About 5,300 Jehovah's Witnesses are expected in Charleston again this year for their annual conference June 20-22 at the Charleston Civic Center, and everyone is invited. But the Witnesses won't be personally knocking on thousands of area doors to issue individual invitations, as they did last year.

"That was a little unusual -- we don't do that every year," said Jim Houston, an elder with the Glenville congregation and a spokesman for the conference.

The conference attracts Witnesses from 72 congregations in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Kentucky. It was held in Charleston for years before moving out of state several years ago.

The annual conference returned to West Virginia in 2006. Last year's conference was one of Charleston's biggest, according to the Charleston Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and hotels were booked solid in the city, with Witnesses staying in hotels as far away as Hurricane and Ripley.

"Everybody should have their rooms booked by now," Houston said. "We started [booking] in February."

The conference is free and open to the public. No collections are taken. The three-day event includes talks based on this year's theme, "Guided by God's Spirit."

"I think people are kind of looking for direction," Houston said. "God's spirit is certainly a practical and valuable way to get direction. We feel the Bible is a product of his spirit. That's the ultimate guidance -- what's in God's word."

"That was a little unusual -- we don't do that every year," said Jim Houston, an elder with the Glenville congregation and a spokesman for the conference.

The conference attracts Witnesses from 72 congregations in West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Kentucky. It was held in Charleston for years before moving out of state several years ago.

The annual conference returned to West Virginia in 2006. Last year's conference was one of Charleston's biggest, according to the Charleston Convention and Visitor's Bureau, and hotels were booked solid in the city, with Witnesses staying in hotels as far away as Hurricane and Ripley.

"Everybody should have their rooms booked by now," Houston said. "We started [booking] in February."

The conference is free and open to the public. No collections are taken. The three-day event includes talks based on this year's theme, "Guided by God's Spirit."

"I think people are kind of looking for direction," Houston said. "God's spirit is certainly a practical and valuable way to get direction. We feel the Bible is a product of his spirit. That's the ultimate guidance -- what's in God's word."