An invitation to observe the anniversary of Jesus’ death...

"I and the Father are one."

The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, "I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered him, "It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God." (John 10:30-33 ESV)

...was handed to me, personally, on my doorstep, yesterday evening by a nice couple of Jehovah's Witnesses who asked me to "Come and bring your Bible!" I told them that we have a church family, thanked them, then returned to the episode of Gunsmoke I was watching (Marshal Dillon is my hero) when the doorbell rang.

You are warmly invited to meet with us to observe the anniversary of Jesus’ death. Find a meeting location near you... This year, the anniversary of Jesus’ death falls on Wednesday, March 23, 2016. Jehovah’s Witnesses invite you to meet with them on that date to observe the Memorial that Jesus instituted. You will hear an explanation of how his death can benefit you and your family.

The anniversary of Jesus' death. A memorial service for a god (little g). The celebration of the life of a man who started out as the Archangel Michael. Yet followers call themselves Christians:

We follow the teachings and example of Jesus Christ and honor him as our Savior and as the Son of God. (Matthew 20:28; Acts 5:31) Thus, we are Christians. (Acts 11:26) However, we have learned from the Bible that Jesus is not Almighty God and that there is no Scriptural basis for the Trinity doctrine...Jesus is the King of God’s Kingdom in heaven. He began ruling in 1914.

Jehovah's Witnesses refer to this memorial gathering as the Lord’s Evening Meal, a meal commemorating the death of Jesus Christ; hence, a memorial of his death, the death that has had effects that are more far reaching than that of any other person. This is the only event that the Lord Jesus Christ commanded his disciples to memorialize. It is also known as the Lord’s Supper, or the Lord’s Evening Meal. This explanation is based, oddly, on 1 Corinthians 11:20: "When you come together, it is not the Lord's supper that you eat." (ESV)

There is bread and wine (the "emblems"). But only anointed members ("the Remnant") may partake: Jesus said that only a “little flock” would receive the heavenly Kingdom as their reward. (Luke 12:32) The full number would be 144,000. (Rev. 14:1-3) That group began to be selected in 33 C.E. Reasonably, there would be only a small number partaking now. The anointed partaking last year was just over 15,000. Within this church there are two "classes" of believers, the Anointed (of the 144,000 Remnant) and the rest, the Great Crowd, also referred to as the "other sheep." (Apparently those of the Great Crowd have no hope of heaven, but a hope of surviving Armageddon to live forever on the new Earth.)

Individuals entitled to partake of the Memorial emblems know that they have been taken into the Kingdom covenant... Only those who have the witness of the spirit that they are God’s children should partake of the Memorial emblems. 

The anniversary part stems from the custom of early Christians celebrating Passover beginning with the eve of the 14th day of Nisan (or Aviv in the Hebrew Bible calendar). Some Christians believe that Nisan 14 was the day that Jesus was crucified.

Jesus commanded that we commemorate his death, not his resurrection.

How sad that they have to miss out on Easter.

P.S. The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod has a History, Beliefs, and Practices paper on the Jehovah's Witnesses. It's worth a look before the doorbell interrupts your episode of Gunsmoke!