Stony Plain Trade Fair Hosts Parkland Church Booth

Louis and Joanne Balog, Vivian & Tony Robeiro

This last April saw the Parkland (Spruce Grove & Stony Plain) Church participating in the local Stony Plain Trade Fair with a booth table laden with books, magazines, DVDs, etc. A draw for a couple of DVDs was very popular as was a white prayer sheet on which people could write the first names of people they wanted special prayer for. Everyone who passed by was given an envelope with a letter from the church, a mini Signs magazine, application forms etc. Especially popular were engraved pens advertising the church and handmade bookmarks with Bible verses and attractive pictures. It was indeed a great way to meet people without knocking on doors - they were coming to us! We plan to make this an annual event.

Ngaere Gill

Camrose Baptism

(L-R): Pastor Bob Burke, Esther DuBourt, Ruth Crabbe (church clerk)

On Sabbath July 11th Pastor Bob Burke had the pleasure of baptizing Esther DuBourt at Foothills Camp, near Bowden. Esther had expressed a desire for baptism two years ago after attending the second Revelation seminar the Camrose Church had held but it was felt she was too young at the time. This time when she again expressed a desire to follow her Lord into the waters of baptism her parents and Pastor Burke agreed that there was no reason to put it off any longer.

Esther was welcomed into full membership in the Camrose Church on Sabbath July 25.

Pastor Bob Burke

Sedgewick Baptisms

(L-R): Emma Amundson, Brayden Grovet, Ethan Bownes, Debi Anderson, Jordan Bownes, Bradley Grovet

On Sabbath, June 20, the Sedgewick Seventh-day Adventist Church came together to celebrate the baptisms of five of their young people. Ethan Bownes, Jordan Bownes, Emma Amundson, Bradley Grovet and Brayden Grovet all made a public declaration of their decision to follow Jesus Christ through baptism and to become members of the Sedgewick congregation.

After studying with Debi Anderson for 21 weeks these young people all decided they wanted to be baptized together. Debi also arranged for each of the Sedgewick elders and the pastor to come and present at least one of the study topics each.

Pastor Bob Burke had the privilege of performing the baptisms of each one of these precious young souls. Pastor Burke shared a message entitled “The Family of God” taken from Galatians 3:26-29.

The service was followed by a potluck and fellowship.

Pastor Bob Burke

News Clippings . . .

• Over 180 individuals have been baptized this year in the Alberta Conference. There have been quite a few evangelistic meetings throughout the conference with many more scheduled this summer and fall.
• Ordination to the gospel ministry took place for four Alberta pastors on the final Sabbath of the Alberta Camp Meeting. Pastors Julio Morales, James Rooney, Dario St. Louis, and David Streifling were consecrated following a message presented by Nilton Amorim, Executive Secretary of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Canada.
• Calagary Metro Filipino Church celebrated their first anniversary on Sabbath, July 25. They were joined by Pastors Mark Johnson and Romulo Daquila from the Alberta Conference. Many guests were present for the special services.
• Iglesia Adventista Maranatha Calgary (Calgary Maranatha Spanish Company) streams live video of the worship services each Sabbath. As high as two dozen persons at a time have joined the services online.
• Approximately 220 Pathfinders from Alberta will travel to Oshkosh, Wisconsin for the International Pathfinder Camporee held there this August. They will join over 35,000 other Pathfinders from around the world for this special event.
• Three Master Guides and six Pathfinder Leadership Awards for continuing education in Pathfinder Leadership were granted at an investiture at camp meeting this year. Special guest, James Black, North American Youth Leader, was present for the investiture.
• The first ever Sudanese evangelistic meeting in Canada held for Sudanese by Sudenese was held in Calgary during June. Five persons were baptized and additional followup is underway. Lay evangelists used Share Him materials on their computers to conduct these meetings.
• Prairie Adventist Christian eSchool (PACeS) is an Alberta Government approved eSchool where students access Adventist education through high speed Internet. K-12 instruction is available online with teachers and classmates. For further information, contact Janet Hall at 403-342-5044 xt 200, jhall@albertasda.org, or check our website at http://www.albertasdadl.com/.
• Sherwood Park Care Center will celebrate its 40th anniversary of serving the community on September 26, 2009. The Center is an important ministry of the church in touching people's lives in a time of need. Watch for upcoming details of the weekend celebration.
• Neil Nedley's presentations are available on DVD as an exciting trial run from Camp Meeting 2009. They will be available at the end of August and will cost $8 per DVD. Contact Irma at 403-342-5044 xt 232 or irma@albertasda.org.

