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The Alberta Camp Meeting and Conference

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Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Aug 6, 1914

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 91, No. 32.

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The Alberta Camp Meeting and Conference

By O. A. Olsen

THIS meeting was held at Red Deer, June 18-28, near the place where this conference was first organized eight years ago. Since then the work has grown from six churches, with a membership of 182, to eighteen churches, with a membership of 607. Besides these they report 418 believers who have not as yet united with a church in the province, a very encouraging growth indeed.
Forty-five family tents, four meeting tents, two dining tents, and a book tent, fifty-two in all, composed the camp, with three hundred of our people in attendance. Meetings were conducted in four different languages, in English, German, Scandinavian, and Russian. Two churches were added to the conference, — one Scandinavian, with a membership of ten, the other with nineteen members, composed of Germans, Poles, Esthonians, Russians, and Norwegians — a polyglot church, indeed. We find many nationalities represented in the Canadian provinces, and we are glad to see the knowledge of the truth spreading among them. However, we found urgent calls for laborers in various tongues.
An excellent interest was manifested in all the various branches of work in the conference. The business proceedings were most cordial and harmonious. The different speakers enjoyed much freedom, and there was a hearty response to the word spoken.
A change was made in the presidency of the conference. Elder C. A. Burman has occupied this position since the conference was organized, and the work has prospered under his careful administration; but he felt that the time had come when a change would be for the best, and Elder H. Humann was unanimously elected. Elder Burman has had several calls from other conferences, and will, no doubt, accept one of these in the near future.
The last Sabbath of the meeting was a refreshing season. The Spirit of the Lord was present in a marked degree in all the meetings. A goodly number took their first decided stand for the service of God, and all were greatly blessed and encouraged. In the afternoon, after some remarks had been made on the high calling and the responsibility of the Christian ministry, Brother L. Halsvick, a Scandinavian, who has labored for some time in the conference, was ordained to the gospel ministry. It was a precious season. After this thirteen persons followed their Lord in the ordinance of baptism, while as many others will be baptized in their home churches. Thus ended this blessed Sabbath.
The laborers participating in the camp meeting aside from those belonging to the union were, Elder J. Riffel, Profs. M. S. Reppe and E. C. Kellogg, and the writer.
On our way to this meeting we stopped overnight at the Alberta Industrial Academy at Lacombe. This was our first visit to the academy. From all that we could learn, the school is very prosperous and is doing good work. The Lord has greatly blessed Professor Beardsley and those associated with him in the building up of this school.
Alberta is a promising field. With the blessing of God and with faithful labor, it must become a strong conference; the situation as a whole is most favorable. Now is the time to push the work with all energy. May the blessing of the Lord continue with the work in this field in a very marked manner till all is finished.
O. A. OLSEN.