History

 

The first recorded number of Bible Students in the Washington D.C. area was 23 in 1900.  By 1916, the number had grown to 221.

In 1906, there was a one-day convention in Washington, D.C. that included a public meeting of which 2,500 individuals attended.  In the summer of 1912, the Bible Students in Washington, D.C. hosted a major convention in which 36 states were represented.  The convention began in Glen Echo Park (MD), but was later moved to the Washington Academy of Music.  There were 600 to 2500 Bible Students that attended the meetings.  The convention included a testimony meeting and a baptismal talk by Brother Russell for 167 adults.  Among those was a young man named George Clark.  In these years, the class was very active.  After Brother Russell died, many left.  The small group that remained met in a home on 14th Street in 1928 and had three elders leading the meetings.  Some who had worked with Brother Russell and had assisted in painting the pictures for the Photodrama came to Washington.  There were regular meetings on Sundays and Wednesdays.  As others died or moved away from Washington, the class grew smaller in the 1960’s.  In the 1970’s several couples moved into the Washington area and there were Bible meetings two or three times a week in Maryland and Virginia led by elders in the class.  The next two decades brought more couples to the area and would provide more active participation in Bible Studies in the weekly meetings.

 

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