New Logo for Yellowknife SDA Church

The Yellowknife Seventh-day Adventist Church has been sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with the people of Yellowknife. More than a slogan, this is a way of life. To graphically capture our mission, Pastor Brad Dahr consulted with Simone Smalling at Nuplex Printing (nuplexprinting.ca) of Calgary. The result is a new logo that captures the spirit of what God is doing in Yellowknife. The image reminds us of 2 Corinthians 5:14 with Christ’s love compelling us to go out sharing the hope of Jesus. The logo will be put on all sorts of things so that as we demonstrate God’s love in tangible and practical ways, sharing the hope of Jesus Christ with those around us, our community will have a visible reminder of the church.

Pastor Brad Dahr

Upcoming Events . . .

African Adventist Association (Canada) (AAAC)
An invitation is extended to all to come and join in the annual camp meeting being held at Lakeview Hall, Canadian University College, in Lacombe, August 5-9, 2009. Meetings begin at 8 p.m. on Wednesday until Sunday at noon. It's a time for fellowship, seminars, prayer, as well as uplifting music. This year Pastor Markheavens Tshuma (Texas), Dr. George Dzimiri (California), Pastor Ian Hartley (Red Deer), Pastor J.S.D. Maphosa (Zimbabwe), as keynote speakers. More speakers for youth and children. To provide you with more details on fees, room, and registration, call or email Tabitha Phiri at 403-782-1680 or tphiri@shaw.ca. In Edmonton, call Japheth Ndhlovu at 780-760-1057. In Calgary, call Paul Sibanda at 403-697-0138.

Adventist Singles Ministry Annual Campout

When: September 4-7, 2009

This Year's Theme: God's Healing Hand

Where: Rosemary Warman's residence, Salmon Arm, BC

Registration Deadline: September 1, 2009

Phone: 250-832-6870 for Rosemary Warman

Phone: 403-293-3787 for Debra Pelletier

Email: debrap@xentel.com

Cost: Donation of $10 per person

1. What to Bring: Bring a story to share of someone you know who has been healed by God or someone you would like us to pray for God's healing.
2. Bible, tent or sleeping unit, sleeping bag, sleeping mat, towel, tarp, pots, dishes, utensils, wash pan and dish detergent, tea towel for drying. Bug spray, bathing suit, sun protection lotion, beach towel or mat, folding chair, good walking shoes.
3. Food for the weekend. This year there will not be hotdogs and corn roast but instead having a potluck for both Sabbath lunch and supper.

Other Activities for the Weekend: Nature walk, swimming at Canoe Beach.

Reformation Tour to Germany

Space is still available if you are interested to join a tour group from the Alberta Conference on January 27 - February 3, 2010. This tour will be led by Elder Don Schneider and his wife, Marti. The cost will be approximately $1800-$2000 per person. If you would like detailed information on the tour, or if you would like to sign up, send Irma Hartley an email at irma@albertasda.org.

Filipino-Canadian Camp Meeting - August 20-23, 2009

You are welcome to attend the 7^th Annual Filipino-Canadian Camp Meeting at Foothills Camp starting Thursday, August 20 to Sunday, August 23, 2009.

The main speakers are Pastor Dem Robles, pastor of the San Diego Filipino – American Seventh – day Adventist Church and Pastor Malcolm Douglas who just graduated from the Seventh-day Adventist Theological Seminary at Andrews University.

Come and join with believers all over Alberta and some form British Columbia for a time for praise and worship, fellowship, study and meditation in the midst of nature and much more. The services are all done in English.

For cabin and food reservations please contact Ben Barboza at 780-988-5117 or bbarboza@compusmart.ca.

Alberta Clergy Study Tour to Israel - February 4-11, 2010

All pastors and their spouses are invited to join in a study tour. A full non-refundable payment is due by September 9, 2009. For more information and to fill out the registration forms, go to the website www.albertasda.org and click on Alberta Clergy Study Tour to Israel 1 and 2.

Sherwood Park Special "Deaf Reach" Weekend

Pastor David Trexler signed during a special presentation of a lovely wall plaque by Pastors Trexler and Kelly to John and Alberta Blake in recognition of their years of service in

Deaf Ministry.

A few of the participants stepped outside for a break and posed for a photo. (L-R) Greg Greenwood, Francisca Trexler, Rose Kelly, John and Alberta Blake, Pastor and Mrs. Paul and Tina Kelly, Judith and George Stothart, and Walter Wile.

