BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — You can count the Jehovah's Witnesses among the organizations that have been profoundly, even permanently, affected by the coronavirus.
In the words of national spokesman Robert Hendricks, Jehovah's Witnesses are usually a very public-facing organization, coming to doors and speaking on street corners.
While social distancing has created some challenges, Hendricks said it has also forced them to go virtual, where meeting attendance has increased by 20 to 40 percent.
"We are a changed organization as a result of this," he told WBZ NewsRadio. "We are able to embrace a disenfranchised population in a different way, and we'll never let that go. Even when we go back to public gatherings and public ministry."
Due to the pandemic, the organization's annual convention will be held virtually this year for the first time in more than 100 years. It will be translated into more than 500 languages, and it could have a record 20 million people viewing it worldwide.
For now, in lieu of door-knocking, witnessing is being done by email, text, and old fashioned letters.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kendall Buhl reports:
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(Photo: Jedman Carpenter/JW.org)