Means & Meaning

Lynn McDowell, JD, CSPG Director of Planned Giving | Philanthropy Alberta Conference (403) 342-5044, ext. 233

SWEET BENEDICTION

MANS 2003 Founding Donors Recognized on New Donor Wall

A “Thank you” is more than good manners. And saying it can change more than you might think.

But here and now, the Alberta Conference says thank you again to the members whose pioneering vision for Mamawi Atosketan Native School has made a difference in so many lives.

On my office desk is a framed note on Delta Hotel stationery, written by a housekeeper on April 6, 2013. I was attending the Women’s Ministries Conference in Kananaskis and had left a tip on my pillow—perhaps a little more than the woman who made up my room was expecting. “Thank you very much for your generosity Ms. McDowell, Lynn,” the chambermaid wrote. “May God bless you always. Thank you.”

I treasure that note. God had blessed me, and I had made a difference to someone who was grateful for my shared blessing. Not only that, this stranger wished me more of God’s blessing! What could I do but leave her another, bigger tip?

When the Alberta Conference made the decision to build the First Nations school that opened its doors in 2003 (now MANS’ elementary section), nearly 600 families and individuals responded. Many of those members donated their time and money. Their generosity was celebrated when the building opened 17 years ago and honored with several 8”X10” framed lists hung in the school entrance—appropriate for the time.

However, as the Conference committee that guided The Bridge Campaign contemplated its donor wall for the new high school building, it became clear that times had changed when it comes to saying thank you. They recognized MANS—high school as well as elementary—wouldn’t be what it is without the supportive church members who put their hearts and hands into building the first, 2003 phase of this extraordinary school.

At the opening of the high school in September 2018, the names of the 2003 donors were displayed on five poster-size boards placed beside the history and video display for people to view while they had refreshments in the new gym, but the Conference had already voted to do something more permanent and inline with the donor wall in the new building.

Therefore, when classes started on September 1 this fall, MANS elementary students saw, for the first time, in a very big way, how many people had invested in them and wished them the best—including an understanding of how much Jesus loves and cares about each one of them.

Who knows how that new, big “Thank You,” with the names of real people who cared enough to build a school, will impact the little ones? Eternity will reveal many surprises, but here and now, the Alberta Conference says, “Thank you” again to the members whose pioneering vision for Mamawi Atosketan Native School has made a difference in so many lives. We would like to borrow the words of a wise and grateful chambermaid and offer this to all who gave to make the vision real: “Thank you for your generosity. May God bless you always.”