Pastor David Trexler signing with his PowerPoint presentation

On the weekend of July 17-18, 2009, a deaf ministries group met at the Sherwood Park SDA Church for a "Deaf Reach" Seminar. The audience was comprised of individuals from Edmonton, Calgary, Ryley, Clive, Winnipeg, Ontario, New York, and Maryland. Pastor Trexler is the director of Adventist Deaf Ministries, and this seminar is one they are now giving in various locations around North America.

College Heights Church 100th Anniversary

Grande Prairie Lighthouse SDA Company Forms

November 2008 was an auspicious time for Grande Prairie as the Lighthouse Branch Sabbath School opened their doors. Formed from evangelistically orientated individuals from the Grande Prairie SDA Church, the Branch Sabbath School has prospered.

June 2009 was another auspicious day as the Branch Sabbath School became a company. With 18 charter members and 35 – 40 people in attendance each Sabbath, great things are in store. Evangelistic outreach plans are already in motion. We ask for your prayers and support as we work in this part of the Lord’s vineyard.

Karla Whitmore

Pastor Darrell Beaudoin Evangelizes Grande Prairie

God has once again blessed the efforts of His people in working towards the salvation of souls through public evangelism. Pastor Darrell Beaudoin accepted his first invitation to conduct a prophecy seminar outside of his own district; and preached a powerful, clear, and Spirit-filled seminar that inspired many here in Grande Prairie. As the hall of the downtown Sandman Hotel began to fill up with more and more with visitors, we began to get more and more excited about this venture in evangelism. By the time the opening night presentation began, we had over 50 guests outside of the church members that also came to support this outreach.

When we transferred the seminar from the hall to the church after the 7^th presentation, we still had over 35 guests attending; and by the end of the seminar we had over 30 guests in attendance. We celebrated the baptism of four precious souls over two Sabbaths, and are anticipating more commitments to Christ in baptism from the five others that are continuing to study and worship with us since the seminar ended.

The Grande Prairie Church has been so thankful to Pastor Beaudoin for being willing to come and serve evangelistically here in our grand city. His seminar was professional from start to finish; from cutting edge equipment and props, to his excellent rapport with the guests attending. He brought a fresh approach to the “Bible Questions” time by opening the floor before the presentations on certain nights, and demonstrated an outstanding knowledge of prophecy and the Bible. We have already agreed we would love to have him come again for a future seminar, and would highly recommend his seminar to any churches in our conference looking to do a live evangelistic prophecy seminar.

Shawn Brummund, Pastor

Conference Office Staff Changes

Konstantine Neikours is now in the Conference office as school accountant and local church auditor. He is a recent graduate of Canadian University College and has been employed since May 1, 2009. We welcome him to our office staff. Through the next year you may have had, or will have, the opportunity to meet and work with him in his new appointment.

Yellowknife Baptism

The land of the midnight sun was praising God as the Yellowknife church celebrated our sixth baptism of the year. On June 27, 2009, Pastor Brad Dahr had the honour of baptizing Phil Winsor into the body of Christ. Phil had been thinking about spiritual things for awhile when he met Yellowknife church member, Albert Dobin. Albert and Phil became good friends, and they began studying the Bible together. Phil was convicted of the Sabbath truth and started attending church about two months ago. During a baptism in May, he responded to a baptism call. Phil's favourite song is "The River," the baptism theme song for the church, so we had no problem singing it with gusto for him. Already an active member in a small group, Phil is open to where God will want him to serve in Yellowknife.

Pastor Brad Dahr

Joyce Wasylyshen Retirement

Joyce Wasylyshen was honoured at two retirement parties--one in house at the Alberta Conference office, and the second at the Tanoa Restaurant in Red Deer on June 4, 2009 where conference office staff and families joined her and her husband, Jerry, as we enjoyed delicious food and fellowship in recognizing Joyce's immense contribution to the Alberta Conference by her faithfulness and hard work during the past 19+ years. She first served as secretary in the Sabbath School and Personal Ministries, then Treasury, and then, finally, as administrative secretary for the Vice President for Administation. Her untiring efforts and devotion to the eAdventist on line clerk reporting program has been important and will be valued in years to come. We wish Joyce and Jerry a happy retirement as they can enjoy a more relaxed lifestyle and can spend time with their children and grandchildren.

Baby Shower for Joshua Nyaribo

On June 23, 2009, the Alberta Conference office staff and families hosted a baby shower new son, Joshua, born to Eunice and Richard Nyaribo. Eunice and Richard are so delighted with the new addition to their family and the conference office family enjoyed admiring little Joshua, along with a lot of laughter and fun as we celebrated his arrival that evening. Eunice has filled the role as school accountant and local church auditor in the conference office. We wish them God's abundant blessings as they nurture and love this baby.