To the members of the Alberta Conference

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

This will be the last time I address you as President of the Alberta Conference in the Alberta Adventist News.

Let me begin by saying that it has been a privilege to have spent nearly one half of my 40 plus year ministry in service to this conference. I have spent time in Edmonton, Sylvan Lake/Rocky Mountain House and Medicine Hat. I want to thank those congregations for their support of my ministry. The people making up these congregations will always have a special place in my heart. I wish to express thanks also for my fellow officers and staff here at the Alberta Conference office. They have shared in the challenges and joys of service over these past nearly seven years.

As a conference we have been blessed by God to see our membership grow to nearly 13,000. We have seen our school system grow to 11 schools, including four high schools. Our school enrollment has increased to nearly 1,400 young people. We have seen many new churches and properties either built or purchased with the support of the conference contributing approximately two million dollars in assistance. We have seen our first nations work grow with the addition of a new high school.

As a conference, we have been blessed by God to see our membership grow to nearly 13,000. We have seen our school system grow to 11 schools, including four high schools. Our school enrollment has increased to nearly 1,400 young people.

We are in the process of building a new worship/community centre near the Maskwacis reserve. These are but a few of the highlights from the past session.

I would like to thank the congregations for their unwavering support during the recent COVID-19 shutdown. The tithe did not waver as people remained faithful and this allowed the Alberta Conference to continue unabated in its ministry to the people of Alberta and the NWT.

I must also thank my wonderful wife Almyra for her faithful service and support over these many years. I have always felt the Church has benefited more from her service than my own. While she, like myself, have not been blessed with musical abilities, she has more than compensated in other areas. She has been gifted in the areas of children’s ministries and women’s ministries. Her many years in Sabbath school, pathfinders and women’s ministries has been a great blessing to so many.

Almyra and I will remain in this area for our retirement years. Our children and grandchildren are all close by and we look forward to spending more time with them. I expect to do some volunteer work in my leisure years. May God bless you as you continue to be of service in His vineyard.

Let me say that I have absolute confidence that God has even better things in store as the Conference moves forward. Soon we will have a new president but our ultimate leader remains the same in our Lord Jesus Christ.

By Gary Hodder President Alberta Conference