p. 17 | A Trip Through Western Canada by George A. Irwin

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 11, 1909

A Trip Through Western Canada

By George A. Irwin

It fell to my lot to attend the camp-meetings in the Western Canadian Union Conference, of which there were five. The first in order was—

The Manitoba Conference

This meeting was held at Portage la Prairie, from June 24 to July 4. Portage is a prosperous and thriving town, located on the Canadian Pacific Railroad, fifty-five miles west of Winnipeg, in the center of the great grain belt of the province. The conference office and tract society are located in this town, and the conference school is a short distance in the country. This conference was organized in 1903. Its report showed a present membership of two hundred twenty, with ten organized churches. There were thirty-one tents pitched on the camp-ground, and a regular attendance of over one hundred. There were some distracting influences during the first part of the meeting; yet notwithstanding this, the meeting, as a whole, was a success. The interests of the local, union, and General conferences then received due share of consideration. Special interest was taken in a Canadian edition of Liberty, nearly two thousand copies being subscribed for. Elder W. C. Young was re-elected conference president. Nine persons were baptized the last day of the meeting. Elders H. S. Shaw, E. L. Stewart, G. F. Haffner, and the writer assisted the local laborers in conducting the meeting.

Saskatchewan Mission Field

The English meeting for this province was held at Qu’Appelle, a small town thirty-five miles east of Regina, the capital. Saskatchewan is still a mission field. It has a membership of eighty-five, several of whom are Germans. These live in the northern part of the province, and a meeting was held for them at Rosthern. At each of these meetings about sixty of our people were in attendance. There being no business to attend to at the Qu’Appelle meeting, the time was entirely devoted to preaching and to spiritual services. Although small in point of numbers, it was a blessed meeting. The brethren in this province are faithful in the payment of tithes and offerings. Their average ten-cent-a-week offering last year was fourteen cents a member. Several hundred subscriptions were taken at this meeting for Liberty, and a number of our books was taken by the brethren. The canvassing work is prosperous. Elder Shaw still has charge of the field, but much of his time will now be taken up with union affairs. Aside from him, there are two ordained ministers—one for the English, and one for the Germans—and one licentiate. At the two meetings ten persons were baptized.

Alberta Conference

Our next meeting was at Olds, a small town fifty-eight miles north of Calgary. Although held in the middle of the mid-summer month, July 8-18, owing to the high altitude of the place—four thousand two hundred feet—and the snow-capped mountains in the distance, the weather was quite cool, especially in the early morning and evening meetings. Meetings were held in a separate tent for the Germans, of whom there were over fifty encamped on the ground. Elder Haffner was present to assist the local laborer in these meetings. This being their annual conference meeting, all branches of the work received consideration, including the foreign missions, toward which about one thousand five hundred dollars was donated. The removal of their school from Leduc to Lacombe, and the erection of a sanitarium at the same place, were the principal questions of interest to the conference at this time. Several pieces of land, and quite a sum in donations, were pledged at their last camp-meeting for this purpose, but owing to a decrease in the price of land, nothing had been realized on the land. This compelled them to cut down their plans from a twenty-eight-thousand-dollar to a ten-thousand-dollar building and equipment. The site at Lacombe borders on a beautiful fresh-water lake, and the altitude of the location is such as to command a beautiful view of the town and surrounding country. Arrangements were made to push both these enterprises rapidly to completion, since both the school and the sanitarium were out of a home, the property in which the latter had been conducted at Edmonton having

passed into the hands of those who wanted the building for other purposes. A good work has been done in Edmonton by Brother Hommell, and his little company of consecrated workers, in treating the people, and in teaching the principles of health reform, and it is hoped that this interest may be transferred to the new institution. Elder C. A. Burman was re-elected conference president. Much interest was manifested in the canvassing work, and since crop prospects were fine, it was expected that the coming year would be a prosperous one for the work in the Alberta Conference. This conference also took a lively interest in the special edition of Liberty, and subscribed for several hundred copies. Ten persons were baptized at the close of the meeting.

British Columbia Conference

From Alberta we went to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, where the meeting for this field was to be held. Victoria is located on the island of Vancouver, and is the last port of call for vessels bound for Australia, China, and the Orient. There were seventy-five of our people in attendance. Not being a conference session, the time was entirely devoted to preaching, Bible study, and spiritual meetings. All in attendance seemed to get a real spiritual uplift. One interesting feature of the meeting was a temperance rally, at which the mayor of the city was present and made a strong speech in favor of total abstinence and prohibition, commended our people for their health principles, and wished us Godspeed in our work. Twenty-eight dollars’ worth of the Temperance number of the Instructor and two hundred dollars’ worth of books were sold. Eight young people were baptized at the close of the meeting.

Elder W. M. Adams, president of the conference, is assisted by three ordained ministers. Two other persons devote their entire time to conference work, aside from those who labor in the school.

The union as a whole has a membership of eight hundred. In 1908 thirteen thousand dollars was paid in tithe; in the first seven months of 1909, ten thousand dollars has been received. In 1908 three thousand five hundred dollars was given for foreign missions; the first seven months of 1909 has brought in an equal amount. Thirteen thousand dollars’ worth of books and periodicals was sold in 1908.

Western Canada is rapidly filling up with a sturdy and enterprising people, and has already become an interesting field for our work. While as yet it needs to be assisted by the General Conference, Elder Shaw, its president, is determinedly working toward the self-supporting point; and with the usual crop prosperity, this will soon be achieved. During my visit to this field, I formed many new acquaintances, and became more than ever interested in the work and workers; so that I can truly say from the heart, God bless the work and workers in Canada.

G. A. IRWIN.