Jehovah's Witnesses hold Ogden convention

A major gathering of Jehovah's Witnesses that began Friday at Weber State University's Dee Events Center in Ogden continues today and Sunday.

The "Keep the Watch!" District Convention is free and open to the public, including the Jehovah's Witnesses faithful and curious visitors from Utah, southern Idaho, western Colorado, western Montana and eastern Nevada. There are 66 Jehovah's Witnesses congregations in the region and attendance at the convention is predicted to be more than 7,000.

The Ogden convention is one of 319 scheduled to be held in 81 U.S. cities this year. The theme of the convention is taken from the New Testament books of Matthew and Mark, drawn specifically from passages in which Jesus Christ, talking about the time that he would return to Earth, instructed his followers to be watchful.

According to a Jehovah's Witnesses press release, church members "anticipate global changes in the very near future" because of their Bible research.

There are more than 7 million Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide. Additional information about the faith and its tenets is available online at www.jw-media.org.

Cathedral of the Madeleine nears 100th birthday

Next month will be a special one for an important Utah landmark of the Catholic Church.

On August 15, it will be 100 years to the day since the dedication of the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. Designed by architects Carl M. Newhausen and Bernard O. Mecklenburg, the Cathedral of the Madeleine was constructed over a period of nine years beginning in 1900.

According to the official Cathedral of the Madeleine Web site, www.saltlakecathedral.org, the property where the Cathedral is located was purchased in 1890 for $35,000. Construction of the cathedral cost $344,000. Between 1991 and 1993, major interior renovations were carried out at a cost of $9.7 million.

A program of events commemorating the cathedral will begin Aug. 9, culminating in a special outdoor celebration at the cathedral plaza on Aug. 16.

Additional information about commemorative events is available online at www.saltlakecathedral.org.

-- Cody Clark