hoping in Jehovah, That You Do Not Tire Out,” based on Isaiah 40:31. He also interviewed some faithful brothers: Robert Warden and Harold Rabson, both from Glasgow and baptized in 1913 and 1914 respectively; Robert Anderson, who had been a pioneer for 51 years; and Ernie Beavor, who had been a circuit overseer for 17 years and whose three children had been in missionary service. All of them spoke enthusiastically of their many years in Jehovah’s service. Daniel Sydlik, another member of the Governing Body, spoke on the theme “The Best Is Yet to Come.” It was a talk that the brothers remember to this day.
“When we received our invitation,” one brother wrote, “memories of that wonderful wartime assembly at the De Montfort Hall in 1941 flooded back. Surely, that convention, held as if by a miracle in the midst of war-torn Britain, was the best we had attended—but ‘the best was yet to come.’ We came away from this meeting with hearts overflowing with gratitude to Jehovah, determined to continue loyal to our Creator; to his King, Christ Jesus; and to the organization that He is so clearly using.”
After this event many of the delegates traveled to London to enjoy the dedication program for the Bethel extension. The sessions were tied in by telephone to the North London Assembly Hall, allowing many more the opportunity to listen to the dedication discourse presented by Frederick Franz, then president of the Society.
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Britain2000 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses
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[Picture on page 116, 117]
A. D. Schroeder interviewing old-timers at annual meeting in Leicester in 1983
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